THE MUMMY’S MOTHER

When grave robbers break into their shared tomb to carry away his mother’s sarcophagus, it’s young 4,010-year-old Ramose to the rescue in this decidedly offbeat tale. Despite having no physical guts or brains, Ramose follows his mother across the Egyptian desert to an ocean liner bound for New York, then across Manhattan to the museum where she’s been placed on exhibit. Luckily, he gets plenty of help, from a bad-tempered camel and a group of friendly students to a loyal pigeon named Vinny—and having caught a horror movie along the way (“Mummies do not curse anything! They just rest a lot!”), he knows just how to clear out the museum when it’s time to spring his parent. Johnston doesn’t expend much effort on internal logic, and she leaves well-wrapped mother and child stranded in Central Park, but Ramose’s physical limitations and stubborn determination make him a sympathetic character, and readers susceptible to the absurdity of it all will be heartily amused. (Fiction. 10-12)