"Inside the Tomb of Tutankhamun" is more than a book--it is a record of an experience. Chelsea (the oldest of the Pretend Children) and I visited the King Tut exhibit in Dallas last weekend. I bought this book initially to donate to our school library, but after looking through it and discovering how much Chelsea learned, I think the best place for this book is in Chelsea's hands. It was one of about 20 books sold in the exhibit gift shop. You can judge the interior by the details on the cover. It is an excellent book!
As with any work of art, one must learn the history, the background, the culture, the resources of the country which produced and created the art. And art it is, the treasures of the unopened tomb of a minor boy pharaoh.
The book logically lays out all these things, beginning with the Nile River, the Pharaoh and his people, and the gods, particularly Amun.
Enter Howard Carter with a brief graphic depiction of his life and his importance contribution toward archeaology in Egypt, especially Tutankhamun's tomb. He was the one who discovered one of the biggest finds in all archaeological history.
The fascinating mummification process is described and pictured, the amulets are illustrated, how Tut would have met the gods. Then the array of treasures and the resulting Egyptomania that spread into the United States in the 1920's are highlighted. The illustrations are unparalleled and the photographs amazing. This is surely a perfect book.
If you are interested in ancient Egypt and want to learn of its riches, this book will take you on your own experience. As for Chelsea, all she has to do is open the book and re-visit Tut's Tomb.