Some Reviews by William, aged 5
The Magic Tree House series, by Mary Pope Osborne
This is a really delightful series of children’s books aimed at 5-8 year-olds. Two children, Jack, thoughtful and bookish and his young sister Annie, impulsive and confident find a tree house, high in the forest near their house. They find that the tree house is full of books that have the power to transport them back in time. They embark on a quest to travel time and collect the world’s great, but lost stories. In the process they make their own discoveries about the life in different cultures, places and times. They travel to the time of the dinosaurs, get trapped in medieval castles, meet St Patrick in his early monastery, get philosophy lessons from Plato and see the fright of the Roman gladiators first-hand. Always gripping, offers lots of great historical information – but somehow never too ‘schooly’. Here are 5 year-old William’s thoughts on two books in this extensive series.
’Voyage of the Vikings’ A Review by William, aged 5
I loved this story about Ireland and the Vikings. Jack and Annie are really brave and their adventures are very interesting. I read the story with my mummy, I read a bit, and then she read a bit. There are lots of words that were exciting to read like ‘sea serpent’ and ‘jewels’. Brother Patrick was friendly and the monastery was not like anywhere I had been. I thought that the Vikings were a bit scary. Mummy thinks that they would be less frightening if you got to know them, but I am still glad that Jack and Annie got away from them. When we finished the book, I asked if we could go to Ireland to see where Brother Patrick came from because I wanted to know what happened to the Monks after the Vikings landed. I hope there are still sea serpents in Ireland too.
‘Olympic Challenge’ A Review by William, aged 5
If I could go somewhere in the Magic Tree House I would want to go and see the Olympics too. The Chariot racing was fantastic and I liked the bit when the winged horse from the lost story came and rescued Jack and Annie. The pictures in the book were good and helped me imagine what it would have been like in ancient Greece; they dressed in long robes and some of the people wore armour for the Olympic Games. I didn’t like it that girls couldn’t play in the Games because my friend Nieve is a girl and she is a very speedy runner, much faster than me. I liked the ending when Jack and Annie see all the creatures from the lost stories in the stars, but I was a bit sad that they might not go in the Magic Tree House again. I think they will sneak back there when they are supposed to be in bed.
