Mummies

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Mummies

Mummies
Author: Sylvia Funston
Publisher: Owl Books
Product: Book (40 pages)
Ages: 8 to 12
Cost: $9.95 (CDN)

Did you know the Egyptians were not the only mummy-makers? Or that nature—as well as humans—can make mummies? You will, after you make your way through 7,000 years of mummy making with Mummies. You’ll visit the mummy-making Inca in Peru and the Chinchorro of Chile. You’ll meet the Iceman, the oldest naturally-preserved human body yet found.
Find out if mummies smell and if they are still being made today. It’s not all reading though: explore the process of rot with a banana, make your own mini mummy, and play the mummy trekking game—watch out for looters, snow squalls, and earthquakes!

Reviewer: Nicholas Steinberg
Age: 11

This book was very well designed: short but sweet. I thought this topic was quite interesting and appropriate for the design. I liked the colourful photos, drawings, games, and activities most. But the book tended to focus a little too much on naturally-preserved mummies.
     I learned a fair amount of things, such as when King Ramses II was dug up, his arms rose up, scaring the wits out of several archeologists, and a medieval cure for stomach sickness was a powder made of mummies. (That would give me a sick stomach!)
     This book was very fun to read, but a little on the short side. I would not change anything about this book, except its length, and possibly the proportions of the content.
     I liked the games and activities, such as making an apple mummy. Overall, I think it is an excellent and informative book for ages 8 to 13. It held my attention while introducing new facts without “bramble” used to fill the pages. I would give the book a good 9 out of 10. And if I had to describe this book in just one word, it would be “entertaining”.

(Originally published in the Fall 2000 issue of YES Mag.)