Dinosaurs Before Dark

This was one of my absolute favorite series as a child, and as an adult I now collect them when I see them in thrift stores or garage sales! That being said, I couldn’t tell you the last time I actually sat down to read one of them so getting to revisit this was such a good time!! The few illustrations that there were included were so much cooler than I remembered them being! The line work is so simple but it adds such a cool effect to the book and makes it feel like someone was maybe drawing these things that happened from memory! Overall, the story was definitely attention keeping and fast paced enough to keep me interested. You also learn a lot more than you think you are going to throughout the course of all of these books making show more them fun and educational at the same time! Overall I would recommend this series to almost anyone I think!! show less

This is the first Magic Tree house book in the series and it is great. Kids not only go on the adventure with Jack and Annie but they also get to learn all about dinosaurs which can show an interest in both boys and girls. I love this book because how engaging it is. The concept of the Magic Tree House magically transporting Jack and Annie back in time to see dinosaurs is really cool. Another aspect is that they aren't just going back in time to see dinosaurs, but they were sent on a secret quest to find a medallion. However, they do not know that they were sent there for a purpose. As you read further into the books, the reader finds out that Morgan, a wizard, has been sending Jack and Annie on these quests. The first book does a show more really good job of intriguing the readers to read the rest of the series. show less

I really liked reading this book. Mary Pope Osborne was one of my favorite authors growing up. One reason I enjoyed this book was because of the illustrations. The illustrations used to depict Annie and Jack with the dinosaurs were really enjoyable and added more excitement to the story. Another reason I enjoyed reading this book was how it ends with Jack and Annie returning home realizing no time has actually passed and that they will return to the treehouse tomorrow. This implies there will be more magical adventures. The main idea of this story is to tell a story but also give information about the multiple kinds of dinosaurs. This whole book is about two kids who come across different species of dinosaurs after traveling through show more time in a magic tree house. show less

I liked the book, Dinosaurs Before Dark, by Mary Pope Osburne. First, the language was incredibly descriptive to allow readers to visualize the scenes for themselves. For example, when the two main characters, Jack and Annie, first discover the magic treehouse the author uses very descriptive language. Second, the message of team work pushes readers to think about themselves. The book has multiple examples of the characters working together toward a common goal, or helping each other out. Reading about teamwork helps readers to push themselves to also reflect the behaviors in the story.

Siblings Jack and Annie are playing in the woods near their home in Pennsylvania when they discover an impressive-looking tree house at the top of a gigantic oak tree. They climb the rope ladder to find, much to their excitement, that the tree house is full books of all kinds. Jack, who is a fan of dinosaurs, begins looking through a book about them and wishes out lod that he could see a real one for himself. Suddenly, a fierce wind picks up the tree house and transports Jack and Annie to the time of dinosaurs.

"Dinosaurs Before Dark" is fast-paced and funny, a great read for mid-elementary schoolers who are leaving easy-readers behind. The adventure is full of danger but not enough to worry or scare the reader; the near-misses keep the show more action going. Also, Jack and Annie are like any other siblings, in that they continually get frustrated with one another but, of course, never fail to help each other out of sticky situations. Many children are easily able to identify with this and will appreciate the dinosaur-focus as well. show less

The novel Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne is about siblings Jack and Annie that discover a magical tree house that is filled with books. Jack then wishes that he can see a real dinosaur; the tree house then begins to spin and transports them to the Cretaceous period. Jack and Annie then need to figure out how to use the books to go back home before nighttime. The overall main theme of the story is bravery, sibling relationships, and the excitement of learning. The story explores and puts their sibling relationship to the test throughout their journey in the Cretaceous period. As they rely on each other throughout their journey, it strengthens their relationship and showcases their different personalities. As show more Jack is more known for being cautious, Annie is known for being bolder to try to do new things. Overall, I think this is a good book because it showcases siblings and how going on fun journeys can create a stronger bond. show less

I love these children's chapter books because I think they are an excellent way of incorporating factual information with a great story. I also think that this collection of chapter books is an entertaining way to introduce a factual topic. For instance, the facts stated are incorporated within the language of the story. When Annie and Jack come across a triceratops, they are afraid they are going to get eaten. Jack considers his dinosaur book, and he looks inside to find the triceratops page. The book tells them that it is an herbivore, or plant-eater. When Jack reads this information, the author puts it in a bold black ink and a different font. This way, the reader knows this is the factual information in the text. I thought this was show more a great and obvious technique to show contrast between story and facts.
I also liked the authors use of dialogue in this story. Since this was the first book in the series, the only two characters conversing were Jack and Annie. Further into the series, they will meet different historical figures, the creator of the tree house, and others they will communicate with. The author did a great job using the dialogue throughout the text. In addition, the dialogue always had phrases to describe how that person was saying the dialogue. For example, the author would say "Annie whispered" if she was amazed or "Jack screamed loudly" if Jack was scared.
In addition to dialogue, I liked how this series introduced the idea of inner dialogue. When the characters would think to themselves, their thoughts would be written in italics. This way readers could decipher between what was being though and what was being said. For example, on page 52 the text reads, "Okay, though jack. Don't think! Just do it!" Lastly, this chapter book incorporated colored illustrations. A lot of chapter books either have images in black and white, or they have no images at all. This chapter book gave illustrations of numerous different dinosaurs and adventures. The dinosaurs drawn were accurate to pictures found in informational text. For example, the T-Rex still had short arms, a large head, and razor-sharp rows of teeth. It made the story come to life! I think the overall message of this book and this series as a whole is that learning is exploring. Learning can happen through adventures and discovery, and it can be fun! show less