Museum Kittens 02 – The Pharaoh’s Curse

Holly Webb's The Pharaoh's Curse is the second Museum Kittens story, a spooky but cosy adventure for 6 year olds about four kittens and an ancient scroll that might just be cursed.

What happens

A precious scrap of papyrus has arrived in the museum's Egyptian Gallery. It's part of the Book of the Dead, and nobody has ever managed to read this bit. Grandpa Ivan has heard the staff saying that it could be a curse on anyone who steals it.

Then things start to go wrong. A guard slips over. The loos make eerie shrieking noises. And one evening, in the middle of hunting practice, the gallery ceiling comes crashing down (right where Peter was standing a second before).

Is the pharaoh's ghost furious? Peter and Boris are pretty sure he is. Tasha, who adores every treasure in the place, says curses are nonsense. Bianca was mostly hoping for diamonds.

Meanwhile a gang of rats has decided the papyrus must be something delicious. They can't work out why anyone would guard a nibbled old piece of paper either!

Boris very nearly steals the show. He's big, clumsy and completely obsessed with the builders' machines. A scaff tower is his idea of heaven. Getting close to a blowtorch ends exactly as badly as you'd expect, with a builder flat on his back and all four kittens in disgrace.

Then the kittens get their very first night shift on guard. Tasha dreams about a great river and wakes up to find her tail is soaking wet. Not a good sign!

It's also sneakily packed with real museum facts. Tasha knows exactly what went into the canopic jars (and Boris really wishes she didn't). Your reader might well come away knowing what papyrus is made from.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

As a kitten, Grandpa Ivan was tied up in a sack and thrown in a river by owners who didn't want him. It's only a few lines of remembering, but the rising water brings it back and he has a very wobbly moment. A super soft-hearted animal lover might need a cuddle there.

If your reader is happy with a bit of peril, it's lovely to see the fierce old cat in a new light. And if they're into animals AND mummies, this is a very happy mix.

What to read next

If you're starting here, it's worth going back to The Midnight Visitor first. That's where a soggy little black kitten is carried in on a stormy night and the cats have to decide what to make of him.