Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne
# of Pages: 80
Publication: July 28th, 1992
Source: Library Copy
Genre: Children's Adventure
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Jack and Annie's very first fantasy adventure in the bestselling middle-grade series—the Magic Tree House!
Where did the tree house come from?
Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark . . . or will they become a dinosaur's dinner?
One thing about working in a library is that you begin to learn about all the popular series that children enjoy. The Magic Tree House is one that we have a hard time keeping on our shelves especially during the summer. Until my current read, I never knew why I recommended the books except that I knew that most children who I worked with enjoyed them. However, now I can see the appeal of the books. This isn’t a series where I plan to read every book; however, I do think that reading at least the first 5 will give me a better grasp of understanding the appeal of these books.
The Magic Tree House focuses on two children by the names of Jack and Annie. While playing in the afternoon, Annie came across a tree house in the woods. The tree house is full of books both old and new. When Jack opens a book about dinosaurs and says that he wishes he could see them or travel to a world where they exist, the tree house transports them to 6 million years ago where dinosaurs did exist. I, myself, am a dinosaur freak and grew up loving everything related to dinosaurs including Jurassic park. I was surprised with the types of dinosaurs that were chosen in the book because the names were quite hard to pronounce. I looked on the back of the book and noticed that this book is marketed for Children ages 6-9 and I can see how these names would challenge the reader. However, I do like that the book does include descriptions and information about each dinosaur.
As children, Jack and Annie have their character flaws or I should say they have quirks that may annoy adult readers; however, these characters definitely would be appealing to children. Annie is quite naive and has no sense of danger. She frequently puts herself in danger and does not listen to Jack which makes it easy to forget that she’s only seven. But she also reminds the reader how to relax, have fun, and enjoy adventure. Jack can come off as a know it all and uptight because he doesn’t want to explore and have fun, yet he’s curious in a way that makes the reader also want to know more information about the world that they are in. They both are exploring this new world as children and I love that they have such a good relationship as siblings.
Overall, I thought that this was a good first installment to a popular children’s series. I understand why children enjoy these books so much because each one is filled with a different adventure and the accompanying art work is absolutely beautiful (see pictures below). They easily engage the reader and they don’t take that long to finish.
The Magic Tree House focuses on two children by the names of Jack and Annie. While playing in the afternoon, Annie came across a tree house in the woods. The tree house is full of books both old and new. When Jack opens a book about dinosaurs and says that he wishes he could see them or travel to a world where they exist, the tree house transports them to 6 million years ago where dinosaurs did exist. I, myself, am a dinosaur freak and grew up loving everything related to dinosaurs including Jurassic park. I was surprised with the types of dinosaurs that were chosen in the book because the names were quite hard to pronounce. I looked on the back of the book and noticed that this book is marketed for Children ages 6-9 and I can see how these names would challenge the reader. However, I do like that the book does include descriptions and information about each dinosaur.
As children, Jack and Annie have their character flaws or I should say they have quirks that may annoy adult readers; however, these characters definitely would be appealing to children. Annie is quite naive and has no sense of danger. She frequently puts herself in danger and does not listen to Jack which makes it easy to forget that she’s only seven. But she also reminds the reader how to relax, have fun, and enjoy adventure. Jack can come off as a know it all and uptight because he doesn’t want to explore and have fun, yet he’s curious in a way that makes the reader also want to know more information about the world that they are in. They both are exploring this new world as children and I love that they have such a good relationship as siblings.
Overall, I thought that this was a good first installment to a popular children’s series. I understand why children enjoy these books so much because each one is filled with a different adventure and the accompanying art work is absolutely beautiful (see pictures below). They easily engage the reader and they don’t take that long to finish.
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