Cat Mummies

Children's Literature - Uma Krishnaswami

This is as much the story of ancient Egypt as the story of its cats. Trumble explores the fascinating place that the cat grew to hold in Egyptian mythology, ritual, and view of the world. In the process, the reader is introduced to ceremonial mummification, the concept of ka, the Persian conquest of the Nile valley, and more. A wealth of material is contained in appendices, including a chronology, author's note, a bibliography, a pronunciation guide, and a list of museums in the U.S. where animal mummies can be seen. An index is also provided.

Children's Literature - Debra Briatico

This fascinating book explains the important role cats played in Egyptian life and describes reasons why Egyptians mummified and buried thousands of these worshipped felines. The well-researched text, accompanied by detailed illustrations, takes a refreshing look at the mummification process and everyday life in an ancient civilization. The author also provides a discussion of human mummification, a chronology of ancient Egyptian history, a listing of American museums that exhibit cat mummies, a glossary, and a bibliography.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6Trumble explains and elaborates on a fact that most children's books just make mention of: Egyptians worshipped cats and mummified them using the same techniques they used to preserve their pharaohs. Extensive research is evident in the many original sources quoted and the lengthy bibliography. What emerges from this volume is a fascinating legend of how the Egyptians' devotion to the sacred animals became fanaticalpeople would rescue their felines from burning buildings and let their belongings go up in smokeand eventually led to their downfall. In 525 B.C., the Persians shrewdly released cats onto the battlefield; the Egyptians were so confused by trying to avoid killing the whiskered deities that they lost the war. Kubinyi's soft-focus watercolors work well to explain and break up the text. Footnotes, a chronology, a glossary, and a list of museums with cat mummies all reiterate the author's thoroughness in researching her topic.Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library

Kirkus Reviews

Why did the ancient Egyptians mummify cats by the hundred of thousands? Why were there cemeteries with tons of charred cat bones? Trumble addresses these and other questions matter-of-factly in her first book, incorporating information on Egyptian myths, animal cults, cat worship, mummification practices, ancient Egyptian history, and 19th-century archaeological discoveries. Unconditional statements about beliefs ("Anubis, the god of tombs, lived in a jackal's body because jackals often prowled around tombs"), events, and practices will appear, to children, as cold facts instead of conjecture and speculation. Trumble states with certainty that Egyptians worshipped and revered their cats. Only in an end note, nearly 40 pages later, does she note that X rays of some cat and kitten mummies indicate cats were deliberately strangled. A throwaway line about priests sacrificing cats will not help readers understand the contradiction (or even hint to them that history, drawn from sources that are limited, incomplete, or conflicting, is full of such contradictions). Kubinyi's highly detailed, softly colored drawings bring immediacy to ancient events and objects. With its compelling topic, the book will work best when complemented by other, more comprehensive, sources on Egypt.