King Tut, boy king of Ancient Egypt. Who was he? Where was he buried? Why did it take so long to discover his tomb? What secrets did it hide and what did we learn from it? These questions and more, answered in The Secrets of Tutankhamun by Patricia Cleveland-Peck.
From the Cover
When a series of family deaths led to the nine-year-old Tutankhamun’s unlikely ascension to the throne of Egypt, the young Pharoah inherited a land in the midst of conflict and change. His rule was short and tumultuous, and at around age nineteen, Tut died. Three thousand years later, Howard Carter, a British archaeologist …. made a discovery that shocked the world. …. Featuring the story of Tut’s life, the archaeological advances made through the discovery of his tomb, and guides to hieroglyphics and the mummification process. …..
What you Get
The life of Tutankhamun is brought to us in this oversized paperback tome. A meaty book filled with his life and the life of the men searching for answers, and then discovering them!
Divided into three parts, this 64 page book talks about how Tut lived and died, the discovery by Howard Carter and how the mysteries were solved around the discoveries made at his burial site.
Now, what I received was the advanced readers’ copy, so most of the book I received was done in grayscale images. There were numerous images scattered throughout the entire book that really brought the well-written text to life.
A few pages were included so we could see what the final book will look like. All seven pages of colour were filled with shades of blacks, blues, yellows and whites.
Highly informative history spills out of the pages. There is so much to be learned as well as life lessons. For instance, the persistence of Howard Carter in his quest to find the tomb. Questions to be asked at the time of discovery that weren’t answered until much later. The excitement the discovery brought. The uniqueness of his tomb, and all the questions it raised, along with the discovery of two infant tombs. Just a treasure trove of information.
My Thoughts:
People have long been fascinated with Tutankhamun and this book delves deep into the mystery of who he was and how he lived. There is much speculation of course, based on archaeological finds. Overall though, it’s a great look into the lives of two men….one young, living with health problems and dying young. The other older, determined to solve a mystery, persisting even when it seemed he’d never do it.
I found it a well-written book that gave a great amount of information, I learned so much. Meaty picture books are just the best, you know?
I thoroughly enjoyed all the add-ons… learning the hieroglyphic alphabet, how they read the paintings in the tomb, the mummification process and more. It would be a great addition to studies on Ancient Egypt.
- The Secrets of Tutankhamun: Egypt’s Boy King and His incredible tomb
- Patricia Cleveland-Peck
- Isabel Greenberg (illustrator)
- Bloomsbury
- Trade paperback, 64 pages, upper elementary
- Egypt, History, Ancient Egypt
- Reviewed for Raincoast Books
Links to other books on Egypt to help round out your studies.
click image for amazon link
This sounds like an awesome book! I love studying Egypt. Have two bookshelves full of books on Egypt and my mom has her bookcase full of Egyptian history books that are hers and my grandpop’s.
that would rather interesting to browse through… those bookshelves. 🙂
This sounds like something my boys would really enjoy!
it’s a rather interesting book.