Ghost Town at Sundown

Howdy partners!!!! We're heading out to the wild west for a rootin' tootin' good time. Jack & Annie are on a quest to solve Morgan's 2nd riddle. Along the way, we learn a lot.

Horse Rules: 1. soft hand 2. firm voice 3. sunny attitude 4. praise 5. reward

Such a fun adventure. Pull your boots on, tug on the reins and prepare yourself to split the wind. Y'all come back now, ya hear?
*rides off into the sunset*

I picked this book up expecting to feel brain cells dying as I read it. I was very wrong; I can see why my students enjoy this series so much. It's very well written (albeit extremely simplistic) and interesting. It was an extremely quick read and is educational, to boot!

In my opinion, this is a great children's book because it allows the reader to feel as if they are jumping into a completely different universe. The book had a few pictures scattered throughout the story which helped me visualize the setting. For example, when Jack and Annie (the main characters) arrived in the Wild West, they landed in a ghost town which they described as "empty and spooky." The illustration on the next page of the book shows a town that you would imagine to see in the 1800's in the West. The language the author used in this book was also very descriptive, which made it easier to imagine myself in the story while the events were unfolding. For example, when Jack and Annie tried to figure out where the music they heard show more was coming from, they peeked inside a building labeled "hotel" to see "fading daylight lit a piano in the corner of the room" with the keys moving up and down on their own. This helped me visualize a piano playing in the corner of an old hotel room as night is nearing.The big idea of this story is that your imagination is a powerful tool, and you can use it to take you on any adventure that you can think of. show less

Dusting off the old collection of Magic Tree House books, I knew I had to read my favorite book from the series that really were my first chapter books I was able to read. This book takes Jack and Anne into the old Wild West where they are tasked with solving a riddle in a possibly haunted ghost town. The fantasy elements of this book are just great! I still remember being totally immersed in the experience of travelling to a new place and time as a kid, and as an adult, these books which are now a real quick read, still provide that nostalgia and wonder I had as a kid. This book was not only entertaining but it also had more little facts and tid bits then I remember it having when I red it in my youth. I think this book, and the others show more in the series hold a very important place in the area of children's literature. Although they really don't serve all that much of a classroom purpose, they have and still do today, kept kids reading ad growing the vocabulary of young readers. show less

SUMMARY: Siblings Jack and Annie must go on an adventure to find a way home when they are suddenly transported to the Wild West.

REVIEW: This book is a wonderful addition to the "Magic Tree House series." This time, the adventure of siblings Jack and Annie takes place in the Wild West. Children will enjoy solving the mystery of the "ghost town," as well as reading about all of the interesting characters that Jack and Annie interact with. This book is also filled with illustrations to enhance the story and provide some details that the text leaves out, since the text itself is fairly simplistic. Despite this, the novel is definitely an entertaining read for children.

Genre: Fantasy
Age: beginner and intermediate
Review/Critique: Jack and Annie have a magical treehouse where they can point to a picture in a book and go where ever they want. They met a woman who gave them riddles to solve so they can become librarians of the treehouse. In this book they are solving one of the riddles and it takes them to an old ghost town in the 1800s. Quickly they run into trouble and are trying to help a cowboy get back his stolen mustangs. Eventually they get the mustangs and convince the cowboy to give up gathering mustang and start writing books. This book is fantasy because the kids magically can go wherever they want to.
Medium: Drawing

Growing up I was always a fan of the Magic Tree House series. I enjoyed this particular book, “Ghost Town At Sundown”, for a few reasons. In the beginning of the book the riddle is given to the reader. The riddle is a way to draw the reader in. I loved this aspect of the book. The entire time I was reading, I kept thinking about the riddle and what the answer could be. This kept me constantly engaged in the text. The next reason why I enjoyed this book was the pictures. Even though this book is a chapter book, the images are descriptive enough to help younger readers build their sense of imagery when reading along through the text. The main idea of this story was to solve a riddle and mystery that took place in the old Wild West.