National Network for Equitable Library Service

Convinced that unnamed babies are not truly alive, King Tuthmosis I's wife Ahmose immediately names her newborn daughter Hatshepsut. This tiny girl will one day rise above her name and become not just "the foremost of women" but ruler of all Egypt. Growing up in pharaoh's palace, the young princess prepares for her future by learning the essentials of Egyptian religious, political, and social life. After 12-year-old Hatshepsut's father dies, she-following the royal custom-becomes queen by marrying King Tuthmosis II, the son of one of her father's lesser wives. And when her husband dies 18 years later, Hatshepsut ultimately becomes her nation's divine pharaoh.