A Summer Reading Prelude

We've still got a little ways to go until Memorial Day, but I was already getting excited about my topic, so I picked up a few books with mummy themes to get "wrapped up in".   These aren't exactly the types of books I was planning on sampling for Summer Reading, so they fit in very nicely as part of the prelude.

First, we have The Mummy by Kenny Abdo.  This book was really simplified for younger readers, almost to the point where I didn't see there being a point, if you know what I mean.  I finished, sort of scratching my head.  If the topic is too scary for younger readers, perhaps it shouldn't be a book, instead of simplifying the book until all the scary bits are taken out.

We did much better, however with What is the Story of the Mummy? by Sheila Keenan.  This book was very similar in concept, but actually shared the story of the first Mummy movie, plus facts about mummies themselves, how they are created, and the different types of mummies.  Plus, it touched on some of the Mummy sequel films, and even included the later iterations, such as the series with Brendan Frasier and the newest one with Tom Cruise.

Finally, let's wrap up this list with something a little more light-hearted.  When I was a kid, I went through a major "joke books phase."  (Does that happen to everyone or was that just me?)  Anyway, I would constantly raid the shelves of anything related to jokes or riddles.  I couldn't get enough! 

What I'm getting at is that the last book on my list was actually one of those books!  Mummy Riddles (Katy Hall) looked super familiar when I saw it in the library catalogue, and low and behold, I definitely remembered it as I started to flip through the pages.  I totally read this book when I was a kid!  It was published in 1997, meaning it was probably pretty new when I first got my grubby little hands on it.  I'm sure you can imagine what a delightful surprise it was!

The jokes are just as corny as you would imagine they'd be, and while I wasn't rolling in the aisles, I definitely got a few chuckles out of this collection.  Of the three titles here, I think this was the one that I enjoyed the most, although whether it was because of nostalgia or genuinely good writing and illustration is hard to say.

I have a couple other mummy short stories I might poke at before the summer reading challenge officially starts, just to keep the hype going.  We'll see.  Either way, keep tuned in to this page, and I hope I'll have a little more for you in the coming weeks!  Happy Reading!