Hieroglyphs from A to Z

A disappointing, downscale version of Fun with Hieroglyphs , this picture book cum abecedary cum code book cum Egyptology seminar tries in vain to be all things to all readers. ``A is an archer who carries a bow,'' for example, suggests a very young audience, as does the format, with its large pictures and large type. The rest of that page's contents, however, aims higher--there's a hieroglyph corresponding to the letter ``A''; the word ``archer'' spelled out in hieroglyphs; information (in small type) about the animals hunted by ancient Egyptian archers; and a static design, which is repeated on the other spreads. Kids attracted to the idea of using the hieroglyphs to transliterate English will find that considerable skill is required to reproduce them freehand; the hieroglyph stencils included with the book, small of scale and lacking definition, also demand a high degree of manual dexterity. Ages 7-up. (Aug.)