Dolphins at Daybreak

The Magic Tree House series is a wonderful collection of books for young readers. I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons. The language was very descriptive, which contained several sensory details. Two examples of these types of details used in the book are “The sky was pale gray. The air felt freshly washed” and “A breeze blew through the window. Sea gulls cried. Waves lapped the shore.” Sensory details are extremely beneficial to a story because it keeps the reader interested. Also this allows the reader to picture in their minds what is occurring throughout the story. There is a large amount of dialogue provided that helps tell a story. The writing is organized into chapters. The chapters are arranged in sequential show more order of events happening to Annie and Jack. My favorite aspect of this story is the bond between the characters, Jack and Annie. They are both realistic and well-developed siblings, who take adventures to new places together. Jack is the restrained older brother who learns through books and writing down information. He always has a book, pencil, and notebook paper in his backpack ready to look up information and take down notes. Annie is the adventurous younger sister who learns through exploring. She is always willing to take the risks when exploring the different adventures with her older brother. Jack protects Annie and attempts to keep them both out of trouble in this adventure. I loved the black-and-white illustrations by Sal Murdocca because they are very detailed. Although this story is fictional, it still contains factual information about sea life. An example of this would be “The giant clam of the coral reef is three feet wide and weighs up to 200 pounds.” Therefore, when readers are exploring Jack and Annie’s adventure, they are also learning new information about marine animals and life in the ocean. The message that Jack and Annie learned is that dolphins are their heroes in this particular story. This is obvious when Annie says, “I guess they were the true pearl in the oyster.” The big idea is brothers and sisters can work together, solve problems together, and explore new places together. show less

The Magic Tree House series has been a wonderful group of books to allow children to learn and use their imagination in ways they may not get. In book number 9 Dolphins at Daybreak Jack and Annie are given a new challenge to embark. They are sent to find the answer to Morgan La Fey’s riddles. During their search they take a ride on a submarine and learn how enchanting and scary being under the sea can really be. I think this is a wonderful book that gives fun and adventure along with a wonderful learning experience.

The Magic Tree House series is wonderful and I really enjoyed this book in the series for so many reasons. The language was very descriptive and contained several sensory details. Two examples of sensory details used are “The sky was pale gray. The air felt freshly washed” and “A breeze blew through the window. Sea gulls cried. Waves lapped the shore.” Sensory details are beneficial to a story because it keeps the reader interested and allows them to picture in their minds what is occurring. There is a large amount of dialogue provided, which I believe helps tell a better story. The writing is well organized into paragraphs and chapters. The chapters are arranged in chronological order of events. My favorite aspects of this show more story are the characters. Jack and Annie are believable and well-developed siblings who adventure to exciting new places together. Jack is the precautious older brother who learns through books and writing down information. Annie is the adventurous and daring younger sister who learns through exploring. Jack protects Annie and attempts to keep them both out of trouble. I love sibling bond these two characters have with each other. The plot of this story is Jack and Annie must travel to the ocean and solve a riddle for Morgan le Fay. Suspense is created when an octopus grasps onto Jack and Annie’s mini-sub, when the ceiling of the mini-sub cracks and leaks, and when a hammerhead sharks follows the siblings through open water. Fortunately, two dolphins safely bring Jack and Annie back to land. I enjoyed the black-and-white illustrations because they were very detailed. Although this story is fictional, it still contains factual information about sea life, such as, “The giant clam of the coral reef is three feet wide and weighs up to 200 pounds.” Therefore, as readers are enjoying Jack and Annie’s adventure, they are also gaining knowledge on marine animals. The message that Jack and Annie learned is that dolphins are heroes, which is evident when Annie states, “I guess they were the true pearl in the oyster.” The big idea for readers is brothers and sisters can work together to solve problems and have adventures. show less

Dolphins At Daybreak is a great book for kids who are just starting to learn how to read chapter books. This series helps kids learn to read complex sentences, while also learning about nonfiction facts. For example, Jack and Annie both learn about different ocean animals while on their adventure, teaching kids about those animals as well. Growing up, I never read these kinds of books, but I wish I did because it would've taught me a lot about certain facts, such as ocean animals. However, I do think the images should be illustrated in color, only so that the kids can better understand them. In this book, it mentions colors, but they aren't portrayed through the images, and I think that would get kids to like these books more.

