∎ PDF Dinosaurs Before Dark Magic Tree House No 1 Mary Pope Osborne Sal Murdocca Books

Dinosaurs Before Dark Magic Tree House No 1 Mary Pope Osborne Sal Murdocca Books

Download As PDF : Dinosaurs Before Dark Magic Tree House No 1 Mary Pope Osborne Sal Murdocca Books

Dinosaurs Before Dark Magic Tree House No 1 Mary Pope Osborne Sal Murdocca Books

These books are okay. They are easy for my first and second graders to read, who are just transitioning into chapter books. The characters are easy to keep track of, and there are both a boy and a girl, so it is gender neutral. I also like that the stories teach us something, and can be used with the corresponding nonfiction "fact tracker" series to learn about all sorts of interesting creatures and/or historical events.

That being said, I do have a few qualms. First of all, I strongly agree with the reviewers that criticized the author/editor for letting these books be published with so many grammatical errors! Children learn by example, and reading incomplete sentences, misspelled words, proper nouns that are not capitalized, and loosely structured paragraphs makes it hard to teach proper mechanics. These books could have been phenomenal if not for the poor grammar!.....I myself debated on whether or not to use these for a while, and then decided that that I could use the errors as a jumping off point to teach some basic rules of grammar. Each day I put a couple of selections out of the book on the board, and asked the kids to fix it. We worked on ways to improve the writing, but honestly, it was a lot of extra work! I would have rather had the grammar be correct in the beginning, and then I would have been able to use the book as an example of good sentence structure.

Also, I may be old fashioned (even though I'm young), but I do not like some of the ways that the characters respond to each other, such as by saying, "Oh, don't be stupid" and things like that. I know kids talk to each other this way, but I want to build an atmosphere of mutual respect, and some things just kind of hit me as bad examples, even if I am being a bit too picky.

Honestly, I would say that I my kiddos and I enjoyed the companion Fact Tracker books a lot more than the actual Magic Tree House ones. The grammar isn't perfect, but it is a lot better, and the paragraphs are more clearly defined, so I didn't feel the need to 'correct' it for them. Since the books are nonfiction, they also fit nicely into science and history lessons, and you don't need to read the Magic Tree House books first!

In addition, I would recommend the Boxcar Children series--although these may seem a little daunting for some beginning readers to read all on their own. The chapters are a little longer and there are more words on a page, but the adventures are just an interesting, the grammar is correct, and the characters are good role models. I only wish that there were 'fact tracker' books to go along with THAT set!

In conclusion, like many other reviewers have said, these are "great books, but poorly written." I have heard that the books farther on in the series are better, and I hope that this is true...but I don't know if we will continue on to find out.


Tags : Amazon.com: Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, No. 1) (9780679824114): Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca: Books,Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca,Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, No. 1),Random House Books for Young Readers,0679824111,Action & Adventure - General,Readers - Chapter Books,Annie,Dinosaurs,Dinosaurs;Fiction.,Fantasy fiction,Fiction,Jack,Juvenile works,Magic,Magic;Fiction.,Science fiction,Time travel,Time travel;Fiction.,Time-travel fiction,Tree houses,Animals - Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures,CHILDREN'S FICTION ACTION ADVENTURE,Chapter Books,Children's BooksAges 4-8 Fiction,Children: Grades 3-4,Fantasy & magical realism (Children's Teenage),JUVENILE,JUVENILE FICTION Action & Adventure General,JUVENILE FICTION Animals Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures,JUVENILE FICTION Readers Chapter Books,JUVENILE FICTION Science Fiction Time Travel,Jack,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile FictionAnimals - Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures,Juvenile FictionReaders - Beginner,Juvenile Grades 3-4 Ages 8-9,Juvenile works,Magic,Magic;Fiction.,Monograph Series, any,OSBORNE, MARY POPE,Readers - Beginner,Readers - Chapter Books,Science fiction,Time travel,Time travel;Fiction.,Time-travel fiction,Tree houses,United States,chapter books; dinosaurs; kindergarten reading books; first grade reading books; 1st grade reading books; 2nd grade reading books; 2nd grade book; 3rd grade reading books; early chapter books; 1st grade chapter books; 2nd grade chapter books; 3rd grade chapter books; chapter books for kids 6-8; childrens books by age 5-8; books for kids 5-7; kids books ages 4-8; dinosaur books for kids 3-8; dinosaur books; books for first graders; dinosaur books for kids 6-8; 2nd grade books; time travel; 3rd grade books,chapter books;kindergarten reading books;first grade reading books;1st grade reading books;2nd grade reading books;3rd grade reading books;2nd grade chapter books;chapter books for kids 6-8;childrens books by age 5-8;books for kids 5-7;dinosaur books for kids 3-8;dinosaur books;dinosaur books for kids 6-8;kids chapter books ages 6-8;books for 6 year old boys;books for 1st graders;tree house;chapter books for kids 5-7;tree house book;books for first graders;fantasy;magic;dinosaurs;2nd grade books,Animals - Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures,JUVENILE FICTION Action & Adventure General,JUVENILE FICTION Animals Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures,JUVENILE FICTION Readers Chapter Books,JUVENILE FICTION Science Fiction Time Travel,Juvenile FictionAnimals - Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures,Juvenile FictionReaders - Beginner,Readers - Beginner,Children's BooksAges 4-8 Fiction,Osborne, Mary Pope,Juvenile Fiction,Children: Grades 3-4,Fantasy & magical realism (Children's Teenage)

