Valley of the Golden Mummies

April 1, 2017
Grades 3-5 This volume in the Egypt's Ancient Secrets series follows renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawaas on an exciting 1996 dig near the Bahariya Oasis in Egypt's Western Desert. After hearing about a donkey that stumbled in a hole containing a golden burial mask, Hawaas rushed to the scene and discovered an ancient cemetery that could contain as many as 10,000 mummies! Readers will get a basic overview of the excavation process, as well as an understanding of how a person's class affected their burialfor instance, only the wealthy could afford gold masks. The text also follows one mummy to the lab for examination and investigates a potential mummy's curse. Liberally illustrated with labeled photos of artifacts and the dig, this look at one of Egypt's less-discussed discoveries will pique the interest of any Egyptophile.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

April 1, 2017
Gr 4-6-The -secrets- of ancient Egypt are revealed through visits to archaeological excavations and analysis of what they reveal about Egyptian civilization. Spreads have several paragraphs of text, with sufficient background and detail, but use the dated BC and AD format. Illustrations are an eye-catching mix of well-captioned drawings of processes like mummification and pyramid construction alongside contemporary photos of artifacts and locations. The market has a surfeit of sets on ancient Egypt, but this one offers valuable perspective on how ongoing archaeology and scholarship continue to expand current knowledge. VERDICT Ghost Ship, Tomb Robbers, and Golden Mummies will be new for most readers and are primary purchases. Great Pyramid, King Tut, and Sphinx are good additional purchases.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017
This series about ancient Egyptian culture focuses on things related to death: tombs, mummies, and monuments. While that may sound morbid, color photographs and illustrations in bright, eye-catching layouts offer an enticing entry point into this part of the culture. However, the repetitive nature of the topic and reuse of some graphics and information across the series are drawbacks. Reading list. Bib., glos., ind.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)