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. In the story, Queen Hutepi’s pyramid contains “a pile of tables, chairs, and musical instruments” (37), “a small wooden boat” (37), and riches like “gold plates, painted cups, [and] jeweled goblets” (38). Funerary boats like the one in the story were buried with members of the royal family so that the vessels could carry the deceased to the afterlife, and the other items placed in the tombs were meant to secure the comfort and happiness of the deceased. In addition, offerings of food and water were presented because ancient Egyptians believed that the dead needed to eat and drink in the afterlife.

Mummification was also believed to secure a happy afterlife for the deceased. By preserving their bodies, ancient Egyptians hoped to allow the dead to live on forever. The embalming was completed by priests, who offered prayers and rituals for the dead throughout the process. The brain was removed, and the stomach, intestines, liver, and lungs were placed in special canopic jars that were buried along with the mummy. After drying the remains with salt, the priests carefully wrapped the mummy in “hundreds of yards of linen” (“Egyptian Mummies.” Smithsonian Institution, 2025). Due to the expensive nature of this process, mummification was generally reserved for royalty and members of the nobility, like the queen in Osborne’s narrative.

Many members of the ancient Egyptian pantheon held powers and responsibilities connected to death and the afterlife. The god Anubis frequently appears in funerary art because he served as the deity of “mummification, the afterlife, and the dead” and “the protector of the dead” (“Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses.” The British Museum, 2025). He is often depicted as a jackal or as a man with the head of a jackal. In Osborne’s story, the “dog’s head” (21) on Hutepi’s scepter represents the ancient Egyptian god Anubis, and a statue of the deity in his full jackal form appears in the illustration of the treasures outside the queen’s burial chamber. One of Anubis’s responsibilities was guiding deceased Egyptians through the Underworld, and Hutepi’s goal of reaching the Next Life makes the story’s allusions to Anubis especially fitting.