| Title | : | Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0679824111 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780679824114 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 68 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1992 |
Where did the tree house come from?
Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark . . . or will they become a dinosaur's dinner?
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, #1) Reviews
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Reread for nostalgia's sake. it's so weird how when i was a kid they would take me an hour to read but now i can go through it in 20 minutes
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2023 Update: 3.5 Stars. I have no idea why I never continued on with the series, but I figured there's no better time than the present to go ahead and try to work my way through it now. As the series opener, Mary Pope Osborne did an excellent job in choosing dinosaurs. If there is one animal that attracts younger readers, it's dinosaurs. The story itself follows Jack and Annie as they find a treehouse that magically allows them to travel places. There isn't necessarily much that happens, but the formatting , beautiful illustrations, and high energy of the story will definitely appeal to younger readers. I'm excited to continue on with the books as well as the graphic novels.
Update. Full Review:
https://bookishrealmreviews.blogspot....
Lmao. No one judge me. I read this book in like 30 minutes. It’s a children’s chapter book and had some really interesting dynamics. I may read a few more but I won’t read the entire series. I can see why kids love them but I don’t know how much of these I would be able to handle has an adult haha. I’ll post my full review here when it goes live on my blog. -
This is a middle grade fantasy, and this is the first book in the Magic Tree House series. In each books in this series takes you to a new place. I read the series to my kids and kids at my daughter's school library a lot. I also give this series to the kids to read. It is one of my favorite middle grade series. I wish I had read it when I was young.
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Divan serijal knjiga za malu decu... o avanturama brata i sestre koji u svojoj kučici na drvetu pronalaze knjigu i listajući je prenose se u drugo vreme i u tom vremenu doživljavaju avanture... pa malo idu u prošlost a malo i u budućnost i u svakoj knjizi deca se lepo zabave i ponešto novo nauče... Serijal je veliki hit u svetu već godinama, doživeo je mnoga izdanja a i naša deca su te knjige veoma lepo prihvatila... Autorka je divna, imali smo prilike da se družimo s njom davne 2005. tokom sajma dečje knjige u Bolonji... Ovaj serijal toplo preporučujem svoj deci uzrasta od 7-11 godina...
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This Magic Tree House franchise has really expanded over its 30 years. In addition to the original chapter book series, there are Fact Trackers, a Classroom Adventures site, an educational games site, a planetarium show, musicals, graphic novels, and the deluxe illustrated editions like this one. My youngest son was quite captivated with this series in the middle grades, so I read a few. My visual-oriented brain loved all the gorgeous full-color illustrations in this edition. Well worth a reread. Still love the time travelling and the mysterious "M" coin they find in dinosaur times. Who dropped it?
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Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House Series #1) by Mary Pope Osborne,
A good transition into chapter books for the new reader.
While formulaic, predictable, and not particularly clever, this series serves the purpose of providing adventure at a fast moving pace for the new to chapter book set. The predictable nature of these books adds to their appeal as it makes them easier to comprehend and also helps them stay familiar. Kids of this age can be easily daunted by books and tend to be drawn to the familiar. This would also be a good read aloud for a younger child.
The first book in the series, Dinosaurs makes a great introduction to the set. It has plenty of suspense and a fairly simple, yet exciting plot. There is also the addition of accurate dinosaur facts that contribute to further learning without it seeming contrived.The main characters, Jack and Annie, are a boy and a girl, without too strong of a focus on either, so this book is appealing to both genders. While missing the humor and cleverness of other books for this age group, it still delivers on action, adventure and suspense.
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
Exactly my thoughts on the book! -
As an adult, I'd have to say this is not five star reading material. However, it rates five stars because my second grader eats these books up, and is getting a glimpse of loads of different places and historical events.
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The children found a high tree and they are curious enough to search for answers. Annie is the youngest one and she never thinks before she acts. Jack is the most serious one and he almost every time she saves his little sister.
Different personalities that when combined they experience the most awesome adventures. -
Beginning reader
For grades 1-3
Jack and his sister Annie discover a book-filled tree house, and, when Jack opens a book about dinosaurs, discover that it can magically transport them back in time to see real dinosaurs.
Organized into ten short chapters, with a full-page illustration per chapter, this is a highly appealing story for early readers. The text is clear and concise, with a fairly simple vocabulary but with characters and plot that will keep readers hooked. The black and white illustrations are simple, helping readers to visualize the characters and action, while the text tells the bulk of the story. Because the story features a brother and sister, both boys and girls can find a protagonist to identify with. Annie likes fantasy and make-believe, while Jack is more interested in reality and facts. These personality traits drive the action, as Annie acts impulsively while Jack stands back and makes careful observations about the dinosaurs. This would be a great introduction to the chapter book format, and the length and variety of the series will allow readers to come back again and again to see where the tree house takes the children next.
School Library Journal's review is choppy and relies primarily on plot description, but does point out the scientific content which would hook dinosaur fans. Publisher's Weekly is enthusiastic about the book's appeal to children, and nicely points out the way Jack continues to consult the dinosaur book for information throughout the story.
August 2018 - we read the first half aloud, and listened to the whole thing again on CD. Ben was really interested and wants to keep going with the series.
