Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osbourne and illustrated by Sal Murdocca
Reviewed by: Peter Wingard
About the author:
Mary Pope Osbourne is an American author currently living in Connecticut. She grew up in a military family and by the age of 15 had lived in Oklahoma, Austria, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina. She has over 80 books to her credit including the best selling Magic Tree House series.
About the series:
The Magic Tree House series begins with “Dinosaurs Before Dark”. In this book we meet the two main characters, Jack and his little sister Annie. In the woods near their house in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, Annie discovers the longest rope ladder the two have ever seen. The rope leads them to a tree house at the very top of the tree. Via this tree house Jack and Annie experience many adventures.
The Magic Tree House is an award winning series and has been translated into over 20 languages and sold over 53 million copies.
My take on the series:
Grab a book, curl up in your favorite reading spot and let you imagination run wild. Time virtually stops. This is essentially what happens to Jack and Annie in the tree house when they grab a book about dinosaurs and Jack whispers, “I wish I could see a Pterodactyl for real.” The next thing they know they are transported back in time to prehistoric times and come face to face with a Pterodactyl. Through books and the Magic Tree House Jack and Annie experience adventures throughout time.
Each book is a new adventure for Jack and Annie. Where will they go next, on a pirate ship in Pirates Past Noon (#4)? Or Down the Amazon in Afternoon on the Amazon (#6)? What will they experience next, a tornado in Twister on Tuesday (#23)? Or the Olympics in Hour of the Olympics (#16)?
This series is great for early readers and with such a vast number of titles there is sure to be an adventure or two every reader will find interesting.
We found this series of books at our local bookstore while looking for short chapter books for our first grader as he was devouring every non-chapter book we put in front of him. He has already read several of the books and is always looking for others at the library. After reading several books from the series I feel confident recommending them, especially for readers making the transition to chapter books.
We like this series in our house too. We started reading them to my son when he was in kindergarten, now he rereads them from time to time. They are easy for him now, but they make references to interesting events that send us on a quest for additional information about pirates or Rome or pyramids. So, thumbs up from us too.
Trina´s last blog ..Splat the Cat
I never heard of these before until Peter brought up the idea of reviewing the series. They look like a lot fun and I will definitely be introducing these with Tessa in a few years. Thanks Trina for the comment!