expressionless, and set so deep under heavy brows that from a distance they lookedlike dark empty holes.

Here, the author uses similes to describe the children's initial feelings of apprehension about the professor. He is a figure of mystery to them, and they hardly know what to make of him. Essentially, the professor's reclusive habits fascinate the children, and they engage in speculations about his true character.

They didn’t say a word, but with widening eyes and small taut smiles they sent a charge of excitement dancing between them like a crackle of electricity.

Here, the children discover what they later call "Egypt." This location is actually the storage yard behind the professor's store. When the children enter the yard, they see a broken birdbath, a statue of Diana the Huntress, a stack of wooden porch pillars, and a bust of Nefertiti. April, Melanie, and Marshall are thrilled at their discovery. The author tells us that a "charge of excitement" passes between April and Melanie, and it is like "a crackle of electricity." Throughout the novel, similes like the ones above reinforce the importance of fantasy play in the children's lives. For someone like April, it is one way to navigate feelings of abandonment and loneliness after her mother goes on tour.

Zilpha Keatley Snyder, the author of The Egypt Game, has some beautiful similes in her book. Similes are the comparison of two unlike things using the words "like" or "as." A few similes from the book are as follows:

• "It was almost as if the old man's deadly silence was a black hole that had to be filled up quickly with lots of words" (pg 21).
• "There she was, waiting for them in the shed, Nefertiti, the beautiful queen of ancient Egypt, like a magical omen" (pg. 38)
• "As they watched, a final twist of fragrant smoke curled upward like a dancing snake and seemed to wind itself around the head of Thoth" (pg 150).

Zipha Keatley Snyder's The Egypt Game does possess similes. A simile is a comparison between two typically dissimilar things (using either "like" or "as"). 

The first simile of the novel is found on page four. Here, the eyes of the Professor are compared to holes. When looking into the eyes of the Professor, people seem to feel as if they are looking into dark and empty holes ("like dark empty holes"). 

Page seven also contains a simile. Here, April and her friends are looking at a cracked bust of Nefertiti. As the girls look at the statue, "a charge of excitement" passes between them "like a crackle of electricity." The girls' excitement is compared to electricity.

In one last simile, April's purse is compared to a suitcase. Here, "as" creates the comparison between the purse and a suitcase.