Tag Archives: Archaeology

Surfboard to Peril

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Miss Mallard, well-known “ducktective” has a big case to solve. She is vacationing in Hawaii and surfing with her instructors, Kai and Kawai when she hits a mysterious rock with her surfboard. It turns out that it is an ancient stone that proves the land is owned by both villages nearby. As the villagers are celebrating the stone and the answers it provides, it disappears! Miss Mallard is on the case. She dusts the area for featherprints and finds a suspicious keychain. She has three suspects, an archaeologist (Horace Shoveller), an old sailor (Joe Scaup) and a builder (Clyde Pochard) who is interested in developing the land. Through her quick wits and deductive reasoning, Miss Mallard captures the thief and restores the stone to its rightful place.

This story is a nice introduction to early chapter books, with a list of characters/descriptions in the front of the book and a glossary of potentially unfamiliar words in the back. Illustrations are black and white and the words are in larger font. Readers will enjoy this quick read and will enjoy the mystery that Miss Mallard solves for them.

At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui

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In the 1970s, workers digging to build an air raid shelter in China struck white clay and pockets of methane gas, leading to the discovery of the most well-preserved mummy discovered in the world. Three tombs were found, and inside one of them was a set of nesting coffins that contained the remains of a Chinese noblewoman, so well-preserved  that her skin was still moist, her joints were still pliable and her fingerprints were still clear. Each chapter begins with a fictional account of a moment in Lady Dai’s life, followed by more information about her burial, tomb or what was found inside. The illustrations and photographs are incredible. There are sidebars, a timeline and glossary and a list of sources. The book is visually stunning and absolutely fascinating.