Magic Tree House #1: Dinosaurs Before Dark

About Magic Tree House series Magic Tree House is a book series for young children by Mary Pope Osborne. The series features two children, the bookworm Jack and his adventurous and imaginative younger sister Annie, who travel to historical places using a magic tree house. The magic tree house belongs to Morgan Le Fay who, in the series, is King Arthur’s sister and a librarian. She uses the magic tree house to gather books from time and space. Jack and Annie travel by opening a book, pointing at a picture of a place and then wishing that they could go there. The magic tree house then spins around and magically they arrive at the location. Book Description A tree house that travels through time? Not possible, says Jack. But he has to admit–when he and his younger sister, Annie, start running into dinosaurs–that they’re not in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, anymore. From School Library Journal Grade 1-3– This enjoyable time-travel fantasy is a successful beginning chapter book. Jack and his younger sister find a tree house filled with books. When he wishes he could really see the Pteranodon pictured in one of them, it appears at the window. The children have been transported back to the Cretaceous period. They begin to explore and are soon threatened by a Tyrannosaurus. The Pteranodon comes to their rescue, and they figure out enough about the magic that carried them back in time to be able to use it to return home. There is plenty of suspense and magic here, and enough dinosaur information to please science buffs. Characterization is sketchy and older children will find the plot predictable, but readers just past the easy-to-read stage will find it satisfying. It should attract those who devour Ruth Chew’s books.