There are some books that you see all the time on the library shelves, they have a constant circulation, and one day you realize you haven't read a single one. This especially seems to happen to me with juvenile series. I did read some series when I was a child - Encyclopedia Brown, some Boxcar Children, etc. but was never very interested in beginning chapter books after I finished all the easy readers. So, the other day a kid asked for something to read like Magic Tree House. Usually, by the time a kid has gotten to the end of Magic Tree House they've gotten to a higher reading level and want something else to read. If not, I just pass them Canadian Flyer by Frieda Wishinsky. This kid definitely wanted a read-alike and I found myself show more at a loss. So, I decided to read some.

The first Magic Tree House story, Dinosaurs Before Dark tells how Jack and his younger sister Annie discover a mysterious tree house that transports them through time - back to the dinosaur age! With the help of a friendly dinosaur they manage to escape, learning some interesting facts about dinosaurs along the way as well as picking up a mysterious clue to the owner of the tree house. Fast forward through a couple books, and Dolphins at Daybreak, the tenth adventure, has Jack and Annie off on a mission to the beach at the request of Morgan le Fay, who apparently owns the tree house and is at odds with Merlin. Jack and Annie accidentally turn on the mini submarine they are looking at and take an exciting and scary trip through a coral reef and are rescued from a shark by two dolphins. Zipping way, way ahead to the secondary series, the Merlin Missions (which are a higher reading level), in Night of the New Magicians Jack and Annie are now apparently working for Merlin and have acquired a little magic. They travel to the 1889 Paris World Fair to rescue four "magicians" from an evil wizard. The magicians turn out to be famous inventors and Jack and Annie learn about their inventions and their life philosophies.

So, a nice little sample here. My conclusion...I don't think I would have been much interested in these myself as a child, but I can see the appeal. There's a little magic, a little history, a little adventure, some humor, basically a smorgasbord of plot and genre elements. I found the "lessons", especially in the Merlin Mission, rather obvious but many kids (and adults) like a certain amount of didactism. As far as recommending read-alikes...I'm still at a loss. What do you recommend as a read-alike for Magic Tree House?

Verdict: Undoubtedly, your library already owns them. I'm working on making sure we have 3 copies of each title (the shelf completely emptied out this summer) and replacing the grime-encrusted older copies.

Dinosaurs before dark
ISBN: 978-0375844058; Published May 2008 by Random House; Borrowed from the library

Dolphins at daybreak
ISBN: 978-0679883388; Published April 1997 by Random House; Borrowed from the library

Night of the new magicians
ISBN: 978-0375830358; Published March 2006 by Random House; Borrowed from the library show less

In my opinion this book, and the entire series, is a greta book for young children learning to read chapter books. Children can read these books and travel to far away places that they may never be able to actually go to. This is so great for kids because it allows them to use their imagination to gain worldly knowledge. In this book, the characters use their treehouse to travel to Hawaii. The author uses strong vocabulary to vividly describe the beach they land on. Many children have never seen a beach and have no idea what it looks, sounds or smells like. The vocabulary, she uses words like palm tress, clear water, salty air, are all words that the kids know but may not no in combination or in reference. This book would certainly help show more expand the mind of a emerging reader. The overall message of the book is with imagination, anything is possible. Over the course of the book the characters went on a whole adventure thousands of miles away from home, but in the end, they were just back in the treehouse in their yard. This will help kids use their imagination to have fun! show less

Loved this book. I think its perfect for young children who begin to read chapter books. Demonstrates their adventure while teaching the readers.