Perl, Lila. Mummies, Tombs and Treasure: Secrets of Ancient Egypt. 1987. Available in paperback. 120pp. Lexile 1090.
This exemplary nonfiction title gives a fine overview of mummies in Ancient Egypt with details on why and how mummies were created, including information about religion, mythology, and the pharaohs. Perl is especially good at drawing readers into the smooth narrative with questions and intriguing details, such as the use of human hair for artificial eyebrows on some mummies. She covers mummified animals and tomb robbers, among many fascinating topics. Diagrams and maps clarify points as do excellent black-and-white drawings. The photographs, while sometimes less than perfect, show mummies, artwork, and artifacts. Supplement the photographs with a more recent book with color photos such as Shelley Tanaka’s 2005 Mummies: The Newest, Coolest and Creepiest.
Reading Std #9 for grades 6-8: Compare/contrast texts on similar themes or topics. Although an excellent and still useful book, the Perl volume was published in 1987 and so lacks more recent information. Have students do research in areas such as use of technology to study mummies and other artifacts; discoveries of Egyptian mummies since 1987 such as the 2010 unearthing of 57 tombs; political issues about ownership and control of antiquities; and the like.
Deem, James M. Bodies from the Bog. 1998. Available in paperback. 48pp. Lexile 1100.
Most of us think of Egyptians when the topic of mummies arises, knowing they carefully mummified dead bodies. But nature has also preserved a number of bodies in Western European waterlogged areas called bogs. Outstanding photographs, some of which readers may find gruesome, offer many examples of the bog mummies. Most bodies are shown in the sites where they were found; others are in museums or labs. The six chapters discuss why the bodies last, the role of bogs in preserving them, how they are discovered, how they died, and how scientists go about studying them. One chapter focuses on cauldrons, jewelry, and other artifacts also found in the bogs. An excellent combination of great topic, effective writing, and arresting photographs.
Fiction tie-in For sophisticated readers, pair this with the excellent novel, Bog Child, by Siobhan Dowd about a teenage boy in 1981 Ireland whose uncle discovers a girl’s body in a peat bog, apparently killed by violence 2000 years earlier. The compelling narrative about the boy and the effects of the Irish “Troubles” on his life alternates at points with a story about the dead girl’s life. Readers also learn about the process of excavating such a body when an archaeologist is called in.
