Chapter Book Review: Magic Tree House- Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne

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.

Children's Book Review: The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

The Mouse and the Motorcycle was one of the first books I ever did a book report on. I had loved this book as a child and it was a favorite. Sadly, it has been nearly 30 years since I last read it.


Ralph S. Mouse lives in a knothole in room 215 of a hotel. One day a little boy named Kevin and his family come to stay. Ralph becomes excited when he sees Kevin's prized toy motorcycle. Soon Ralph and Kevin become friends and Ralph zooms all over on the motorcycle.

I had forgotten a lot of this book. It was nice to go down memory lane with this book. I loved how Kevin and Ralph bonded not just over the motorcycle but their mutual understanding that growing up is hard and how they both wanted to be mature. 

I loved the illustrations and had forgotten how cute they were. This was a quick read and still holds up after all these years.

A solid 5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl

Like so many other children that came before and after me Roald Dahl was a must read writer. Roald just seemed to understand children in a way that so many others don't. While I've read a good number of his books this was my first time reading this one. So I brewed a strong cup of earl gray and dived right in.

In The Magic Finger a young girl with special magical abilities lives next door to the Gregg family. Upset over their hunting for fun her magic finger gets to work and before they know it the Gregg family has become a family of birds. 

As an adult this one is a bit harder to read. Not that it is a hard read at all. But this book is written in first person perspective of the little girl. The grammar and speech cadence therefore is written as an 8 year old little girl would write. For a child it speaks right to their level. For an adult you just want to go along and edit.

I enjoyed this silly tale that had a message layered in it about those who kill animals just for sport. I'm not a fan of hunting myself but if the hunter actually eats the meat then I'm not offended. I don't believe in killing things just to kill them. 

I hate to say that this is not one of my favorites among his books but it was still enjoyable and better than a good number of books out there today.

3 out of 5 stars.