The book is divided into three parts; the life and death of Tutankhamun, the discovery of his grave by Howard Carter, and some final pages about continuing archeological research.
The book begins with an overview of the protagonists; the complicated family and ruling structure of Tutankhamun and the white archeologists who discovered his tomb. The first part gives a brief overview of the complex political structure of the time and then covers mummification as well as some Egyptian beliefs.
The largest part is the second section, which details the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Cleveland-Peck discusses the rivalry of various archeologists, the stormy relationship of Carter and his patron, the Earl of Carnarvon, and the world-changing discovery of the tomb. There are some brief notes that things like selling and keeping artifacts are no longer done, but there is little to no mention of the local Egyptians and their perspective on having their history dug up and sold.
The art is bright and stylized, mimicking the look of hieroglyphics. The Egyptians are shown with dark skin (I've seen some ridiculously white Egyptians, which is why I mention it).
Verdict: While this is certainly not a comprehensive discussion of ancient Egyptian history, or of the complex politics surrounding the extreme cultural appropriation and the Western craze with ancient Egypt, it's a light introduction for kids with plenty of illustrations and interesting writing. A good additional resource or starter book to get kids into Egyptian history.
ISBN: 9781681197128; Published August 2018 by Bloomsbury Children's Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
1 comment:
It sounds like the author is packing a lot of information into this book, but I can see children finding much of it interesting. And from what I see on the cover, the illustrations add a lot to the book.
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