Secrets of a Sun King

Chapter 1 introduces us to Lilian. On a rainy Wednesday morning, Lilian’s routine breakfast with her mum is interrupted by a shocking newspaper headline about human feet found in a Bloomsbury townhouse. Intrigued, Lilian reads the article about Professor Selim Hanawati, who mysteriously burned to death, leaving only his feet. The odd story preoccupies her throughout her dreary school day. Returning home to find a note about her grandad’s hospitalisation, Lilian hurries to his flat to feed his cat, Nefertiti. Struggling with an eerie feeling and a stubborn lock, she discovers a parcel from the deceased professor addressed to her grandad, Ezra Wilkinson, deepening the mystery.

In Chapter 2 Lilian returns home, clutching the mysterious parcel from the deceased Professor Hanawati, her mind swirling with questions about his connection to her grandad. In her room, she opens the box to find an ancient-looking gold jar adorned with Egyptian hieroglyphics and a stopper shaped like Anubis. Resolving to visit her grandad in the hospital, she learns from her mum that he has a severe lung infection and a malaria flare-up. Forbidden from visiting him, Lilian secretly decides to go anyway, hiding the jar under her bed. Unable to sleep, her thoughts are haunted by the jar, her grandad’s sudden illness, and Howard Carter’s renewed search for Tutankhamun’s tomb.

In this chapter your KS2 pupils will learn that At Brompton Hospital, a young girl tries to visit her grandfather but is turned away by a strict nurse because it’s outside visiting hours. Desperate to see him, she contemplates sneaking in but ultimately leaves, frustrated by the hospital’s rules and her fear of being caught skipping school. Outside, she regrets her impulsive decision and worries about the consequences of her lie.

With time to spare before visiting hours, she heads to the British Museum, fascinated by the Egyptian exhibits. There, she meets Tulip and her brother Oz, fellow students at St Kilda’s, who share her interest in Egyptology. They bond over their disdain for their school and a shared curiosity about ancient artifacts. When Tulip accidentally takes her satchel with a mysterious jar inside, it sets up a new adventure for the girl as she now has a reason to seek out her new friends again.

In chapter 4 we learn that when Lily arrives at the hospital, she finds her grandfather, Grandad, gravely ill and weak, his condition visibly deteriorated since her last visit. As she sits by his bed, he reveals that the mysterious jar she received from Professor Hanawati is linked to a curse. He is clearly distressed, urging Lily to return the jar to Egypt to prevent the curse from causing further harm. Despite his frail state and the nurse’s insistence that Lily leave, Grandad’s urgent request and his deteriorating condition deeply unsettle her.

Outside the hospital, Lily is overwhelmed with sadness and anxiety about her grandfather’s plight. She resolves to retrieve the jar from Tulip, who accidentally took it, and return it to Egypt. Reflecting on a past memory of a public funeral for the Unknown Soldier, Lily draws a parallel between the grand yet impersonal ceremony and her current, very personal quest. As she walks home, she grapples with the urgency of her mission and the unsettling thought that the curse might indeed be real.

That evening, Lily lies to her father about her spelling test, distracted by thoughts of her Grandad and Professor Hanawati. Her father’s insistence on academic success contrasts with her mother’s supportive but sorrowful attitude. After dinner, Lily goes to her Grandad’s house to feed his cat, Nefertiti. She finds Professor Hanawati’s letter, stained with breadcrumbs, and reads it. The letter reveals Hanawati’s growing fear of a curse associated with an Egyptian canopic jar, detailing his unsettling experiences and regret for bringing the jar from Egypt.

The letter includes a translation of an ancient papyrus scroll describing the troubled dreams of King Tutankhamun, who is referred to as Kyky. The scroll indicates that Kyky’s dreams foretell ominous events and reflect his dissatisfaction with his royal role. The chapter juxtaposes this ancient account with Lily’s current distress, underscoring the eerie connection between the ancient curse and her Grandad’s illness.

Chapter 6 continues with Lil piecing together the mystery of the cursed jar and its connection to Tutankhamun and realizing that Howard Carter’s excavation may have reactivated the curse. With her Grandad’s health at risk, Lil teams up with Tulip and Oz to concoct a daring plan to return the jar to Egypt, even considering faking a telegram to get Tulip’s mother involved in their scheme.

