Step back in time with explorers’ journals from Sands and Drake“Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris†By Emily SandsPublisher: Candlewick Press; November 2004ISBN: 0-763-62638-4; hardcover, 32 pages; $19.99Appropriate for children ages 8 and older“Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons†By Earnest DrakePublisher: Candlewick Press; November 2003ISBN: 0-763-62329-6; hardcover, 32 pages; $19.99Appropriate for children ages 8 and older
I’ve always loved reading travel journals, compilations of ship’s logs and adventure memoirs — learning of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated arctic expedition on the Endurance, Captain Cook’s ill-fated journeys in the South Pacific and Amelia Earhart’s ill-fated flight around the world.
These are merely some of the dramatic figures who risked life and limb for the sake of learning, sharing their knowledge and testing their strength, will and the world’s newest technologies against nature. Their journals and travel logs make for fascinating reading, give us insight into the spirit of an explorer and introduce us to a world less familiar.
Of course, many adventurers lived happily ever after and died well into their dotage. But who can resist a good mystery? Earhart remains as compelling a figure now as during her glory days in the 1930s, and nobody is really sure what prompted the Hawaiians to turn Cook into a nautical martyr … and such puzzles launch the imagination.
As a homage to the golden days of discovery, the fine folks at Candlewick Press have just released “Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris,†a new “discovery†in the vein of the company’s wildly popular, award-winning “Dragonology,†published last year.
In this lavishly-illustrated fictional adventure journal, children will learn of the vivacious Miss Emily Sands, who in 1926 — four years after the discovery of King Tut's tomb and during the height of Egyptomania — led an expedition up the Nile in search of the tomb of the god Osiris.
Alas, Miss Sands and her intrepid crew vanished into the desert, never to be seen again — but her keen observations live on in the form of a “newly recovered†descriptive journal of her travels and discoveries.
Sands’ scrapbook is chockfull of drawings, photographs, foldout maps, postcards, an ancient board game, a scrap of “mummy cloth,†an instructional booklet to deciphering hieroglyphs and an amulet. The book and its “artifacts†introduce children to the ways in which information was analyzed, classified and shared in the days before carbon dating, digital cameras and the Internet.
“Egyptology†is also rich in factual information about life in ancient Egypt and entertainingly peppered with Sands' lively, chatty narration. It concludes with a letter from the “former Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum,†explaining which parts of this unique tale may be accepted as fact, which are guided by legend and which reflect the author's sense of fancy.
As with “Dragonology†— which shared the fictional “long-lost,†and quite eccentric, research journals of renowned 19th century dragonologist, Dr. Ernest Drake — “Egyptology†nourishes the imagination and encourages wonder and discovery. The books are also excellent examples for parents wanting to introduce children to the process of journal writing or keeping a scrapbook or travel log.
Lani Stack is a former preschool teacher and an avid reader who keeps meaning to begin her own journals, scrapbooks and travel logs.
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WMMGA to Host Gardening Half Day in Lenox
LENOX, Mass. — The WMMGA will host a gardening half day on April 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School.
The event will feature eight workshops covering the following topics:
Ticks
Hydrangeas
Summer bulbs
Pollinator gardens
Good garden tools
Plant propagation
Heirloom tomatoes
Container gardening
The event will also include vendors, free refreshments, a sale table with puzzles, houseplants, and gently used garden books, and a garden-themed raffle.
Registration can be completed at wmmga.org. Class size is limited.
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Pittsfield High's Matt Dupuis and Lee's Devyn Fillio Sunday won the boys and girls individual high school bowling State Championships at Spare Time.
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While holding its annual elections for the Board of Directors, the committee elected Pittsfield Downtown Inc. Director Rebecca Brien President, officially replacing longtime Director Pete Marchetti. click for more
Capped by Sam St. Peter’s come-from-behind win in the final bout of the day to win the 285 crown, the Spartans placed second at the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Championships at Mount Greylock. click for more