October 2018 - he found this again, we read the second half out loud, and he wanted me to start again at the beginning immediately. He's also re-listening to the CD. Update - we're on our 4th reading and between that and the audiobook, he practically has it memorized. -
I was wondering when to begin chapter books with my six-year-old, which is really to say I was wondering how to start him on the path toward our shared trip to Hogwarts that I've fantasized about since he was chewing on Sandra Boynton board books. He took the matter in his own hands by asking to read 'Jack and Annie books.' A quick Google search helped me order our first set of Magic Tree House books (#1-4) and we sped through the first one in two days. My son was enthralled with the story and tried to read ahead while I was busy making dinner. This series is exactly what I wanted to help move us into more complicated and exciting narratives that will keep him engaged and eager to improve his reading skills. Thank you, Mary Pope Osborne, from your two newest fans.
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I read this with my son - it's the first chapter book he's every really been engaged with. I love it. We're getting closer and closer to the books I've been saving to read with him.
And yes, I'm totally counting it towards my overall reading total haha. -
3.5 Stars The first chapter book Small-fry and I read together AND it’s one I loved when I was little so I have to round up.
He was completely enthralled as hung on every word of this adventure. Each night he didn’t want me to stop reading and just wanted to know what happened yet.
I was so so so bored by the repetitive sentence structure and lack of any pronouns. Also Jack is pretentious and needs to just stop trying to control Annie because she’s got this.
But I guess it’s not really for me, huh? -
The first book in the Magic Tree House series is an exciting beginning to the time-traveling adventures of 8½ year old Jack and his 7 year old sister Annie. Osborne builds this excitement deftly, first introducing the mysterious tree house full of books that then transporting them on Jack’s inadvertent wish to see a Pteranodon in one of the books to the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The sibling’s encounters with various dinosaurs prove heart pounding, as some of them are not as friendly as the initial Pteranodon Annie befriends and that ultimately saves Jack from a fierce Tyrannosaurus.
Murdocca’s illustrations breathe life to the adventure by focusing on the children within the environment and give the reader the opportunity to experience the awe with which Jack and Annie explore their environment. The scientific details of the dinosaurs as well as Jack’s notebook observations of their experiences will connect with young beginning chapter book readers who identify with science, and Annie’s impulsive explorations will appeal to the adventurous reader. An unidentified medallion found in the course of their time travels creates a continued desire to find out whom it belongs to and see what happens and how it fits into the next book of this series. -
Fun start to a fun series!
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For the longest time I wasn't going to count this towards my official 2018 reading goal. Because it's a children's book and it felt like... ~cheating~. But then I thought, screw it. My sister and I read these all the time as children & I've collected quite a few of them over the years. I plan on passing them down to my niece and nephew, but I thought before I did that I might as well read them one last time.
I thought this was cute and nostalgic and perfect for new-to-chapter-book readers. I even, admittedly, had to look up some things I hadn't known before about dinosaurs. (Pterodactyls aren't actually dinosaurs, whodathunk? ... Just me? My fiance is adamant on calling them his favorite dinosaur still.)
Anyways, 3.5/5 rounded up to 4 stars cause why not. -
My 7 year old Grandson has not read much over the ( hectic) summer. Had to get this great little "reluctant reader" book to get us back in gear. Worked great , he's loving the story and it's perfect for starting second graders. Box set #1-4 4 stars
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This is a cute, inoffensive little adventure story that winds up offending me anyway simply by being present in the world. What sort of a grump am I, eh?
I was looking for something a little easier for my dyslexic girl. She'd been struggling with some bigger books, and she needed a burst of confidence to help her get back to where she wanted to be, so I found this book, saw how easy it was and brought it home for her.
Mission accomplished: she blew through it, had fun, and moved straight back to a more difficult book with her confidence restored. For that,
Dinosaurs in the Dark's practical use, it earns a second star (if there were no mitigating circumstances, I'd only give it one star).
So why am I so offended? I'm offended because I know talented authors, plenty of them, who can't get their stuff published, and their stuff is good stuff. I've had the pleasure, for instance, to read the beginning of one of Scribble Orca's books, and in its "in process" state, her book is vastly superior to
Dinosaurs Before Dark. Her book is original; her relationships are realistic; the stakes are believable even in her fantastic setting, whereas
Mary Pope Osborne's book is none of these things. It is fine, but it is an elementary school student's paint by numbers picture, and not a terribly complex paint by numbers picture at that. So that's where the offense lies: talented friends (or talented folks I don't know) can't get a sniff of publication (and are forced to the ghetto of self-publication), but hackosaurids, however good intentioned, live their "dream" of writing for a living -- when that happens I can barely contain my bileousness.
So this book? This book should be bound in a soft folder, maybe put together with brads, and brought out for Osborne's children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, passed on within a family and nothing more. Like so many more deserving authors books are destined to be. -
Great to read out loud to my four year old. He both loves and is scared of dinosaurs but said he liked it and immediately asked if we could read another book so that was encouraging. This is the first chapter book I’ve read to him and he was able to easily keep up with plot, characters, and where we left off as well as talk about what might happen next and asking questions. I’ll probably order him a couple more in the series and see if he likes the books or the dinosaur part better.
