The Best Book of Mummies

by Miranda Smith

A colorful collection of cadavers and caskets ranging in origin from the City of the Dead to the Valley of the Kings, brings to life the mysteries of the mummies and the ancient Egyptians.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Ancient History, Childrens, Nonfiction

33 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

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Miranda Smith - Suspense


Miranda Smith is a long-standing editor of information books for both children and adults. She has a particular interest in the field of natural history and has written books and articles for children on the subject, including the encyclopedic Living Earth (for Dorling Kindersley).

Reviews

[Hank Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Best Book of Mummies", written by Philip Steele and illustrated by Card, McBride, Palin, and Peppe, is an interesting book about the process and history of the Egyptian mummies. It begins with a brief history about the people of Egypt, from the lower classes all the way up to the Pharaoh. It then mentions many religious beliefs associated with the time, as well as the actual process of mummifying a corpse. Also, the book covers different ideas such as grave robbers and discovering mummies thousands of years later. The illustrations are great. The color scheme is phenomenal, with the sands of Egypt being clearly illustrated, as well as the emotions of every Egyptian. This is a great informational book, and I would recommend its use for the Second Grade.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: We've had books from "The Best Book of" series in the house for over a decade. It is a good series. And since we are studying Ancient Egypt right now I pulled this book from the shelf.

This is a short, picture book style book, with large text and a multitude of pictures set up in the usual Kingfisher format of a main narrative text followed by smaller boxes of text under certain illustrations and each illustration is captioned. This book is strictly illustrated except on the last page where two photographs have been used. Set up in two page spreads the book topically uses three such spreads to work in a succinct ordered manner describing the mummy process. First talking about the pharaohs and why they would want to be turned into mummies in the first place, the society and religion, followed by the mummification process, the funeral procession, where and how mummies were stored and with what and finally ending up with robbers, archaeologists and the modern scientific process. A very interesting, well-written and entertaining book for up to about age 11. When we finished reading my son said "Awww, more book?!" It was too short for him.

[Alex.ferg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a great book for kids because it is easy to read and has interesting pictures. It covers Egyptian culture, Pharaohs, and customs like building pyramids and the mummy process. This is a process that was used for deceased Pharaohs in order to preserve their bodies. This would be great to use in order to learn about ancient Egyptian culture, and incorporate in your geography an social studies unites. I think kids would enjoy learning about mummies because they are often a popular item around Halloween and it is educational for kids to know what mummies really are.

[Rose]

932 Ste

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything your elementary student wanted to know about mummies. Even the gross stuff.

[Fareeha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely written and nicely presented 'mummy' info for kids; it taught me some new stuff too. A good, quick, interesting read!