I have been completely remiss in talking about this series by Mary Pope Osborne–I guess because it’s just so popular I assume everyone knows about it.
My 7 year old was reading Eve of the Emperor Penguin out loud to me when I heard a part that I had to share with you all.
For those who don’t know, The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne follows the adventures of a brother-sister team called Jack and Annie as they travel through time around the world in their Magic Tree House. They are sent on Missions by Morgan Le Fay and Merlin of King Arthur fame and frequently have adventures in Camelot. They are officially classified as chapter books but the later ones are much longer.
In this book, Jack and Annie are searching for the fourth secret of happiness, which is summarized in the end. The third secret that spoke to me was this, “Every day he (speaking about Leonardo da Vinci–a previous book) felt happy when he learned something new.”
This is me. Definitely me. I’m like a kid in a candy store when I learn something new and every time I read one of these books I learn something. The time periods are all historically researched and sometimes with real people such as Leonardo da Vinci. You learn facts in the midst of history.
I guess this is why I love to read historical fiction too. I like stories with characters that take me back to a period I would have liked to have seen, lived in, and experienced.
I guess this is why Isaiah speaks to me so much: a real person in a historical time. And combined with God it creates an insatiable appetite within me to know more.
The website is amazing as well. You can create an account and go on more “Merlin Adventures”, where you are asked questions and facts from the books. My daughter loves this. I’m not a fan of computer games but this site I allow my children to use. I always help them with it but it’s fun, easy, and emphasizes facts from the books. Learning doesn’t get any better when these elements are combined.
My daughter can’t get enough of this series and as a parent I cannot recommend these highly enough. We always get the newest one from the library and we also devour the non-fiction Research Guides that accompany the series.
I wish I had these when I was a little kid (amongst many other things!). Good thing I still get to be one. This probably explains why I spend hours each day reading kids books with my kids.
Hugs to you and thanks for sharing this, what grade level is this?? have you read Gary soto?? any way I am haivng a tough time and just thanks for a little bit of sunshine!!!
Sorry to hear that, Christine. I will pray for you. My daughter is 7 and is in 1st grade. She’s a good reader so am unsure. The early books run around 65 pages. Her later books run about 100 pages. The early books are short chapters with only 2-4 pages each with pictures. I haven’t read Gary Soto? Is he a kids’ author? Hugs back!
My 8 year old son loves these books as well. They were the first chapter books he read by himself. We have tons of them. I had never heard of them until his first grade teacher started reading them aloud to the class. Great series!
At the risk of being publicly ridiculed, teased or laughed at, I will say that I am an adult in my early 30’s and love reading these books! They are fun, easy, make scenes of the past come alive and fill my insatiable appetite for learning about historic periods I would’ve liked to have lived in and experienced. I love historical fiction, Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Royal Diaries series, the Dear America series and such. I am an adult and am not supposed to enjoy children’s books, but I have simple tastes and am a kid at heart.
Who told you you couldn’t enjoy kids books? Some kids books (like the Chronicles of Narnia) are classics and are enjoyed by all.
I love this series as well. It’s so good for the kids and I learn stuff as well. I read mostly kids books right now in my life. Kids books are just as good as adults’. Enjoy!
Oh, noone spicifically *said* I couldn’t enjoy them. It’s just that I get funny looks and mutterings or an “isn’t that cute” vibe from adults when they ask what books I like to read. Or they say, “those are kids books” or “I read that when I was a kid” (with a hint, hint, you’re a grown-up now vibe). The adults I know like romance, action-adventure, or scholarly things. They see my books as too simplistic for them. I get along with kids much better than adults. But on a happier note, I just read “Blizzard of the Blue Moon” and loved it!