Mummies in the Morning

Mummies in the Morning draws on ancient Egyptian funerary practices and mythology, introducing young readers to beliefs about the afterlife. The civilization of ancient Egypt in northeastern Africa lasted from about 3100 BCE to about 332 BCE. Osborne’s story centers on Jack and Annie’s search for the Book of the Dead, which Queen Hutepi needs to reach the blissful afterlife known as the Next Life. Many versions of the Book of the Dead exist because the term refers to a collection of spells that offer “a practical guide to the next world” rather than a doctrinal text with a fixed form like a Bible (Taylor, John. “What Is a Book of the Dead?” The British Museum, 2010). The spells were written in hieroglyphics on papyrus scrolls like the one that appears in the story and were highly elaborate and expensive. Ancient Egyptians viewed the Underworld as “a world of great fear” where the deceased faced perils like serpents, crocodiles, and demons (Taylor). An ill-prepared soul who angered the gods of the Underworld could be punished with “the second death” that prevented them from having any afterlife at all (Taylor).

The objects buried with the deceased person were intended to aid them on their journey to the Next Life.