Markle, Sandra. (2005). Outside and inside mummies. New York: Walker
and Company. 40 pages. ISBN-13 978-0-8027-8966-2
Award: Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, 2005 (Selector’s Choice)
Genre: informational
Content area: science
Grade level: 4th-6th
Credibility of author: Amongst the many acknowledgements, the author thanked the following: Dr. Johan Reinhard, National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence, senior fellow at the Mountain Institute, West Virginia; Center for Biomedical Egyptology at the University of Manchester; Neil Staff, Diagnostic Radiographer; and the Munich Museum of Anthropology.
Summary: This book describes how archaeologists us technology such as digital X-ray machines, on mummified remains to reveal clues about their lives. From these clues, the archaeologists are able to determine things such as what the ancient humans ate, the cause of death, if they were infected by worms, and many other fascinating bits of information. The author even discussed how researchers plan to use DNA samples to locate living descendents.
Standards: Science as Inquiry II, History and Nature of Science VIII, Science and Technology VI (Archaeology, Anthropology, and Paleontology)
Illustrations: colored photographs throughout the book
Text: Half to full pages of text in approximately 16-point font.
Text structure: descriptive
Tone: informative
Voice: The author wants the reader to have an appreciation for unlocking mysteries learning about the past.
Language: The author uses appropriate grade-level vocabulary and sentence structure along with descriptive details.
Access features; glossary/subject index combination, author’s acknowledgements, photo credits
Use: I would use this book for independent reading and research with a unit on Egypt and/or mummies. There’s a section at the end on how to make your own mummy using an apple. I would definitely use this activity with my students.
Response: This book had fascinating photographs that I know my students would love. The cover alone would sway my students to check this book out in the library. I enjoyed reading it, and the photographs even enticed my husband into scanning it.
Related texts: See Through Mummies by John Malam
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4 comments:
How neat would it be to find out that you are related to a found mummy in Egypt. Talk about tracing back your heritage! Mummies have always intrigued me and this sounds like a fun book to read.
This would have been a great book to use with a unit on Ancient Egypt that I did with my 3rd graders in Florida. A book they always enjoyed was Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki. I've seen the "Fruity Pharoah" before. I believe Mrs. Wolf did that at our school a couple of years ago with the PEAK kids!
This sounds like a really neat book to read. Kids would definitely love this book. There is a show coming up on the Discovery Channel about mummies, and I am planning on watching it. Fascinating stuff...
It's amazing at how archeologist use the same resources in discovering humans as they do with other animals. I just finished reading Dinosaur Ghost by J. Lynett Gillette. They also have found food and other things in dinosuars. These books would work great together when discussing hypothesizing and theories.
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