Ill-fated and hastily buried he may have been, but his legacy remains one of archaeology’s greatest hits.
The story of the young king, his household, and the discovery of his tomb.
It’s a tale that’s been done to death (so to speak), but Cleveland-Peck inserts homely details and forensic evidence that wrap Tutankhamun’s brief life and sudden demise in layers of sympathy. For one thing, the cause of death remains unclear, as a bone chip in the royal skull is now known not to be the result, as once thought, of a blow to the head. For another, the tomb shows signs of being hastily finished and may have been prepared for someone else. Forging quickly on to the 20th century, the author trots in Howard Carter and details some of the “wonderful things” found in each successive chamber of the tomb, including, tragically, the mummified remains of two stillborn royal daughters. Greenberg’s ancient Egyptian–style cartoon portraits flesh out the account with large-eyed, dark brown figures. These give way in ensuing chapters to views of Carter and his equally light-skinned patrons supervising the tomb’s excavation. A chart labeled “The Hieroglyphic Alphabet” misleads, as hieroglyphics were only in part alphabetic, and there’s little on the Egyptian gods. Still, it’s a handsome presentation, and readers will be able to pull out a few new historical and cultural tidbits to go with the requisite treatment of ritual mummification and the legendary curse.
Ill-fated and hastily buried he may have been, but his legacy remains one of archaeology’s greatest hits. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-712-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
A good if limited starting guide.
Author Leavitt presents all the components of doing research into family history with easy-to-follow directions for a successful project.
The volume begins with clear definitions about genealogy and why it is important to study. It moves on to give practical tips on getting started and how to map a family tree. It introduces young readers to the important documents that can assist in gathering family facts and describes the information they provide. It gives solid directions for setting up interviews with family members and how to reach out to those who are far away. This is followed up with strategies for using online resources, including warnings on how to stay safe on social media. The work of tracing ancestors from their countries of origin can be daunting, but Leavitt gives some help in this area as well and explores the role geography can play in family stories. There is good advice for collecting oral histories, and the chapter on exploring “The Way They Were” will appeal to many, as will the concluding chapters on family reunions and keeping in touch. All of this is presented in an encouraging, upbeat tone. Sidebars, charts, illustrations, and photographs add to the accessibility. The major drawback is that it assumes a known biological lineage with heterosexual parentage; there is no mention of the unique issues adopted children and nontraditional families might have in trying to put some of the instructions into practice. A short section addresses the challenges that face African-American descendants of enslaved people.
A good if limited starting guide. (resources, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2320-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
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