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JSchaaf
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| Posted: May 11 2005 at 3:20pm | IP Logged
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We have found the Magic Tree House books. My SIL is reading them aloud to her 6 yr old so I ordered books 1-8 on CD from SimplyAudiobooks.com I listened to Books 1 and 2 with dd's (5.5, 4.5, and 2.5) and thought that while they weren't great literature, they weren't harmful. Any other thoughts on this series? The older two love them-they asked to have quiet room time extended today so they could finish listening to book 4 (something about pirates). I'm sort of nervous about having them listen to books I know nothing about (except that they're very popular!) and would appreciate some comments about them. Thanks!
Jennifer
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: May 11 2005 at 4:50pm | IP Logged
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My 7 y/o ds LOVES the series, and has fallen asleep to their adventures many, many nights! Even his 3 y/o sister likes to listen to them. You're right that they are not great literature, but I haven't found them harmful. I do remember having to talk a bit about the reality of ghosts when they were listening to the Mummy book (#4?). Obviously, there's the issue of magic to deal with. The series has led to my son's interest in King Arthur, and really could be a starting point for many rabbit trails of more substance.
Hope this helps.
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Noreen
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Kelly
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| Posted: May 11 2005 at 7:15pm | IP Logged
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We just finished reading "Afternoon on the Amazon" out loud today, and I can personally vouch for these books NOT being great literature  However, other than the goofy magic stuff mentioned by Noreen, and the fact that I don't think Morgan Le Fay was a particularly good character in Arthurian legend (was it Morgan that seduced Arthur???)...they are fine, innocuous books that do impart a fair bit of basic knowledge to the readers/listeners. All my kids have read them and enjoyed them. They also like the books on tape versions, read by the author.
Kelly in FL
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: May 11 2005 at 9:33pm | IP Logged
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Kelly wrote:
| I don't think Morgan Le Fay was a particularly good character in Arthurian legend (was it Morgan that seduced Arthur???).. |
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I was wondering about this same thing. Goodness knows the King Arthur stories are sordid (as I'm finding out--all the stories need to be previewed or read-aloud/edited). There are a lot of variations, but I thought Morgan was a villain in most versions. We did find one where she was the "good" sister. I pointed that out to my kids--one of the quirks of ancient legends 
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Noreen
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Marybeth
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| Posted: May 15 2005 at 8:20pm | IP Logged
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We have really liked the Magic Tree House books here. We have read the first 13 of them. It has led to many great discussions and imaginative play for my little guy. Last week he was rolling up scrolls and rushing around trying not to have lava catch him. I agree they aren't great literature, but we still read and enjoy them. I can't remember which list sent this (since I am on about 6 different ones). Someone described books like Magic Tree House as ice cream after a steady diet of "good books."
Hope this helps!
Marybeth
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: May 27 2005 at 7:18pm | IP Logged
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We read them here. I can't stand them, but the kids enjoy the stories and they are a quick read. They are just SO poorly written! The author doesn't seem to know what a complete sentence is and the dialog is so unimaginative.
I think I will weed them out when we move in favor of other series such as the Boxcar Children.
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Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
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teachingmom
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teachingmyown wrote:
| They are just SO poorly written! The author doesn't seem to know what a complete sentence is and the dialog is so unimaginative. |
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The first chapter book one of my girl's read was Dinosaurs Before Dark (the first or second of the Magic Tree House series). It was sheer torture sitting by her side, day after day, listening to her s-l-o-w-l-y read her way through the book. I was so irritated by the lack of complete sentences! I kept thinking, "Why in the world is this series famous? What are teachers thinking by encouraging students to read books filled with such poor grammar?!"
Well, I must report that the books do get better--grammatically speaking, that is. We own the whole series, except those that do not come in paperback. I have now read through about four of them myself, and haven't seen anything like the sentence fragments of the first book. I am assuming that Mary Pope Osborne and/or her publisher heard back from many parents and teachers about her poor grammar and the awful example she was setting for children. She obviously changed her writing style along the way.
The books are still very predictable with unimaginative dialogue, but they serve a great purpose around here. They are perfect for that in between stage, when children are beginning to read chapter books, but cannot yet handle chapters longer that 4-5 short pages. They have given my 1st graders confidence in their reading skills while entertaining them too.
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Kelly
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teachingmom wrote:
[QUOTE=teachingmyown]
The books are still very predictable with unimaginative dialogue...
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"And then, everything was still. ABSOLUTELY still..."
I believe that line appears in every, single, solitary MTH book!!!
Kelly in FL
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Marybeth
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| Posted: May 28 2005 at 9:13am | IP Logged
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Yes, it is! My 4.5 ds likes to say the lines with me.
I'm wondering for moms who don't enjoy reading them if having their children listen to them on tape would be a better compromise?
I heard that swingsets with clubhouses are the hottest seller b/c of the Magic Tree House books. There are month long waiting lists for some companies in my area. Of course, I have not checked into it b/c we don't have 3 grand to spend on a swingset. 
Marybeth
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Magic Tree House
