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Works of Radical Imagination

Book cover for The Mummy Makers of Egypt
Book cover for The Mummy Makers of EgyptBook cover for The Mummy Makers of EgyptBook cover for The Mummy Makers of EgyptBook cover for The Mummy Makers of EgyptBook cover for The Mummy Makers of Egypt

A gorgeously illustrated story about a family of Egyptian embalmers that will enthrall kids with its mummy-making details and brilliantly painted pages.

From artist and Egypt specialist Tamara Bower comes her third, gorgeous book about Ancient Egypt. Using the classic style of Egyptian art, the book is painstakingly accurate in facts and illustrative style. Artifacts, funerary customs, kid-loving gory details of the mummification process, hieroglyphs, and details of life in ancient Egypt are told through the eyes of Ipy, whose father is embalmer to the King. Yuya, father of the Queen, has died and Ipy must help his father in the mummification process. Yuya is an actual mummy and the discovery of his tomb is an entertaining story in itself, with the archaeologist Theodore Davis fainting at the sight of so much gold, and the portly Gaston Maspero getting stuck while trying to climb into the tomb. Yuya's tomb was a spectacular discovery in the Valley of the Kings that was later overshadowed only by the discovery of King Tut, Yuya's great-grandson. 

The Mummy Makers of Egypt features sidebars of hieroglyphs and their meanings, a map, and an afterword telling more about the life of Yuya, of the burial process, and ancient Egypt in general. While there are a number of children's books on mummies, none are told from the point of view of the embalmers themselves, and none are illustrated with the meticulous eye of Tamara Bower.

Book cover for The Mummy Makers of Egypt
Book cover for The Mummy Makers of EgyptBook cover for The Mummy Makers of EgyptBook cover for The Mummy Makers of EgyptBook cover for The Mummy Makers of EgyptBook cover for The Mummy Makers of Egypt

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“A charming and well-researched book with vivid, engaging, exquisite original artwork by Tamara Bower that brings ancient Egypt to life. A delight for children, aficionados of ancient Egypt, and scholars. It is definitely on my Christmas present list!”

“Spectacular! The art is fabulous. The text is fascinating. This is going to be a classic.”

“Award-winning author and illustrator Bower reveals the process of Egyptian embalming in a colorful and informative manner. The narrative follows the death and embalming of Yuya, an official of the royal court whose tomb was discovered in 1905 near the Valley of the Kings. The text begins with the historical context of embalming in ancient Egypt, followed by a description of the soul’s journey to and judgment at the court of Osiris. The majority of the content thereafter concerns the process of embalming in greater detail and burial. Bower’s training in archaeological illustration is evident in the book’s stylized figures, all painted in classical Egyptian form. Solid earth tones guide readers through the narrative, and many illustrations are beautifully rendered. In this uniquely Egyptian style, Bower depicts the journey into the afterlife, the embalming priests, the colorful funerary processions, and hieroglyphics. The text is just as hearty as the artwork, the embalming process detailed in a respectful manner. Bower explains the process without dumbing down or sanitizing the material, describing the priests’ careful incisions and the removal of organs. The culture of embalming is also examined. For instance, readers learn that the priest who made the abdominal incision was a specialist. After this priest made the incision, he was, by tradition, cast out by the other attending priests (with a wink and a nod), because it was wrong to cut a human body. Bower appends a useful article discussing the discovery of Yuya and his wife Thuya’s tomb. Much like David L. Weitzman’s Pharaoh’s Boat, this offering succeeds in illuminating a specific element of ancient Egyptian life. VERDICT An artful and informational book on a high-interest topic.”

blog — September 24

35% Off Seven Titles from Triangle Square

For One Week Only: 35% Off Seven Titles from Triangle Square, our Imprint for Young Readers

At Seven Stories and at our children’s imprint, Triangle Square, we believe in talking *up* to young readers, not down to them. That’s why you’ll always find works on our children’s list that both challenge and inspire. Check out seven select titles below! All of them are 35% off through October 2, 5PM EST. Each comes bundled with a free e-book edition, and there’s free shipping for all books within the U.S. (Please Note: All these books are 35% off! They are for sale for the lower of the two prices displayed above the buy buttons.)

