Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris - Emily Sands; Dugald Steer Review & Synopsis

 Synopsis

Discover the wonders of ancient Egypt through a fascinating journal from a lost expedition - a treasure trove of fact and fantasy featuring a novelty element on every spread.

Who can resist the allure of ancient Egypt - and the thrill of uncovering mysteries that have lain hidden for thousands of years? Not the feisty Miss Emily Sands, who in 1926, four years after the discovery of King Tut's tomb, led an expedition up the Nile in search of the tomb of the god Osiris. Alas, Miss Sands and crew soon vanished into the desert, never to be seen again. But luckily, her keen observations live on in the form of a lovingly kept journal, full of drawings, photographs, booklets, foldout maps, postcards, and many other intriguing samples. Here are just a few of Egyptology'sspecial features:

- an extravagantly gilded cover, featuring a raised Horus hawk pendant with three encrusted gems

- a playable game of Senet - ancient Egyptian checkers - including board, pieces, original-style dice, and rules

- a souvenir booklet showing how to read simple hieroglyphs

- a scrap of textured "mummy cloth"

- a facsimile of the gilded mummy mask of King Tut

- a gilded eye-of-Horus amulet with a "jewel" at the end

Rich with information about life in ancient Egypt and peppered with Miss Sands's lively narration, Egyptology concludes with a letter from the former Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum, explaining which parts of this unique tale may be accepted as fact, which are guided by legend, and which reflect the author's delightful sense of fancy.

Review

Dugald Steer has written many books for children including the best-selling Dragonology and its companion, The Dragonology Handbook, as well as the forthcoming Wizardology. For ten years he was an editor at Templar Publishing in England, but he now devotes himself full-time to writing. Other books he has written include, The Night Tiger, Just One More Story, and Picture This . . . (with Alison Jay). For the moment, though, it seems more "ologies" are in the offing.

Nghiem Ta, Artistic Direction: Nghiem Ta works as a designer and paper-engineer at Templar where she has overseen the creation of the best-selling Dragonology and Egyptology, as well as the forthcoming Wizardology. Prior to working with Templar, she spent four years with pop-up maestro Ron van der Meer. Her current projects include more books with "ology" in the title.

Ian Andrew, Artist: Ian Andrew created the black and white pencil illustrations for Egyptology and The Egyptology Handbook. He is an accomplished animator having worked on the animated film, "Dolphins" which won several awards including Best Newcomer at the Zagreb Film Festival. He has illustrated many books for children including Jim's Lion by Russell Hoban and Tell Me One Thing, Dad by Tom Pow. 

Nick Harris, Artist: Nick Harris created the large color illustrations in Egyptology on his computer. In addition to forays into animated TV advertising, he spent a spell working in the background department on the feature film, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" He has illustrated many books for children including the Smarties book Prize-winning Firework Maker's Daughter by Phillip Pullman. 

Helen Ward, Artist: Helen Ward, who also worked on Dragonology, painted the many color recreations of Ancient Egyptian statues, wall paintings, and antiquities as well as the 1920s memorabilia that appear in Egyptology. Helen has also written a number of successful children's books including The Tin Forest and The Dragon Machine, both illustrated by Wayne Anderson.Gr. 3-6. Bound in gold and embellished with ruby-red "jewels," this follow-up to Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology (2003)--which, like Dragonology, credits a fictional character as its author, leaving those responsible for its written content unacknowledged--purports to be the scrapbook of an amateur archaeologist gone missing during the height of 1920s Egyptomania. As in Dragonology, pull-out documents, sundry flaps, and other novelty elements (including a "sample of mummy cloth" and a game of Egyptian checkers) will have children breathlessly anticipating each page turn. Even so, this seems to lack the cohesive artistic purpose that distinguished its predecessor. The images often appear overly slick, compromising the notion that they have been sketched on the fly by members of the expedition, and a fantastical frame story about the "lost tomb of Osiris" undermines the informational content, despite an awkward concluding attempt to separate fact from fiction. Dragonology's broad crossover success probably won't be reincarnated here, but the allure of the subject matter and the luxe packaging is likely to be considerable. Jennifer Mattson

Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved

Egyptology

Discover the wonders of ancient Egypt through a fascinating journal from a lost expedition — a treasure trove of fact and fantasy featuring a novelty element on every spread. Who can resist the allure of ancient Egypt — and the thrill of uncovering mysteries that have lain hidden for thousands of years? Not the feisty Miss Emily Sands, who in 1926, four years after the discovery of King Tut's tomb, led an expedition up the Nile in search of the tomb of the god Osiris. Alas, Miss Sands and crew soon vanished into the desert, never to be seen again. But luckily, her keen observations live on in the form of a lovingly kept journal, full of drawings, photographs, booklets, foldout maps, postcards, and many other intriguing samples. Here are just a few of Egyptology'sspecial features: — an extravagantly gilded cover, featuring a raised Horus hawk pendant with three encrusted gems — a playable game of Senet — ancient Egyptian checkers — including board, pieces, original-style dice, and rules — a souvenir booklet showing how to read simple hieroglyphs — a scrap of textured "mummy cloth" — a facsimile of the gilded mummy mask of King Tut — a gilded eye-of-Horus amulet with a "jewel" at the end Rich with information about life in ancient Egypt and peppered with Miss Sands's lively narration, Egyptology concludes with a letter from the former Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum, explaining which parts of this unique tale may be accepted as fact, which are guided by legend, and which reflect the author's delightful sense of fancy.

