The Curse of King Tut's Mummy

by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, Jim Nelson (Illustrations)

When the pharoahs of Egypt died, they were mummified and buried in pyramids and tombs with all their riches. But as centuries passed, the tombs were looted and the pharoahs' gold stolen. Then Howard Carter found the greatest Egyptian treasure trove of all—the tomb of King Tut's mummy! But did the amazing treasure come with a deadly curse?

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Egypt, Childrens

112 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2005

About the author

Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld is the award-winning author of more than sixty books for children, including DINOSAUR TRACKS, "a great choice for even the most discriminating dinophiles" (School Library Journal); DID DINOSAURS HAVE FEATHERS?, a Children's Book of the Month Club selection, described as "fascinating" by Kirkus Reviews; and DINOSAURS BIG AND SMALL, a 2003 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award winner.

When she's not reading, researching, writing, or editing, Kathleen loves to spend her free time exploring, doing fieldwork, and preparing fossils for her local natural history museums.

Reviews

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book with my 6th graders as our non-fiction read-aloud during our unit on ancient Egypt. What I liked about the book is that it was accessible to my students, the vocabulary matched what we had studied, and it gave them a bit of background information on how we know so much about ancient Egypt (and the work that it takes to study the past). The language used is simple enough for my lower readers to read with minimal assistance. However, this book was mostly about Howard Carver and Lord Carnavorn, and not so much about King Tut or the alleged "curse." We were able to watch a PBS documentary that better explained the "curse," and also told more about King Tutankhamen's life.

This is a good read for kids to get started on their research and understanding of ancient Egypt, which will hopefully lead them to more detailed resources.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, so interesting, never knew about it. Surprising that someone from Highclere castle was involved.

[Apzmarshl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read introduction to King Tut and the Egyptian rage of the early 1900s.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a no nonsense book written for kids, but still very informative. It tells the story, not so much of the curse of King Tut's mummy, but of how diligent and hardworking Howard Carter and Lord Carnorvon were. They came back, year after year, rolling up their sleeves and put in the work that it took to make the discovery of a lifetime....the unopened burial site, the tomb of King Tutankhamen. All the others had given up, thrown in the towel and gone home. These two did not. Carter had a hunch, a feeling, a premonition that would not allow him to give up. He saw it through to the end.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great overview for kids who have an interest in Egyptology of the greatest find of them all. I really appreciate the way the author handled the curse. I find it strange that she chose to title the book as she did when she spends a decent amount of effort at the end of the book to make it clear that the curse is a thing of fable and invention of the press. It does a good job with the story and with giving us a sense of the characters of the two men behind this discovery.

[Herold Homeschool · Rating 5 out of 5]

We couldn’t put this down we read it in 2 hours. It was a fun historical read and if you read the digital version you can highlight and google information. There are a lot of rabbit trails to follow including Highclere Castle and the Egyptian collection they have.

[Courtney Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great informational book for kids. Tells it like a story about Carter.

[The_luckgoddes]

I need to read ASAP I lost the book my teachers is going to kill me and I need to take notes the eassy is almost due🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't even care that this was geared towards children - I loved it!

[Taren Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an easy and interesting version of the story.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic tale of the discovery of King Tut's tomb. Although it is a true story, it has all the intrigue, drama and suspense of a well-written fiction story. The life-long research about ancient Egyptian architecture, traditions and history along with the frustration of not finding anything for years are conveyed briefly, but with enough detail to tell the whole story. The amazement and satisfaction of finally discovering the tomb is mixed with the sorrow of the death of Lord Carnavon. Based on the title, I wasn't sure if the "curse" would have a prominent role in the story and I was glad that it was debunked as a symptom of media speculation and sensationalism (yes, the media was easily whipped into a blood-frenzy, even 100 years ago!)

Overall, it's an interesting story, that offers a bit of historical background about ancient Egypt and will entertain young readers.

[Jenn M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was required reading for my son's 3rd grade history class. He enjoyed it very much, although he did not put much stock in believing the legend of the mummy's curse. The book kept his attention without going into too much detail as to be overwhelming for him.

We used this book as a stepping stone into studying other related Egyptian topics, including other pyramids and other Egyptian scholars and archaeologists. I believe it was written at the perfect level for young middle grade readers.

[Children's Literature Project]

Howard Carter is an archaeologist that made the world's greatest find: the tomb of King Tut's mummy. Legend has it that the tomb is cursed. This is a sensationalized account of the find, made entertaining for young readers. The grade level for this is four, no oter information could be found. I would use this for an advanced third grade reader group.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved this! I read it aloud to the girls and it was written on the perfect level for them. They asked for more each day, which is how I know they like a book. Great addition to our Egypt unit and spurred more research into Tut and Howard Carter.

[Saeedeh]

Brought back some memories from our trip to Egypt.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book because I was interested in reading about the man who discovered King Tut's tomb. I dd not realized it was a young person's book. I found it interesting and liked it very much.

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. After reading it we even looked up youtube videos for even more information on King Tut. We will look into more stepping stones books just like this one.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect precursor to our trip to the NAT in San Diego for the King Tut exhibit. We were well versed in the whole story and it made it that much more exiting!

[Miss Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

gr 2-4 95pgs


1910s/1920s, Egypt. Follows Howard Carter as he searches for King Tut's tomb!


Based on a true story.

[Sagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like learning about when Howard Carter was a kid and he was a pet artist but he was still inspired to go to look for tombs. -- Sagan (5):D