From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-Steele covers the standard topics of ancient Egyptian studies: the Rosetta stone, mummification, hieroglyphics, and archaeologists' digs. Unfortunately, his short, generic descriptions read like dry encyclopedia articles. Discussions of European Egyptologists are more unique; most other books at this level mention only Howard Carter's discovery of King Tut's tomb and Champollion's unravelling of the Rosetta Stone. But here, other names pop up, including the Italian "treasure hunter" Giovanni Belzoni and the French archaeologist Victor Loret. However, the author doesn't concentrate on these lesser-knowns, and thus the book covers no new ground. Instead, it's a simple, fairly dull overview of the subject. Full-color photos, reproductions, and maps are also basic. George Hart's Ancient Egypt (Harcourt, 1989) and Nicholas Reeves's Into the Mummy's Tomb (Scholastic, 1992) give more life to the ancient land of the Nile.
Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