        Here are just a few of Egyptology'sspecial features: — an extravagantly gilded cover, featuring a raised Horus hawk pendant with three encrusted gems — a playable game of Senet — ancient Egyptian checkers — including board, pieces, ..."

Egyptology Code-Writing Kit

Although she and her crew disappeared while on an expedition up the Nile to find the tomb of the god Osiris in 1926, Sands' keen observations live on in the form of a lovingly kept journal, full of drawings, photographs, booklets, foldout maps, postcards, and many other intriguing samples. (Archaeology/Anthropology)

        Although she and her crew disappeared while on an expedition up the Nile to find the tomb of the god Osiris in 1926, Sands' keen observations live on in the form of a lovingly kept journal, full of drawings, photographs, booklets, foldout ..."

Curriculum Connections for Tree House Travelers for Grades K-4

If your students love the Magic Tree House books, you will love this book! Cross all curricular areas and engage students in meaningful and stimulating learning experiences. Guide students on thrilling trips through time to Magic Tree House locations where they will discover dinosaurs, knights and castles, Egyptian mummies and pyramids, and pirates and buried treasure. Collaborate with technology specialists, art teachers, and classroom teachers to create units that touch every student. Find cross-curricular lessons and in-depth studies of time and place, designed to promote deep learning in students while motivating them to read both fiction and nonfiction. Designed for elementary students, these literature-based units are easily adaptable to middle school students.

        study of the language, history, art, and culture of the ancient Egyptians is the focus of Egyptology (Grades 2-6). Egyptology : Search for the Tomb of Osiris edited by Emily Sands and Dugald A. Steer . Illus. Nick Harris and Helen Ward."

Craft Like the Ancient Egyptians

#ADSHERE#

With a flair for fashion and a love of cats, the ancient Egyptians weren�t so different from us � except for the mummies and sarcophagi! This engaging book teaches readers about ancient Egyptian culture as they craft their way through history. Readers will love the diverse variety of activities � drawing hieroglyphics in clay, designing their own jewelry, making animal mummies, and more! Easy-to-follow instructions and photographs make these fun projects accessible to a wide range of ages and abilities. Full of interesting facts, this book is a fascinating combination of hands-on art activities and history that readers will love.

        BOOKS Egyptology : Search for the Tomb of Osiris Emily Sands and Dugald Steer Candlewick, 2004 Everything Ancient Egypt Crispin Boyer National Geographic Children's Books, 2012 How I Became a Mummy Leena Pekkalainen The University in ..."

Book Crush

From picture books to chapter books, YA fiction and nonfiction, Nancy Pearl has developed more thematic lists of books to enjoy. The Book Lust audience is committed to reading, and here is a smart and entertaining tool for picking the best books for kids. Divided into three sections—Easy Books, Middle-Grade Readers, and Young Adult—Nancy Pearl makes wonderful reading connections by theme, setting, voice, and ideas. For horse lovers, she reminds us of the mainstays in the category (Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague, etc.) but then in a creative twist connects Mr. Revere and I to the list. In a list called Chapter One, she answers the proverbial question: which chapters books are the most compelling for kids who are now ready to move beyond picture books. And who says picture books aren’t deep? Recommended Folk Tales sort out many of life’s dilemmas and issues of good and bad; a selection of picture books on Death and Dying introduces this topic with sensitivity; and You’ve Got a Friend offers up books for early readers that show the complexities and the pleasures of relating to others. Parents, teachers, and librarians are often puzzled by the unending choices for reading material for young people. It starts when the kids are toddler and doesn’t end until high-school graduation. What’s good, what’s trash, what’s going to hold their interest? Nancy Pearl, America’s favorite librarian, points the way in Book Crush.

        And just for fun, try Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin by Dugald Steer , onein the luxe packaged series that also includes Egyptology : Search for the Tomb of Osiris , Being the Journal of Miss Emily Sands ; Pirateology: The ..."

Seven Wonders of Ancient Africa

         Sands , Emily and Dugald Steer . Egyptology : Search for the Tomb of Osiris Templar Publishing, 2005. This book will help you to learn more about the ancient Egyptians, the civilization who built the great pyramids at Giza and Dashur."