I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert [Hardcover]

Eve Bunting (Author), David Christiana (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Clad in flowing linen robes, adorned with jewels, pampered by servants, Heb-Nefert led a life of leisure and joy with her royal husband on the banks of the Nile. Now she lies, a mummy, encased in glass in a museum, and recalls the days of long ago. “A mummy’s moving soliloquy on youth, love and the fleeting nature of life is the centerpiece of this hauntingly beautiful picture book.”--Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6. In this quiet, evocative voyage through time, an Egyptian mummy looks back on her life. In her own time, Heb-Nefert was the wife of the pharaoh's brother, with servants who dressed her and a loving husband with whom she explored the royal gardens and hunted birds on the Nile. She recalls visiting her humble childhood home where women baked bread outdoors and a snake was coiled in a basket to catch rats and mice. When she died, her body was anointed with oils and spices, and bandaged to begin the process of mummification. Her loyal cat was mummified, too, so it could follow her into the afterlife. Finally, she looks down on her shriveled body where it lies in a museum and observes the daily stream of visitors that pass by, rarely thinking that a similar fate awaits them. Bunting uses a poetic, lyrical voice to transport readers beyond the withered mummified remains they see and into Heb-Nefert's ancient world. The atmospheric watercolors pick up both the sunlight on Egyptian sands and the dark shadows of sealed tombs.?Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-6. In a picture book for older readers that is both lyrical and melancholy, a female mummy remembers the days when she danced for the pharaoh's brother and became his wife. She recalls the work of her handmaidens, who shaved her head and painted her with yellow dye. Atop her flaxen wig "a cone of scented fat / melted to liquid in the summer warmth / and smelled of flowers. I was so beautiful. / But these things pass." The young woman, who "rose above [herself] and watched" after her death, describes how her body was prepared and tells about her funeral. Eventually she is put into a glass coffin in a museum, where foolish people stare, not understanding that "three thousand years from now they will be dust and bones." Christiana's watercolor pictures superbly capture the contrast between the breathtaking beauty of the young woman and her surroundings and the frighteningly wizened mummy. A good deal of information about ancient Egypt is conveyed through the story, and Bunting and Christiana also do justice to the profoundly mysterious subject of mummies and the enigma of what awaits us after death. Susan Dove Lempke

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (March 7, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152004793
• ISBN-13: 978-0152004798
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,166,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Africa

More About the Author

Eve Bunting has written more than 200 books for children, many of which can be found in libraries around the world. Her other Clarion titles for very young readers include My Big Boy Bed, which was also illustrated by Maggie Smith, and Little Bear's Little Boat, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. She lives in Pasadena, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A new twist on an old mummy!, September 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert (Hardcover)

Shows the fascination we have with the ancient through magical watercolor illustrations. Interesting story line, reminding us that each one from the past has a history, a mom and a dad and things they loved.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking Back, January 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful and poignant remembrance of a woman who lived many years ago, looking back on her past as an egypitian queen as she lies on display in a museum. A really fantastic children's book with gorgeous illustrations.

5.0 out of 5 stars not for children, November 26, 1999

By 

Steve Donoghue - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert (Hardcover)

I can't easily picture a kid who would appreciate even a quarter of all the subtlety packed into this thin book, and I'm not sure I'd want to meet a kid who did. But Oh! For adults, what a haunting, utterly unforgettable treat! This is a book full of color and joy, and yet it's one of the single saddest books I've read in English - and the entire spectrum presented with no fanfare or folderol whatsoever. When you read it out loud - and I feel pretty sure you will - be sure to pause a little extra for the last page.