Mummies, Tombs, and Treasure: Secrets of Ancient Egypt

by Lila Perl Yerkow, Erika Weihs (Illustrator)

Overview

A fascinating and thorough account of the Egyptian process of mummification and efforts to safeguard places of burial against thieves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780395547960
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/24/1990
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.25(d)
Lexile:	NC1090L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lila Perl Yerkow (1921-2013) received a B. A. from Brooklyn College and studied at both Columbia University and New York University. She began writing children's books when her children started elementary school. Yerkow wrote more than 60 books in her lifetime, including the Fat Glenda series, The Great Ancestor Hunt: The Fun of Finding Out Who You Are, and Behind Barbed Wire: The Story of Japanese Internment During World War II. In 1996, she co-authored Marion Blumenthal Lazan's memoir, Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story. 
 

Table of Contents

1	The First Egyptian Mummies	1
2	Why the Egyptians Made Mummies	13
3	How a Mummy Was Made	29
4	The Mummy's Tomb	47
5	The Mummy's Afterlife	63
6	The Mummy's Treasure and the Tomb Robbers	77
7	The Last of the Mummies	97
	Bibliography	113
	Index	115

Editorial Reviews

"An impressively researched and invitingly written volume." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review —

From the Publisher

This extensively researched account of Egyptian rituals concerning death and burial features maps, diagrams and numerous intriguing photographs. Ages 8-11. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 4-6 Although there are many books for children about ancient Egypt and mummies, only Pace's Wrapped for Eternity (McGraw, 1974; o.p.) is as thorough as Mummies, Tombs, and Treasure. Perl traces the history of the Egyptian cult of the dead from the first accidental mummifications to the elaborate and costly rituals practiced during the great reigns of Egypt. Readers learn how mummies were prepared and the rituals of mummification. Here too is information on what happened to the mummies after the fall of the Egyptian empire (many were ground into powder for use as a medieval medicine). Besides information about mummies, Perl gives a detailed account of ancient Egyptian history and religion, which makes this book an excellent resource for school reports on ancient Egypt. Although many of the black-and-white photos have been used before (see McHargue's Mummies Lippincott, 1972; o.p.), they do elucidate the text. And while much of this information can also be found in other sources, many of them do not wrap up the subject nearly so well as this well-written and comprehensive book. Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library

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