MUMMIES UNWRAPPED — Review

Thought for the Day:

“When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest.” 
~ Stephen King ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

If you want to get geeky about grammar, Tiffany Yates Martin might be the go-to gal for that. HERE is one of her geekiest grammar posts on Writer Unboxed with some important information for all writers.

We get lots of advice on what to do as a writer, but it’s important to know what not to do as well. HERE is a post on A Writer’s Path by Charmedward with What Not To Do When Sending Off Your Manuscript. Good advice.

Without conflict there is no story. There are many kinds of conflict. HERE is a great post from C. S. Lakin on Your Character’s Crucial Inner Conflict.

I just finished watching the men’s final at Wimbledon. It’s just about my favorite sporting event to watch. There was some amazing tennis this year, a lot of favorites were knocked out early, and we saw some new stars finding their feet. My new favorite on the women’s side is Jasmine Paolini. She is tiny and feisty and exciting to watch. She didn’t win, but she made the women’s final match exciting until the very last point. So much fun. Carlos Alcaraz, who won the men’s final, is the most amazing player I’ve ever seen. Just when you think it’s impossible to get to a shot, he does it and makes it look easy. And he’s so young! We will get to watch him for a long time. I may be taking some weekends off the rest of this summer. I will be having foot surgery this week, and I don’t know how much energy I will have for a while. And it’s summer in Sacramento, and it is HOT! That also saps my energy. And I have my daughter visiting this week and my grandson will be visiting next week, so… I’ll be here when I can.

Last week I offered a gently-read copy of HOW TO LOOK AT A BIRD: OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE JOY OF WATCHING AND KNOWING BIRDS by Clare Walker Leslie to one of you. The winner this week is Danielle Hammelef who shared my link for extra chances. Thanks for doing that, Danielle. It worked! Congratulations. I will get your book out to you soon.

I was always fascinated with anything about ancient Egypt, and I think most young readers are likewise fascinated. When I saw MUMMIES UNWRAPPED by Victoria England listed on the books available for review for the Seattle Book Review, I wanted to know more. When I saw that it was a middle-grade picture book, I had to have it. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know MG picture books are a sweet spot for me. They are great for reluctant readers, but really for all MG readers. I love this book. Here is the review I wrote for SBR.

Mummies from Ancient Egypt have long fascinated people. Why were mummies created? What was the process for making a mummy? Why were there animal mummies too? So many questions. Now there is an easy way to get answers and learn all about mummies. This wonderful book is chock-full of fun facts about the rituals surrounding death in ancient Egypt.

Author Victoria England has an accessible, conversational style that will have young readers enthralled from the very first page all the way to the last. She does not pull any punches and lays out all the gory information with plenty of the ick factor that kids love. What happens to all the insides? How long does it take to make a mummy?

She answers all the questions one might have about the process and religious beliefs surrounding mummification. Every spread in the book answers a different question. The stylized illustrations by Tom Froese are the perfect accompaniment for the text, steeping readers in the time and place. He fills each spread with plenty of fun details to keep readers engaged. A good glossary at the end rounds things out.

Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.