Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House, #10) by Mary Pope Osborne

Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House, #10) Reviews

• 
  Sophia Triad

  Great adventure in the Wild West! I loved their friend Slim because he was protective and kind. Annie had a great horse (the bad guys stole its mother), while her brother was not so sure she can do horseriding. Funny scenes.
• 
  Penelope

  predictable 🙄
• 
  Amanda Carpenter

  As I always say, my 8 year old niece brought me the first 2 of these books to read. She loves them and she wanted me to read them too so we can talk about them. I find them fun and informative for kids about different time periods and different things around the world.
  
  I decided on book 5 to start reading them aloud for my dogs enjoyment too. (I know, you may think I am crazy - but they like them. Well one gets rather scared sometimes, but the other loves to listen). I think the writing was practically the same as the rest. It is a good children's story and I would recommend it and this series to anyone who has children in their lives. I think these books are especially good for children who like to learn different things in an adventurous way. They may even help kids who do not like to read learn to love the written word. They could help kids improve their reading skills too along with their knowledge.
  
  I don't think my one dog that is sometimes nervous or anxious got too scared with this one. We have been reading them at bedtime though, and she may have dozed off a few times. I really enjoy reading these books. I like to think that it's nice and fun to read them aloud to my dogs. Plus like I said, it gives me something to discuss with my 8 year old niece when I see her.
  
  
  
  
  SPOILERS BELOW
  
  In reviewing a book, the part I enjoy most is making notes on what I liked best and sometimes even least from a story. I like to make notes on things that occurred during the story, so that when I come back later (could be in a day, a week, a month, a year or even many years later), I can see what notes I made about a story and it helps refresh me on it. If I read my notes later, I am often able to remember the majority of the story.
  
  So here goes! With this book. I absolutely loved the Wild West Theme! I think Jack and Annie both found things they learned and enjoyed in the Wild West. I love Old West Stories. I loved the touch of adding the ghost in this story who plays the piano in the hotel "Lonesome Luke." I think it was only fitting that the "Ghost Town" had an actual ghost in it as well.
  
  I can see how the rustlers riding through and scaring the kids into hiding in the barrels could be somewhat scary for little kids. My one dog that sometimes gets scared did shake a little at this part, but she also dozed off a little later in the story too. Reading at the time of night when they have conditioned their bodies as bedtime may not be the best of ideas for them to get to hear the whole story.
  
  But hey, what can I say? They are dogs. Hearing my voice reading to them helps them settle in and they usually go to sleep quite easily during or after our readings instead of tossing and turning and panting and being up and down as on some other nights - so it works out well enough. I always recap each story to them when they are awake again so if they really do understand me they can get the gist of the story. :)
  
  I was pleased by the author's continuation of the kids being on a mission to find the answer to a riddle in this book. They are looking for answer number 2 of 4 in this book in order to see if they have what it takes to become master librarians. They have to be brave, be able to research, be smart and figure out the answer to 4 riddles before they can move up to becoming master librarians to help Morgan with her magical library.
  
  The hats, boots, and the ghost playing the piano were great add-ins for a wild west story. As I mentioned before, the rustlers coming through herding the wild mares along was the somewhat scary adventure point in the story. I was interested in the piece being added about the mare and her cold that was left behind. I especially liked after the rustlers had passed when the colt showed up and Jack reading about how Wild Mustang colts have to be with their mother. The bit about the wild mustang families being close and the bond between the Mare and her young being strong was a great educational element added to the story. It also was a great plot addition.
  
  Of course with Jack learning this through his quest for knowledge and always pulling facts out of the books they carry with them on their travels added to Annie's way of bonding with and talking to animals; it led the reader to expect nothing less than Annie and Jack wanting to reunite the colt with his mother. Annie likes to name the animals she meets, and she did so quickly and they were convinced they were going to take "Sunshine" back to his mother.
  
  This is added to the could-be scary run-in they have with Slim Cooley who first accuses them of being horse thieves. However, Slim believes them when they say they aren't horse thieves and they tell him of the rustlers who had just gone through the town. The three team up to help take "Sunshine" back to his mother and for Slim to get his mustangs back from the rustlers.
  
  When the three of them do make it to where the rustlers are keeping the mustangs, it gets a little intense as Annie stays with Sunshine, Jack stays with Dusty (Slim's horse) and Slim goes in to rescue Sunshine's mother. There are gunshots and the rustlers are mad and they all ride away on horseback as quickly as possible to escape. This is another part I figure may be a little too much conflict or action for some kids to handle. I bet it is scary to some children. However, they make it away safe and sound as usual!
  
  I like that the kids sitting at the camp with Slim talk him into letting the wild mustangs go free as they are born to do. He decides to make a positive life change and to become a writer instead. He helps them solve their riddle (not giving them the answer - but letting them find out for themselves that the answer is an echo) and says goodbye. The final piece of great information I liked in this book is that once the kids returned home to Frog Creek, they discovered that the book they were reading that took them to the Old West in the first place was written by Slim Cooley himself.
• 
  Book2Dragon

  Cowboys and horses and ghosts--what more could you ask for?
  You could ask for a Magic Tree House that would take you anywhere you find in a book. Wait! A book CAN take you there!
  Love this series, and kids and teens will too.
• 
  Cathy

  Lots of good facts in this one, the kids are well on their way to becoming Master Librarians. I enjoyed the mustangs the most, of course. It was cute that the kids got cowboy nicknames, Smiley and Shorty. Annie's seemed most appropriate. I love the classic time travel paradox at the end. And that as usual, the kids appreciate the pleasures of being home after their adventure.
• 
  Carina

  a dear friend read it to me and my best friend last night!
  such a flashback to childhood!
• 
  Pallavi

  ***2.5***
  
  Oh! We struggled with this one a bit. My kid didn't know much about this horse riding, cow boy thing. I had to elaborate so many things to him which was tiring (for me). Also the pet names shorty and smiley confused him a lot which again raised a ton of interruptions and questions.
  
