Osborne, Mary Pope
Murdocca, Sal
Random House, 2006
2nd grade and up
Fantasy Fiction
Summary: This book is about Jack and Annie and their next Merlin Mission. This time they are in New York City, looking to save a magical Unicorn. They are sent back in time to the Great Depression. Here they see how America was during this time, and just how poor people really were. There is a horrible blizzard that is taking over the city and they must make their way to find this unicorn to save him. They are given a poem which gives them all the clues that they will need throughout the story. When they finally get to Cloisters there are two other people trying to find the magical unicorn. When they do, Jack and Annie have to come up with a way to save the unicorn and keep him from going back to the Dark Wizard.
Response: I really enjoyed reading this book, and learned a lot from reading it as well! The author does a really good job informing the reader and tying in facts within the story. For example “The city of New York is the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. It covers an area of 322 square miles.” She would tie in really interesting information and this was all stuff that I was unaware of. Throughout the book I also saw that Mary Pope Osborne would talk about carnivals and merry-go-rounds, which was related to Carnival at Candlelight, the book we read in class. I also liked how the author compared today now and then by using concepts children could understand, such as money. In Carnival at Candlelight I felt that Jack was superior to Annie, but in this book I think they really worked together to make a great team. Jack could sometimes be stubborn, but Annie was so smart and I liked that. I really liked the illustrations that the illustrator used as well. On page 83 there is a picture of Jack and Annie riding on the unicorn through the blizzard. When I looked at this picture it is exactly what I had pictured in my head. The last part of the book includes More Facts for Jack and Annie and You! Section. This part of the book is full of information for kids to read. It tells you all about the places that Jack and Annie visited during their trip. It also talks about the Great Depression, subways, and Central Park. She also says that Unicorns appear in old stories from all over the world which I thought was so interesting!
Classroom Connections: I would definitely use this book in my classroom. There is so much information in this book. You could use it for a history lesson to help kids really understand what went on during the Great Depression. You could also use this and have them create a “what happens next” story with Jack and Annie. There is so much that you could do with the Magic Tree House books!
Murdocca, Sal
Random House, 2006
2nd grade and up
Fantasy Fiction
Summary: This book is about Jack and Annie and their next Merlin Mission. This time they are in New York City, looking to save a magical Unicorn. They are sent back in time to the Great Depression. Here they see how America was during this time, and just how poor people really were. There is a horrible blizzard that is taking over the city and they must make their way to find this unicorn to save him. They are given a poem which gives them all the clues that they will need throughout the story. When they finally get to Cloisters there are two other people trying to find the magical unicorn. When they do, Jack and Annie have to come up with a way to save the unicorn and keep him from going back to the Dark Wizard.
Response: I really enjoyed reading this book, and learned a lot from reading it as well! The author does a really good job informing the reader and tying in facts within the story. For example “The city of New York is the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. It covers an area of 322 square miles.” She would tie in really interesting information and this was all stuff that I was unaware of. Throughout the book I also saw that Mary Pope Osborne would talk about carnivals and merry-go-rounds, which was related to Carnival at Candlelight, the book we read in class. I also liked how the author compared today now and then by using concepts children could understand, such as money. In Carnival at Candlelight I felt that Jack was superior to Annie, but in this book I think they really worked together to make a great team. Jack could sometimes be stubborn, but Annie was so smart and I liked that. I really liked the illustrations that the illustrator used as well. On page 83 there is a picture of Jack and Annie riding on the unicorn through the blizzard. When I looked at this picture it is exactly what I had pictured in my head. The last part of the book includes More Facts for Jack and Annie and You! Section. This part of the book is full of information for kids to read. It tells you all about the places that Jack and Annie visited during their trip. It also talks about the Great Depression, subways, and Central Park. She also says that Unicorns appear in old stories from all over the world which I thought was so interesting!
Classroom Connections: I would definitely use this book in my classroom. There is so much information in this book. You could use it for a history lesson to help kids really understand what went on during the Great Depression. You could also use this and have them create a “what happens next” story with Jack and Annie. There is so much that you could do with the Magic Tree House books!
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