I personally have always been intrigued by bog bodies. I think this is a fascinating topic and this book presents it easily for young readers. I love how the chapters are short and contain just enough information to be educational without being daunting. There are also questions at the end of the book to test your knowledge and retention. The book also contains a glossary. Great book for the classroom or even the bookshelf at home.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Bog Bodies is an interesting anthropology title and part of a series for primary school readers, Digging Up the Past. This volume is by Trudy Becker. Due out 1st Aug 2025 from North Star Editions on their Apex imprint, it's 32 pages and will be available in library binding and paperback formats.

This is a well written set of illustrated books aimed at early readers (~7-9 years). Simple text and full page photographs show some of the background locations where bog bodies have been discovered, how the environments where they were buried caused them to mummify, and how scientists can study them to learn a great deal about the lives of the people who lived unimaginably long ago (thousands of years).

This would be a superlative choice for public or school library acquisition. The author/publisher have included a simple glossary, a few discussion questions, and some links to more information and further learning. It would also make a good addition to the home library, especially for science interested youngsters.

The pictures do show some of the mummies (see cover illustration), but they're not scary, are figleafed, and the pictures are not disrespectful or overly shocking or outré. The information is given in very simple text in highlighted text boxes inserted into the photos.

Four stars. Well written, clearly illustrated, and age appropriate.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A very young-pitched look at bog bodies, one of eight quick reads in this series regarding things we dig up and/or look at to understand the past. I well remember one of the corpses from the bogs of Nordic Europe being the first topic we covered in secondary school history, to show that the subject wasn't about dates or famous people, or WW2 memories, but about investigation. This is certainly pitched years before secondary school, and would be fine but for the publisher's preference for giving most of the data and details in the captions, factoids and elsewhere. Also, while this is highly pictorial these things are never visually appealing – leaving this definitely not for the majority audience. But it is a welcome enough title about a rare subject, so three and a half well-preserved stars.

The whole idea of bog bodies is just so wild-- imagine being someone who finds one of these old, well-preserved dead bodies. I've read mystery books where they talk about bog bodies, and this is a fantastic kids' book explaining the science with fascinating photos. I love these science books that adults can enjoy just as much as children.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC

This is an awesome book, and super interesting! It's not every day that you see a book for young readers that's about dead bodies that are preserved and discovered in bogs. I think that this book is truly written for all the "weirdos" out there (me!!) who are looking for something different, something that not many others are fascinated by. This is the main thing that I want to applaud in this book.

However, the praise doesn't stop there. The images were absolutely perfect for the writing. I really liked how this book was designed to put names to visuals. It helps eliminate a lot of confusion and makes for a more immersive story. Additionally, the creators of this book weren't afraid to put the real photos in without holding back. Sure, they might make certain people squirm, but they mean a lot to those who are captivated by the topic.

Lastly, the short and simple sentences worked perfectly for the target audience, and the information was very easy to absorb and understand. Bravo!!

“Bog Bodies” is one in the series Digging Up the Past from Apex. It is a high interest, low reading level book for kids in grades 3-7.

I was fascinated by bog bodies as a kid and just happened to be thinking about them a few days ago as I drove by a marshy area near a river. “Bog Bodies” is an entertaining introduction to the topic. Very clear pictures and stories of some of the more famous bog bodies draw the reader in. The text is easy to understand and well-designed for developing readers.

The book has a quiz at the end, a glossary, and an index. There is also a resources list if kids want to learn more about topics like bog bodies. The book, particularly the images, could easily help students generate more questions on the topic for further research.

This book is great for kids who enjoy learning about ancient history or “weird” history.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and North Star, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.