Gr. 2-3. Better readers will enjoy this offering in the Step into Reading series. Beginning with the death of Tutankhamen, the boy king, the book moves forward to the twentieth-century and English archaeologist Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb. Information about ancient Egyptian life is interspersed in a clear and smooth fashion throughout the book. The illustrations-- watercolors and photographs-- of the antiquities look a little awkward together but will be of interest. A good way to get readers into nonfiction. IC.

K-Gr 3 Donnelly gives simple details about how King Tutankhamen was buried and the ancient Egyptians beliefs about death. The story then skips ahead to the 1800s, when Howard Carter's frustrating five-year search for Egyptian treasure finally resulted in his discovery of the young pharoah's tomb. Although there's little new information here, these true tales of mummies and ancient treasure in an easy-reader format should prove popular. Ventura and Ceserani's In Search of Tutankhamum (Silver Burdett, 1985) provides a more detailed account of Carter's struggles, and its illustrations are superior to the standard textbook drawings found here. But its nice to see photos of the Egyptian finds included in this book, which will help readers share the excitement that Carter must have felt when his dream of finding an ancient tomb finally came true. Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.