Where's Waldo-style picture book about a field trip time traveling to Ancient Egypt

Question

I read this book probably in the 1999-2001 range, as a library book. The text was in English; this was in the state of Ohio in the US. I don't recall the particular copy having notable wear or fading like it had been around for a long time.

The 'plot' involved a modern class of schoolkids having a field trip unintentionally land in Ancient Egypt. There were several kids in the class, along with the teacher. (There may have been an additional adult-ish figure along who was involved in/responsible for the time travel part, but I'm not sure of that.) The 'plot' was really just setup; the point of the book was funny art and searching the pictures for the specific things you were told to find.

The format and art was very similar to the Where's Waldo series--thin spine but larger-than-average pages with full spreads of dense, detailed cartoon-y art and tons of funny little bits if you took the time to look for them.

You could find all of the 'modern' characters in each spread I believe, and there was also always a silhouette of an Egyptian god or goddess hidden in each spread. I recall that in one spread, the hidden silhouette took the form of a puddle in the outline of that page's god.

The tone was a little educational--the author/artist did try to represent daily Egyptian life according to the archaeology of the day IIRC, and I think it gave little blurb descriptions for each god somewhere--but I remember it being more silly/fictional than DK-style nonfiction.

I called my childhood library for help finding the book and we ruled out the Usborne Puzzle Adventures series.

Answer 1

A Puzzling Day in the Land of the Pharaohs by Scoular Anderson looks like a match.

From the Publishers Weekly review:

In this flat-footed hybrid of the Magic School Bus series and the Waldo books, Mrs. Pudget and her students arrive at a museum to tour an exhibit on ancient Egypt. When the teacher pushes the wrong button on her audio tour cassette player, the group is transported back to the land of the Pharaohs, where Thoth, god of learning and magic, offers a tour of the Nile, the fields, a house, a temple, a pyramid, etc. At each location, readers are asked to find objects and people concealed (not very subtly) in a crowded spread; try mazes and similar activities; and otherwise piece together a ""puzzle"" that will enable the time travelers to return to the present.