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This is the first book of a wonderful series. I read the series aloud to my kindergarten class every year. It is just right for their listening level. It is about a 2-3 grade reading level. No language or inappropriate behavior. Teaches history and geography.
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A pleasant distraction from stupid college life.
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"What happened to us?" he said.
"We took a trip in a magic tree house," said Annie simply.
Read for nostalgia's sake. Was not disappointed. -
I read this book with my six year old son. He was very excited to get the first Magic Tree House book and I was very curious since I have heard a ton about this series. This is a great read for younger children and children just learning to read.
Jack and Annie find a magic tree house in the woods near their house. When they go up in the tree house they find it’s filled with books. When Jack takes down a book about Dinosaurs and starts to read it when him and Annie are magically transported to a land filled with dinosaurs.
This was a very short beginning chapter book suitable for young kids. The plot is straightforward, yet still engaging, interesting, and magical. Beginning readers should be able to follow along and even read some of their beginning sight words throughout.
I would classify this mainly as an adventure book with elements of magical realism (since they travel from a magic tree house).
Each chapter has a couple pages of pictures, so this makes wonderful transition book between picture books and chapter books. The pictures are well done and fun.
The book is also a bit educational since the book Jack brings along on their time traveling trip has interesting facts about Dinosaurs in it.
The story seems to be aimed a bit more at young boys because Jack is really the main character. But Annie is there too (his younger sister) and girls should find it easy to engage with her character as well.
Overall my son really enjoyed this book. It was a bit too simple for an adult, but I didn’t mind reading it and thought the story was decent. Definitely recommended for reading with young children, or for children who are ready to transition to reading beginning chapter books on their own. I am glad that we picked this up and foresee many more Magic Tree House books in our future! -
So two weeks ago I get a text message from
my son's new teacher. She let me know that my son had to read a book over the summer. As he has several learning disabilities he is in special education classes. So she wanted all her students to read a book on their level. This is hard as my son doesn't want to read "baby books" but has a rough time with chapter books. He has read a few of Dav Pilkey's books but I wanted him to branch out a bit. So I decided we should give the Magic Treehouse books a shot.
Brother and Sister, Annie and Jack, find a tree house filled with books. Jack makes a wish that has them suddenly whisked back to the time of the dinosaurs. Will they find their way home before dark?
This was a fairly easy to read book though the names of the dinosaurs did trip up my son. He had a fairly easy time keeping up with what was happening in the book and did ask some questions (like what was a magnolia). The chapters were not overly long so it made it easy to read one or two at a time without him becoming overly bored/tired. When I asked him if he liked the book he told me he wasn't sure. I think this had more to do with his problems communicating emotions than having to do with the book itself.
For me I found the book to be fun. I was too old when these books first came out but I have been aware of their popularity. My stepdaughter never read them and this was my first time reading one. I enjoyed the simplicity of it with it not being bogged down in descriptions and world building. It is good for children who are just starting to transition to chapter books. With only 10 chapters it is easy for them to manage.
I look forward to reading more books in the series and hope my son will join me in reading them.
3 out of 5 stars. -
مجموعه ی خانه ی درختی سحرآمیز نوشته ی مری پوپ آزبرن ترجمه ی محمد قصاع توسط نشر پیکان از سال 88 به بعد منتشر شده.
ای مجموعه که هر جلدش یه داستان متفاوت داره درباره ی سفر زمانی یک خواهر و برادره که هربار یک برهه ی زمانی متفاوت رو تجربه می کنن و طی این داستان آموزش هایی به بچه ها داده می شه. برای همین داستانش خیلی ساده است.
جلد اول درمورد سفر به دوران حیات دایناسورها و شناختن چند نوع از اونا و برخور داشتن باهاشونه. -
The book was super fun. My favorite part of the book was that they found a treehouse.
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یکی از اولین کتاب هایی که خوندم. اون زمان خیلی سر شوق آورد من رو و البته هیچوقت نتونستم باقی کتابهای مجموعه رو پیدا کنم. اما یادمه که چندین بار خوندمش.
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Plan on finishing the magic tree house series.... cool book for beginner readers.
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Some of my students in Phoenix, as well as my little cousin, have been big fans of Magic Tree House. This was the first time I'd read any of the books, and it was a good book. I did not have the depth a book requires for me to give it anything more than three stars, but that's not Mary Pope Osborne's purpose in this book, so I don't mean that as a criticism. What I had heard about Magic Tree House (and what I now can agree with having read the first book) is that the beauty of the series is how it pulls readers in, both boys and girls, with interesting plot and magical adventures that makes readers want to continue reading the other books in the series. At the same time, students are getting exposed to great content knowledge (in this book, dinosaurs, and in future books, which integrate knowledge about things like Ancient Egypt, outer space, and the Civil War, just to name a few). The last great thing about this series is how it increases in difficulty with each new book, and so a student can start out on the easiest (Book 1) and gradually move up to more difficult reads. As a teacher, I think this series rocks and I will continue to recommend it to students and use it in my classroom, as appropriate.
