Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1)

by Mary Pope Osborne (Author) Sal Murdocca (Illustrator)

Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1)
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Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Magic Tree House
cms Common Sense Media Review

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.

"With an entertaining blend of fact, farce, and fantasy, Osborne tells the story of Jack and his sister, Annie, who take a trip in a magic tree house and land in a time 65 million years ago. They find dinosaurs and volcanoes and adventure. Veteran storyteller Osborne builds the power of reading into the story: it's the books in the tree house that give the kids the magic to travel and see far, far away."--Booklist

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School Library Journal

Gr 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. --Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
Mary Pope Osborne
Mary Pope Osborne is the award-winning author of many distinguished books for children and young adults, including the bestselling Magic Treehouse series; Favorite Medieval Tales, illustrated by Troy Howell; American Tall Tales, illustrated by Michael McCurdy; Rocking Horse Christmas, illustrated by Ned Bittinger; and Adaline Falling Star. The former president of the Author's Guild, she lives in New York City with her husband, Will.

Giselle Potter has illustrated many books, including Try It! by Mara Rockliff, All by Himself? by Elana K. Arnold, and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne, as well as her own Tell Me What to Dream About, This Is My Dollhouse, and The Year I Didn't Go to School, about traveling through Italy with her parents' puppet troupe when she was eight. She lives in Rosendale, New York, with her husband and two daughters. Visit her at GisellePotter.com.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9780679824114
Lexile Measure
510
Guided Reading Level
M
Publisher
Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication date
July 28, 1992
Series
Magic Tree House
BISAC categories
JUV002060 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV043000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Beginner
Library of Congress categories
Fiction
Dinosaurs
Time travel
Magic
Science fiction
Fantasy fiction
Juvenile works
Tree houses
Jack
Time-travel fiction
Annie

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