tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post3275912737751553661..comments2024-02-27T07:56:17.122-06:00Comments on Jean Little Library: The Magic Tree House by Mary Pope OsborneJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05096787155616041727noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post-22372764687447185982010-09-12T10:33:24.027-05:002010-09-12T10:33:24.027-05:00Exactly! Some books are "bridge" books a...Exactly! Some books are "bridge" books and that's what I would call these. They're not the kind of book you rave about how wonderful they are - but they're not supposed to be. The mechanics, shorter text, illustration, interesting but not too involved plot, are more important than the writing or characters. My director was groaning at me when I said we needed to have 3 copies of each title and I was "yeah, I know they're awful, but every single one was checked out this summer and we had a huge empty space on the shelf!"Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096787155616041727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-915041119468051754.post-36154876438532851202010-09-11T22:16:55.299-05:002010-09-11T22:16:55.299-05:00This is a timely post for me because my 7 year old...This is a timely post for me because my 7 year old has been reading these to me just in the past two weeks. I don't think I would have enjoyed them as a kid; I skipped from picture books to Beverly Cleary/Judy Blume and didn't do very much in the way of "in between" readers. As far as the stories go, not much happens in them (the first two, anyway). Very basic with a beginning, middle and ending. I see their true value as being very good books (especially as read alouds) for kids who have moved beyond the Level 3 I Can Read books but aren't ready for the small print/more advanced vocabulary books like the Boxcar Children, Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, etc. My son likes that the page length isn't overwhelming and that there are pictures every few pages to break up the text. The vocabulary is perfect too. My son can sound out almost anything but he doesn't always understand more advanced vocabulary. He can read a book in three or four nights, which also makes the books less overwhelming. We have a deal that when he finishes one he can pick out a new one from the library or the bookstore. As far as the storylines go, he doesn't like them as much as the Bad Kitty chapter books but he's interested enough. I like that they have a little bit of history in them.<br /><br />Anyway, sorry for the novel here. I've always seen these books around but had no idea why someone would want to read them until I was tasked with finding appropriate read aloud material for my 7 year old. For that purpose they are perfect.Katie Frieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08028050595073414222noreply@blogger.com