A mummy can be two very different things on the same library shelf. In one book it is a carefully preserved person whose wrappings, tomb, and belongings help archaeologists understand an ancient life; in the next it has climbed out of a museum case and is shuffling after the night guard. Children tend to be delighted by both, which makes mummies an unusually good doorway into history: the monster gets them to the shelf, and the real questions about bodies, pyramids, pharaohs, and the afterlife keep them there.
Drawing from Bookroo’s collection of 58 mummy books, our editors chose thirteen that keep the history and the horror usefully distinct. Start with illustrated nonfiction and a gentle picture-book bedtime scare, move into approachable mysteries and ancient-Egypt adventures, or skip to the end for readers who came specifically for a curse; the age shelves below separate picture books from independent reading.
Photographs and brisk facts explain how mummies form, what scientists learn from them, and why not all of them came from Egypt.
A mummified cat wakes inside a pyramid and searches its painted chambers for the young queen he remembers.
Jack and Annie enter an Egyptian pyramid to help the ghost of a queen recover what she needs for the afterlife.
Little Baby Mummy sneaks out for one last game of hide-and-shriek, then discovers a noise that scares even him.
The facts behind Jack and Annie’s Egyptian trip: pyramids, hieroglyphs, burial rituals, and the long work of making a mummy.
The boy pharaoh’s short life, his lavish burial, and the 1922 discovery that made his mummy famous around the world.
Reports of a mummy haunting the museum send Geronimo Stilton hunting for a sensible explanation in full-color panels.
A museum mummy disappears on Mummy Monday, and three young detectives follow the clues toward a much larger theft.
A body found high in the Alps gives scientists a remarkably preserved look at a man who lived more than 5,000 years ago.
Mummies are vanishing across Edwardian London, and eleven-year-old Theodosia suspects an Egyptian secret society.
A broken mummy finger leaves three friends accused of vandalism and chasing a dangerous secret through tombs and pyramids.
Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922; deaths followed, newspapers cried curse, and the evidence tells a more interesting story.
Lost inside a pyramid, Gabe hears footsteps in the dark and begins to wonder whether the mummy’s curse is following him.
Friendly little mummies, richly painted tomb stories, and first looks at how ancient bodies were preserved, for ages 4–9.
A mummy swallows spooky things in a haunted adventure.
A mummy's spooky gifts lead to a Halloween countdown full of surprises.
A daring quest to the underworld hinges on solving a riddle.
A young girl creates a mummy and it goes missing, leading her and her friends on a search to find it.
Uncover ancient Egypt's secrets, from pharaohs to hieroglyphs.
Unwrap the secrets of ancient Egypt's mummies and their mystical world.
Can the littlest mummy join the Halloween dance despite her unscary demeanor?
Uncover secrets with the Mystery, Inc gang in a thrilling new case.
Museum cases, Egyptian tombs, archaeological discoveries, and curses ranging from comic to genuinely creepy, for readers ages 6–12.
A werewolf, vampire, and mummy battle spiders to find a relic and save their home.
A mouse journalist helps his friend solve a mystery at the Egyptian Mouseum.
A boy must collect relics to escape a sinister supernatural neighborhood.
A group of kids spend the night in a horror museum where a mummy and a ventriloquist dummy come to life
Locked in a museum, a boy uncovers prehistoric secrets and chaos.
Trapped by a storm, two cousins face an ancient spirit in a haunted mansion.
A murder, a cursed mummy, and a race for treasure in Egypt.
A museum's new mummy exhibit sparks mysterious mishaps. Is it cursed?
Uncover secrets in an eerie village and face villains in HorrorLand.
A museum sleepover turns eerie when ancient secrets awaken.
Stolen statuettes lead to a web of intrigue in Egypt.
A missing worm, a mummy suspect, and a Halloween mystery await Jigsaw Jones.
