This is a lower middle grade portal fantasy, perfect for readers who have aged out of The Magic Tree House chapter books but aren't quite yet ready for the high-stakes intensity, plot sophistication or sheer number of pages of the Sadie and Carter Kane Red Pyramid series.
Brother and sister John and Sarah are about to move away from Colorado across the US to the northeast. They go on one last hike with their parents and discover a "cave" where there wasn't one before. Sarah goes inside, John following reluctantly, through a sound-dampening corridor and finds a symbol (the Eye of Ra) carved into the stone. She traces it. There's a pop of light, and the kids exit in ancient Egypt, during pyramid architect Imhotep's time.
They quickly encounter a young boy, Zachariah, who is none other than Imhotep' son. Zach's parents take the siblings in, and with Zach, they learn all about how the pyramids were constructed.
But Imhotep is on a tight schedule, and someone steals the bust, or head, of a vital statue. John and Sarah suspect Zach for a bit, but it soon becomes clear someone else is using the portal to spirit away artifacts from inside the Pharoah's almost-finished tomb.
I won't spoil how it ends; it's a quick read and a lot of fun for summer reading!
