Most of my reading now comes from four sources: books for school, books off my wishlist, books on my to be read pile, and books for school. There's some wiggle room though for books my kids want me to read to them and books I see at the library that are so tempting I have to take them home.

The Mummy's Mother by Tony Johnston falls into the "so tempting I have to take it home" category. The cover shows a young mummy riding on the back of a camel across the Sahara desert. I know vampires and werewolves are the hot thing right now but I've been squeeing over mummy books since high school.

The book opens with a mother and son, both long since mummified after both succumbed to illness. Mid conversation the mother mummy is taken by grave robbers! She calls to her son to rescue her. And so after thousands of years, the boy leaves the confines of his tomb to bring his mother home.

The adventure takes place in modern times, though the specific time isn't mentioned. The boy has the power of the gods to talk to animals and has learned over the years of listening to archeologists how to speak some rudimentary modern languages.

The book walks a fine line between heartbreaking and humorous. Here's a boy who died young but through magic has been with his mother for centuries. For the first time probably in his entire existence he's alone and he doesn't know where his mother is or if he'll be able to rescue her. On the other hand, he's still a young boy having the adventure of a(n) (after)lifetime. He approaches his new situations with humor and bravery. ( )