The Curse of the Mummy: Uncovering Tutankhamun's Tomb written by Candace Fleming and reviewed by Rebecca Lowe

Summary: The author follows the history of Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter as they looked for, found, and excavated King Tut's tomb. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: Some professional reviews place the book from grades 3 and up but length and textual complexity (vocab such as pervaded, lustrous, sanctuaries, embalmers, and necropolis are given without definitions) make this a better fit for upper middle grade and high school. Between chapters are inserts on dark colored paper that detail the different rumors of curses related to the tomb. These help break up the story and bring in the sensationalist drama that readers are often looking for in regards to this topic. Black and white photographs also break up the text every page or so. Fleming puts heavy emphasis on how Carter differed from other Egyptologists of the time because, despite his lack of formal education, he was meticulous in his documentation. This could easily become a class discussion about showing your work. Fleming also discusses the tensions between Great Britain and Egypt as Egypt fought to gain independence and to keep their artifacts in Egypt. This could open up deeper discussion and research on the topic, as well as open up discussions about similar historical and on-going debates related to the ownership of historical artifacts. Finally, Fleming briefly touches on the ethics of the mummy's unwrapping--that it meant permanently destroying the mummy and whether it was ethical to treat human remains in this manner.