Mummies Made in Egypt (Reading Rainbow Books)

After doing a unit on Ancient Egypt with my kids, and renting all the books from the library, this is the one book on mummies that I actually went back and purchased so it could stay on our shelf. So many books out there are full of all kinds of garbage and freaky illustrations like Tut's actual decaying corpse. I know they want kids to experience the realism of a civilization, but so much about ancient Egypt is very dark. I love how this book is illustration-only and the illustrations make the subject more clear and friendly.The book contains most of the Egyptian vocabulary your children need to learn too, like natron, ka, canopic jars, etc. There is a brief description of the gods/goddesses, so your child can learn the names and what they're responsible for without it being a huge distraction from the mummification process. There is a good explanation of why the Egyptians mummified people, and even the evolution of the mummification process (which I didn't see in any other book we used). There's a useful introduction to pyramids too.Best of all, though, is that the book is usable for multiple age levels. My preschooler and kindergartner had a lot of fun looking at the pictures especially because, as Aliki always does, there are all these small details and cartoon-type interactions to notice. My elementary boys also had a great time catching the little jokes in there, and more of the fine-print details. The text covers the basics but has short, handleable paragraphs on each subject so the reader isn't overwhelmed.If you already know a lot about Egypt, the book isn't boring. If this is your first time learning about Egypt, just the right amount is presented. For 6.99, it is great, great, great.

This book was fun for the kids in my 1-2 grade classes. They loved how detailed it was with the mummification process. Great illustrations as well.

This book is packed with info about Ancient Egypt. The kids and I are impressed! The book was never dry and had lots of nice pics that pertained to what the book was describing. It starts out by telling you about the main gods and goddess and on to explain what a ba and ka are. Then it gets into how the Egyptians first buried their dead and how and why they moved on to different types of burials.Towards the middle of the book there are pictures of how priests mummified bodies. I don't think it was really that graphic, because the organs being pulled out the incision did not have any defined shape, but this is my opinion. We homeschool and this book was a valuable asset in regards to the subject of Ancient Egypt.

I bought this book for my preschooler and kindergartner as a light introduction into what my oldest would begin learning at home in first grade. Both boys loved it and it kept them pretty entertained. I will say that there is a page that describes in detail (with pictures) how the process worked which required some gentle explanation. As well as the topic of belief in multiple gods. Great illustrations and very captivating book.

I love how this book describes the reasons and history behind the custom of mummification in Egypt, and not just the gory details. Oh, the gory details are there, and my son loved hearing about how they did it, but as we read, he also learned why they did it, and that is important in learning about one the world's first great civilization. Mummies are fascinating, but it is also very interesting to learn about the lives of the living ancient Egytians, and the religious beliefs that drove them to experiment and develop the process of mummification that created preserved remains that lasted thousands of years, and to build the collosal monuments to house them. The beautiful, colorful, and detailed illustrations also help make this a book we will read again and again.

The book on mummies gave enough detail without including the too gruesome real photos of mummies which we thought a bit much for 6 year-olds. The text was pretty thorough without being too deep for the age group. The illustrations in the book were excellent and it was very understandable for early elementary kids. The book was listed in good condition- the only condition issue was that someone had written their name in the front cover. Overall, we were very pleased.

This book contains a lot of information but it's presented in a way that makes learning accessible to everyone, from the very young school age chid to very old adult.

As a former elementary teacher, I love this book and other books by Aliki! The information is clearly written and along with the bright illustrations make it very understandable. I volunteer at a museum that has a mummy and I will be able to use some of the information on the tours I give. It will educate children and the person who reads it to the child.