Family Beat: Reading is Fundamental

By Lani StackPrint Story | Email Story
Step back in time with explorers’ journals from Sands and Drake “Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris” By Emily Sands Publisher: Candlewick Press; November 2004 ISBN: 0-763-62638-4; hardcover, 32 pages; $19.99 Appropriate for children ages 8 and older “Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons” By Earnest Drake Publisher: Candlewick Press; November 2003 ISBN: 0-763-62329-6; hardcover, 32 pages; $19.99 Appropriate 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.
Share
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
View Full Story

More Stories

Sports
image description

Lee Executes Game Plan to Perfection in Quarter-Final Win

Sports
Sports
image description

Lenox Volleyball Reaches State's Final Four

Sports
Sports
image description

Mount Greylock Boys Win 3rd Straight Regional Crown

Sports
Sports
image description

Mount Greylock Girls Again Top Monson in Western Mass Final

Sports
Sports
image description

Lenox Sweeps Its Way to Western Mass Crown

Sports
Community News
image description

North Adams License Commission Sees Little Need for License...

Community News
Latest Stories
Previous Next

What's Trending?