Eli and the Real, Live, Dead Mummy

A story inspired by Dr. Peter Lewin at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, Eli and the Real, Live, Dead Mummy by Sam Fisher and Judy Hilgemann will inspire wonder in readers.

Eli LOVES reading and he especially loves reading about ancient Egypt and mummies. One day Eli has an accident and has to go to the hospital. While waiting for what feels like forever, he spots a real, live, dead mummy but his parents don’t believe him. What did he see exactly and why is he scouring the whole hospital to find out?

Sam Fisher was inspired by Dr. Peter Lewin a doctor at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, who, in 1994, brought in the sarcophagus of Djetmattasankh to take scans to see if scientists could discover her cause of death. What if a child had seen the mummy that day? I love how this story came out of the wonders from that event. It’s a story that will inspire readers to learn more about ancient Egypt.

For those of us who live in Toronto, we can head over to the ROM to see Djetmattasankh in person as she is on display in the ancient Egypt gallery along with information about her life and her cause of death.

The other wonderful thing that this book does is it takes and very common occurrence in a young child’s life and acknowledges how hard it is. We have all been to the hospital emergency room and had to wait hours upon hours to be seen. I love that this story helps readers feel seen in their boredom but will hopefully offer a little bit of creative inspiration to make those trips feel a little less never ending.

The illustrations by Judy Hilgemann are very realistic which is excellent for a story inspired by real events. Readers will be able to connect with the story immediately.