  SO... it was ok but not a very good smooth sailing read.
  
  
  Happy reading!!
• 
  Martine

  3.5/5
  
  How many horse books have I read this year and WHY does the number keep growing????
• 
  Ti Emme Rock

  I disegni sono davvero o belli. La storia noiosetta
• 
  Micah

  That was haunted. I liked it. There were ghosts but they made a cowboy friend.
• 
  Charity (Booktrovert Reader)

  Ok, I am done reading these. These are cute, but from an adult standpoint, makes you want to high five your face because of Annie.
  
  This time...let me jump on a wild horse and chase after murderous bandits!
  
  Yeah, like I said, I hit my logic level on this one.
  
  Cute....maybe I will revisit for potential kids, nieces or nephews.
• 
  Sarah Sammis

  Ghost Town at Sundown is the second of the four riddles and the tenth book in the Magic Tree House series. In this one, Jack and Annie go back to a ghost town in search of the answer the riddle.
  
  While there they are frightened by a ghost, threatened by horse thieves and befriended by a wrangler of wild mustangs. Jack and Annie learn how to ride horses and Annie once again shows her talent at talking with animals.
  
  Best of all is the time travel aspect of the book. In the other books I've read Jack and Annie's travels have been self contained. Where and when they go don't have any link between the present of their adventure and their present time in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. In Ghost Town at Sundown, Jack and Annie directly affect their future through their friendship with the wrangler.
  
  The inclusion of the ghost town also gave Sean and me a chance to talk about my favorite ghost town, Bodie, California. We talked about the how and why behind a town being abandoned and what sort of things are left behind.
• 
  Cob

  This one edges into the realm of classic children's literature, what with cowboys and horse wranglers and ghosts, but it does so in a way that focuses more on historical context. Of course, the "Wild West" is a super generalized topic, so this one really casts a wide net in terms of coverage, but most of the MTH books do, and there's nothing wrong with doing that for beginning readers.
• 
  Stephanie

  We listened to this one just before our trip to Bannack, Montana (a real ghost town that is now a state park). It did a great job of giving the kids some context. And it was just fun.
• 
  Susan

  
  good read
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Carol Scott

  I would have gone buckwild for this if I had read it as a kid
• 
  Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit)

  Jack and Annie travel back in time and visit a haunted ghost town in the Wild West in this fun sequel!
  
  
  We've been flying through these little books even though we only read 2 chapters a night, and it somehow timed out perfectly that we started this 'Ghost Town' sequel with an actual ghost story in it right before Halloween! And I was worried that we wouldn't get to read anything spooky if we were hooked on this series!
• 
  Uma

  Per L: I like when Jack and Annie they found out the magic word was echo.
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  Melissa

  I just don’t get the appeal of Magic Tree House, but Sam likes them and they seem like an early chapter book rite of passage, so onward we proceed.
• 
  Alice 🌙

  5/5 ⭐️
• 
  Spencer

  2022
• 
  Kayla Rae

  I’m a country girl
• 
  AStar Reads

  3.75 stars
• 
  Treena

  2.5 to 3 Stars
  
  My son said he liked book #9 Dolphins at Daybreak more than this one. He wasn’t too interested in the setting for this story.
• 
  Aneesa

  6yo's first encounter with the paradox of time travel.
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  Alex

  I didn't like this book because I don't like ghosts. I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when Jack & Annie found the answer to there riddle.
• 
  Maya Orama

  This book was about this boy name Jack and this girl name Annie going on a scary adventure . It was early in the morning Jack was reading a book and Annie was looking if the magic tree house came back for them to go on the next adventure Annie herd the magic tree house land she told Jack but he didn't want to miss lunch but Annie was very excited and ran into the frog creek woods. Jack hade to ran and get his sister Annie he found her and the magic tree house and their best friend Morgan was their waiting for them Jack and Annie claimed the ladder and went into the magic tree house Annie ask what was their next adventure Morgan told them to take a book that said days of the Wild West . Before Jack and Annie left Morgan gave them a scroll because Morgan wrote a Ridell for them to figure it out but Morgan said that when the magic tree house land Morgan left and Jack opened the book of the first page and the picture that Jack saw was a prairie Jack said he wish he and his sister Annie the magic tree house spin and spin in till it was absolutely still they landed they opened up the scroll it said . Out of the blue my lonely voice calls out to you who am I ? Jack took the book that told him about the place in the book it said 1880 the spooky town became a ghost town because lot of people used to be her all the people left the town because they didn't have lots of money to keep the town so it became a ghost town so Jack and Annie went into the ghost town . Annie saw a hat and some shoes she asked if she could try them on Jack said okay Annie found some shoes fore Jack too he tried it on to it fit when Jack and Annie herd a piano and then he quietly went in no one was their they figure out that the electricity was letting it play . Then horses came Jack and Annie hide in the box they dust came Jack sneezed they found them and they asked if they can have a ride on the pone Annie ride the little one Jack ride the big one they ride withe the man it was midnight the camped and sleep their in till the after noon the woke up and ride their horses bake . And said good by and went back to the tree house they found the answer was the horse then Morgan came and told that their next adventure would be fun they said good by and left and went back home. The end