David Stewart (1) (1954–)

“You wouldn’t want to be an Egyptian Mummy!” is part of a very large collection of the “You wouldn’t want to be…” series. These children’s history books do not spare children the gory details of the past, capturing the most reluctant readers attention and even the attention of adults. This particular book takes the reader through the laborious embalming process, right down to preserving the eternal organs, asking the reader to imagine they are the mummy (or dead person). And the story does not end there, we have tomb robbers to consider and of course those curious Englishmen. If you happened to be unwrapped at an English party, “you may be re-wrapped and put into a museum,” or you could end up ground into ointment or paint! Did you know that Egyptian mummified cats were being used as fertilizer in Europe in the 19th century? This book is so filled with facts, yet not overwhelming, that make it an enjoyable repeated read.… (meer)

This book starts with plenty of information on becoming a mummy. Steps like the costs of becoming one and the materials you’ll need. First, if you are wealthy, you could afford a mask and sarcophagus as well as lots of riches in your tomb for the afterlife, and even mummified pets. The lower in the classes you got, the less riches and linen you received for your dead body. It also describes where your body would be cut open, who cut it open, and what happened to your body parts. The liver, lungs, and stomach would be removed and placed in separate jars. You can’t forget to put your body in salt though - that will keep it preserved in the afterlife. After being wrapped in linen if that’s what you could afford, your body would be placed in a sarcophagus where you would “live” the rest of your afterlife days.

With enjoyable graphics and easy to read format, this book was very fun to read. It was perfect for me because I love reading about mummies and I was very entertained. My favorite new thing I learned was that pets would be mummified too - even if they were still alive! Reading through this, I learned other new things as well, and that kept me interested in the book. The fancy fonts tie it all together, being eye catching but not too busy. It was humorous and also expentingly gross sometimes, but that also made me laugh. It was a great book full of many interesting details, and I enjoyed reading it.… (meer)