Zinn’s first book for young adults retells US history from the viewpoints of slaves, workers, immi- grants, women, and Native Americans, reminding younger readers that America’s true greatness is shaped by common people, outcasts, and dissidents, not military and corporate leadership.

“This is the edition of A People’s History that we have all been waiting for.”—Deborah Menkart, Executive Director, Teaching for Change

The gripping story of globalization as told through travel, trade, colonization, and migration from its beginnings in the fifteenth century to the present. Here is the story of how sometimes the greatest leaps also posed the greatest threats to human advancement. 1493 for Young People provides tools for wrestling with the most pressing issues of today, and will empower young people as they struggle with a changing world.
 

Jared Diamond’s first foray into illustrated young adult nonfiction is both an explosive indictment of human nature and a hopeful case for a better survival.

“This is exactly the kind of book that should be a ‘set text’ for a reinvigorated science curriculum: en- gaging, thought-provoking and bang up to the minute. If your teachers aren’t recommending books like this —go out and get them anyway.”––Guy Claxton, author of What’s the Point of School?

From artist and Egypt specialist Tamara Bower comes her third, gorgeous book about Ancient Egypt. Using the classic style of Egyptian art, the book is painstakingly accurate in facts and illustrative style. Artifacts, funerary customs, kid-pleasing gory details of the mummification process, hieroglyphs, and details of life in ancient Egypt are told through the eyes of Ipy, whose father is embalmer to the King.

“Spectacular! The art is fabulous. The text is fascinating. This is going to be a classic.” —Dr. Bob Brier, Egyptologist, author of Egyptian Mummies: Unraveling the Secrets of an Ancient Art

Two nine-year-old Jewish boys survive World War II by banding together in the forest. They are alone, visited only furtively, every few days by Mina, a mercurial girl who herself has found refuge from the war by living with a peasant family. Adam and Thomas must learn to survive and do, and barely make it through winter’s harshest weather, but when things seem to be at their worst, a miracle happens.

“Adam and Thomas is at once a finely wrought fable and a realistic tale of survival—a tale of resourcefulness, of friendship, of the kindness of strangers, of the mysterious ways of fate. . . . Most of all it’s a story of generosity, one that suggests that the act of giving may be as necessary to our survival as food or drink. Thank you, Mr. Appelfeld, for the gift of this magical book.”––Julie Orringer, author of The Invisible Bridge 

A comic book for kids that reimagines “sex talk” for the twenty-first century. Including children and families of all makeups, orientations, and gender identities, Sex Is a Funny Word is an essential resource about bodies, gender, and sexuality for children ages 8 to 10 as well as their parents and caregivers.

“You could send your kid to college and graduate school, and years of therapy, to learn how to lovingly come to terms with their gender and sexuality. Or you could simply read this book with them—it’s that thorough, and that good.”—Kate Bornstein, author of My New Gender Workbook

Trevor mixes humor and realism in an urgent look at what it is like to feel alienated from everything around you. And more importantly, what critical ties can appear at the most unlikely moment, to save you from despair, and give you reason to go on living. James Lecesne is co-founder of The Trevor Project, the only nationwide 24-hour crisis intervention and suicide prevention lifeline for LGBT and Questioning teens.

“Trevor is important because its protagonist does not represent a single character, but serves as a vessel for the joy, despair, and alienation that LGBTQ youth can encounter every day at school and at home.”—Porter Square Books Blog 

Tamara Bower

TAMARA BOWER has been fascinated by ancient Egypt since she was a child and dressed up to play as ancient Egyptians with her friends. She studied fine art in college and was trained in archaeological illustration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she worked as a staff illustrator in the Department of Egyptian Art. She has also served as the technical illustrator for archaeological digs in Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Belize, and California. Bower is the author of three children's books about ancient Egypt: How the Amazon Queen Fought the Prince of Egypt (winner of the ALA Amelia Bloomer Award for Nonfiction Picture Books, the Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award, and the Africana Book Award for Young Children), The Shipwrecked Sailor and, most recently, The Mummy Makers of Egypt. She lives in New York City.