Lil, Tulip, and Oz struggle with a delayed plan to return a cursed jar. They deduce it’s from the Luxor area and need Professor Hanawati’s translation, currently in his house, but guarded by police. Tulip’s attempt to trick the guard fails, so Lil sneaks in through the coal chute and retrieves the translation.

The translation reveals a story about an Egyptian festival where Kyky is nearly killed in a rigged chariot race orchestrated by his godfather Ay. Maya, Kyky’s friend, is sent to find Kyky’s tomb site, which raises concerns about Ay’s intentions.

In Secrets of a Sun King we have created 23 question sets.

Each set consists of:
– 4 retrieval questions
– 4 SPAG questions
– 4 Deeper questions (authorial technique, inference, sequencing, summarising, similes, metaphors etc.)

How does our website work?

1. You will assign each child in your class the questions of a particular chapter.
2. They will login and complete the questions online.
3. You will view the ‘Results’ section and see how each child did.

Results
Green means that the child got the question right first time.

Orange means that the child got it right but it took a few attempts – a number will be displayed inside to show how many attempts.

Red means that the child didn’t get the question correct – a number will be inside the red box to show how many failed attempts.

Interpreting the Results
Select a range of chapter question sets in the results section and choose a child. Next you will be able to see all completed activities and look for patterns, areas of strength and areas for improvement.

This question set links to Chapter 8 of the book.

Our reading comprehension resource for Secrets of a Sun King is ideal for Year 4 and Year 5, featuring questions for each chapter in the book to boost understanding and reading skills.

This comprehension is affiliated with Chapter 9.

Designed to be easily integrated with planning, our comprehension questions are perfect for whole class reading or guided reading when reading Secrets of a Sun King in KS2 classrooms.

This resource is linked to Chapter 10.

Each chapter question set includes retrieval questions, inference questions, and summarising questions, helping your Year 4 and Year 5 pupils dive deeper into the text.

This question set correlates with Chapter 11 of the book.

Use our question sets as either classwork or homework after reading a chapter with your KS2 class—comprehension activities are both printable or can be completed online to reduce time marking and pupils get instant feedback.

This resource links to Chapter 12.

All reading comprehension tasks align with key literacy curriculum objectives for Year 4 and Year 5, giving your class a well-balanced variety of skills and knowledge as you read through the book with them.

This question set is linked to Chapter 13.

With multiple choice and free response questions included for every chapter, this Secrets of a Sun King pack is useful for both assessment and discussion.

This comprehension is affiliated with Chapter 14 of the book.

Our literacy question sets includes grammar questions, punctuation questions, and spelling tasks based on the text, reinforcing essential English skills.

This resource is linked to Chapter 15.

Teachers can use our Secrets of a Sun King comprehension resources for guided reading or as part of whole class reading sessions focused on key reading objectives.

This question set is linked to Chapter 16.

With sequencing questions, students learn to follow plot events clearly, which supports their understanding of Emma Carroll’s historical narrative.

This comprehension is linked to Chapter 17.

This KS2 resource covers a wide range of reading skills, offering retrieval, inference, and summary questions for each chapter of Secrets of a Sun King.

This resource is affiliated with Chapter 18.

Every chapter includes questions designed for Year 4 and Year 5, helping pupils explore the characters, setting, and themes of Secrets of a Sun King.

This question set is linked to Chapter 19.

Whether you’re assigning it as classwork or independent homework, this comprehension pack is flexible and easy to use.

This comprehension is linked to Chapter 20 of the book, Secrets of a Sun King.

The resource is structured around questions for each chapter in the book, making it easy to track progress as students move through the story.

This resource is linked to Chapter 21.

After reading the chapter with your KS2 class, you can immediately complete our high-quality comprehension questions, ready-made for Year 4 and 5 and created by a current KS2 teacher.

This comprehension is affiliated with Chapter 22.

Pupils can practise grammar, punctuation, and spelling in context with our comprehension pack for Secrets of a Sun King, tied directly to each chapter.

The final question set is linked to Chapter 23.

This pack makes guided reading more focused with differentiated questions that support all learners in Year 4 and Year 5.

Generally, the first four questions are retrieval, the next four SPAG related, with the final four being deeper level questions.