Dinosaurs Before Dark Magic Tree House No 1 Mary Pope Osborne Sal Murdocca Books Reviews

Our five-year old loves listening to these stories. We read them over the course of a couple of days (although he does not want to stop reading). Some parts are a little scary for our five-year old (the ninja book), but he is grasping many of the concepts and plots. I find the books a bit repetitive and hackneyed, but they are not for me. The series is about a brother and sister who live in Frog Creek, PA. They discover a treehouse in the woods near their house. The treehouse is filled with books. The treehouse takes them to the places in the books. Jack is older and more cautious. He likes to read the books. Annie is impetuous and always running ahead. Jack and Annie get to learn a little bit (and so do we) about the times and places they visit.
My son is in love with this book and is asking for more! I'm so excited to get him interested in his first chapter books and enjoy the quality time we spend together while reading. This is a great book for early readers and I find it useful in honing listening skills. My son just turned 5 and the writing and short chapters hold his attention. We could read the book in a sitting and he doesn't lose interest. Very excited to check out the others in the series.
My four-year-old was a very early reader, and this was the first set of "big girl books" that actually interested her. While she is a wonderful reader, she is still young, and many chapter books are conceptually too advanced to be of interest to younger children. She is completely engrossed by the Magic Treehouse series and squealed "More Mary Pope Osborne books!" when I gave her her last set.

Every once in a while there is a "scary bit" that we need to discuss briefly, but on the whole, it's a safe choice for the youngest of independent readers. Be careful, though - once they're hooked on the first set, they want ALL the books!
I really can't recommend this series enough. Buy this book for child. Now. Click the button.

We recently started reading chapter books for our nearly 5 year old son. We bought a few different ones to see what he'd like. We bought and read the first of My Father's Dragon and The Littles. He liked them OK. My wife and I didn't like My Father's Dragon so much because it seems quite dated. The Littles was OK but was rather violent for a kid his age. But the Magic Tree house series is in a word ... magical. My son can't wait for us to read several chapters at bed time and always asks for one more no matter how many we read. I think we are already on book 10 now. It will be sad when we finally finish the last one.

What's so great about these books is that they combine adventure with learning about so many different things ... history, other cultures, geography, animals, and so on. My wife and I also appreciate that the books are about a boy and a girl, not just a boy going on the adventures. The girl is brave and somewhat impulsive, and the boy is more hesitant and cerebral. Together, they make a great team. They also aren't simply exploring. For each book, they have some sort of mission, such as figuring out a riddle or finding a certain object, so there's some sort of puzzle element to the books that spurs thinking. Generally, the missions are part of a larger mission that spans several books as well. What more can you ask for as a parent? These books are fun and engaging for our son, teach him about lots of different things, and encourage him to think abstractly about what's happening in the story. Thank you Mary Pope Osborne!
These books are okay. They are easy for my first and second graders to read, who are just transitioning into chapter books. The characters are easy to keep track of, and there are both a boy and a girl, so it is gender neutral. I also like that the stories teach us something, and can be used with the corresponding nonfiction "fact tracker" series to learn about all sorts of interesting creatures and/or historical events.

That being said, I do have a few qualms. First of all, I strongly agree with the reviewers that criticized the author/editor for letting these books be published with so many grammatical errors! Children learn by example, and reading incomplete sentences, misspelled words, proper nouns that are not capitalized, and loosely structured paragraphs makes it hard to teach proper mechanics. These books could have been phenomenal if not for the poor grammar!.....I myself debated on whether or not to use these for a while, and then decided that that I could use the errors as a jumping off point to teach some basic rules of grammar. Each day I put a couple of selections out of the book on the board, and asked the kids to fix it. We worked on ways to improve the writing, but honestly, it was a lot of extra work! I would have rather had the grammar be correct in the beginning, and then I would have been able to use the book as an example of good sentence structure.

Also, I may be old fashioned (even though I'm young), but I do not like some of the ways that the characters respond to each other, such as by saying, "Oh, don't be stupid" and things like that. I know kids talk to each other this way, but I want to build an atmosphere of mutual respect, and some things just kind of hit me as bad examples, even if I am being a bit too picky.

Honestly, I would say that I my kiddos and I enjoyed the companion Fact Tracker books a lot more than the actual Magic Tree House ones. The grammar isn't perfect, but it is a lot better, and the paragraphs are more clearly defined, so I didn't feel the need to 'correct' it for them. Since the books are nonfiction, they also fit nicely into science and history lessons, and you don't need to read the Magic Tree House books first!

In addition, I would recommend the Boxcar Children series--although these may seem a little daunting for some beginning readers to read all on their own. The chapters are a little longer and there are more words on a page, but the adventures are just an interesting, the grammar is correct, and the characters are good role models. I only wish that there were 'fact tracker' books to go along with THAT set!

In conclusion, like many other reviewers have said, these are "great books, but poorly written." I have heard that the books farther on in the series are better, and I hope that this is true...but I don't know if we will continue on to find out.