Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Curse of King Tut's Tomb
Illustrator: Barbara Schulz
Nonfiction Graphic Novel Series
For ages 8 to 10
Capstone Press, 2005 ISBN: 978-0736838337
When Howard Carter found the tomb of Tutankhamen there was no way he could have known how much fuss and speculation his find would cause. Of course the find itself was remarkable. Though the tomb had been broken into long ago, the thieves were disturbed and very little, if anything, was taken away by them. Thus it was that Howard Carter, and his sponsor Lord Carnarvon, were able to explore a tomb that hadn't been opened for hundreds of years and that was filled with beautiful treasures of all kinds.
Unfortunately the find gave birth to a rash of rumors which said in essence, that the tomb was cursed and that all those who were involved in the project would have an untimely death. The sudden and unexpected death of Lord Carnarvon only fed the rumors. Did the ancient Egyptian priests put a curse on the tomb before they sealed it up?
This is an excellent account of the discovery and subsequent excitement that occurred in the 1920's when King Tutankhamen's tomb was found. Without sensationalizing the events, the author presents the story in a clear and interesting way. He also provides a lot of background material about the ancient Egyptians, their beliefs, rituals, and customs.
The comics style artwork in the book makes the story especially accessible to readers who are put off by pages of text.
This is one of the titles in the excellent "Graphic Library" published by Capstone Press. This series includes biographies and descriptions of events of historical interest.
