This is a first book in a non-fiction series totally appropriate for October. It'll get a lot of interest on your home bookshelf or in a classroom shelf, and the chapters about each mummy -- there are many, from all over the world -- are just long enough to be informative and somewhat narrative, but short enough to hold a reluctant reader's attention.
I honestly never knew there were so many ways mummies can be made -- naturally and man-made. But after reading, I'm of the opinion there's a staggering number of ways a human body can be preserved after death. It's also illustrative of how the technology has changed by leaps and bounds over the decades and how what we can learn from mummies is constantly changing, as well.
There are 10 chapters, ranging from 18 pages to 30. Each features a fairly well-known mummy, such as Egypt's King Tut, of course, as well as Peru's Moche mummy, Otzi the Italian iceman and China's Lady Dai.
It's a fascinating look at a macabre subject and just scientific enough to keep readers engaged.
Ok, I'm gonna level with you here. Even though this book is kinda cheesy, it creeped me out. Not seriously, but ... I was happy to take it back to the library, LOL!
This is a non-fiction book, or so it claims (tongue in cheek, I think, maybe? Sometimes? I couldn't tell, not always, but certainly I wouldn't believe most of what's presented in it). And it's a book 2. Book 1 was very fact- and science-based, but of course, what science is there regarding ghosts? It's a grey area (pun intended).
There are 12 chapters which vary in length from 10 to 25 pages, but there are break-out boxes and info graphics with pictures and excerpts the stories, so it's not non-stop text.
The chapters cover ghost pets, ghosts in school, wraiths, ghost hitchikers, ghostly guardians, ghosts from wars / battlefields, ghosts on trains, ghost that haunt both red and white spaces (think Tower of London and the White House, that sort of thing), and others. There are ghosts from antiquity and 1990s car wrecks.
It's a quick read, high interest in middle grades, and I thought would contribute creepily to the upcoming holiday atmosphere.
Enjoy!
