Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon

When I was little, these books were some of my first chapter books. I remember them as being huge at the time, but not dauntingly so. I do remember being proud and bragging that the first one was the biggest book I'd ever read. Now I'm older, and am ready to pass these stories on to the next generation. As a child, reading a chapter felt like an accomplishment, not because it was long or difficult, but because it was a *chapter.* Looking at the books now, the chapters are short -- only about two or three pages on average. I think the longest chapter in the first four books is something like six or eight pages, though that might be later on. The font is large, but not overwhelmingly so. It's small enough to give it a "grown up" feeling, while still being large enough for young eyes to focus on and track easily. There are pictures every couple pages, as well. Again, spread out enough to give a feeling of reading a "real" book, like an adult, while still acknowledging that the readers are still very much children.The stories are fast paced, which is perfect for keeping the attention early readers, especially when you're bridging them from picture books to chapter books. In the first ten pages of the first book, Jack and Annie are introduced and given basic characterization (Jack is the older brother and an academic, his younger sister Annie is the adventurer). The children discover a tree house full of books, and accidently end up in pre-historic times with dinosaurs outside the window. The explore the area, take notes, and meet the big baddy, all within the first sprint of pages.Throughout the books, Jack has his handy dandy notebook that he fills with notes on his adventures. In the first book, he takes basic notes on each dinosaur or strange event that happens. This helps set up a foundation for learning *how* to take notes, and why they are useful. In the beginning, Jack's notes are short and simplistic. "Friendly" and "Eats grass" being good examples. Later on, his notes become slightly more complex, though it takes several books for this to occur. Even then, it's not a sudden jump -- it's gradual. In later books (I think starting in book two, but not really coming into play until book four) Jack actually refers back to the notes he's taken so far and uses them to put together the pieces to a puzzle. Jack also makes a habit of carrying the book they wished on in his backpack every time they go on an adventure. Any time the children encounter a new word, something new or strange, they open up the book in question and look up information. Rather than saying "They flipped through the book until they found what they were looking for," the author makes a point of saying *how* they found it. For example, showing Jack and Annie looking through the table of contents, or searching under "K" for knight. The author doesn't write a sermon on how to take notes or look up information -- remember, the stories are fast paced. Instead, she shows glimpses of the children doing this overtime until a clear pattern emerges on how to do these things.The stories are based around the children going someplace far away from home and encountering strange and new things they had never seen or heard about before, expanding their knowledge. There's also a high level of risk involved. When they go to Pompeii, for example, they need to get back to the tree house before the volcano explodes. These two elements paired with the fast pace of the stories provide a grand feeling of adventure, which is exactly what you want when trying to get kids hooked on reading books. In addition to being fun, they also do a good job of sneaking in basic study skills, all while providing a basic foundation for learning about whatever time and place the children go to in whichever book. In The first one, for example, they learn about dinosaurs.Definitely a well rounded series and a great starter set for transitioning kids into chapter books. Even if the books are a bit beyond your child's reading level at the moment, read the books to them anyway. Odds are that they will get hooked on the story, and when they are able to read them on their own, they'll already have a head start. If nothing else, they will still be learning while you read to them, even if they don't follow along with their eyes. There's no way to lose.

Such a cute series for younger kids. My son who’s 5 Loves all the different stories. it has created him be more curious about what happens in each book.

I purchased the "Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1-4" as a gift. The 4 books were mesmerizing from beginning to the end! It was a fantastic purchase.

This is a classic series! I loved these books! My son is in second grade and has to read chapter books now, so I thought this was a good set to start with at home. They’re reading ‘The Boxcar Children’ in class right now.He says he really likes the first book! He has gone through the first few chapters pretty quickly, so I think it’s an easy read for him. But I’ll be honest, he doesn’t love to read (yet :)). But he says he likes it and seems to comprehend what he’s reading, because I ask a LOT of comprehension questions!Final note, I do like that this set came with the first four books, enough to make sure we liked them and got into it. It was on sale, and shipped super quick, so that’s always a plus. I’ll definitely be getting the bigger set after he finishes these.

my mother in law had heard about this series, and bought the 1st set for my then 7&9 yr old girls. they devoured them, particularly the 7 year old. they read all of them by the first week and requested the full series. the younger girl read up to 3 a night, leaving the family evening movie so she could get a head start on the next book in her bedroom. several of the books she read over 8 times. as they aged out they requested to get the merlin series. I wish the graphic novels were an option for them back then. there's a great variety of subjects covered, tho they do seem America-centric at times. since we don't live there, it was an interesting way to learn different history for us; but I wish there had been a bit more of the world stuff. the san Fransisco fire was one of the faves tho; read multiple times. since boy/girl main characters this is excellent for boys and girls, no matter their reading level. I think they aged up to Merlin around 10; but even when we sold the series on, one kid kept the Pompeii book since still her fave. the story lines are so good, that I think if a 10 yr old that wasn't enjoying reading at school, this could be a good way to get them into it. the graphic novel versions are more recent, so haven't read them; but I think it's a great idea, as my now 10&12 yr olds are really enjoying that medium.

Lovely,Takes you back in time to the dinosaurs, The Night at Dawn, Night of the Ninjas, Mummies in the Morning 🌄, and Pirates Past Noon It really inspired me to read way more than I Wanted to!

Great for my second grader. He loves to read and these are great adventures for his imaginary mind/play. Highly recommend.

This box that is wonderful. We love the treehouse series. My kids couldn’t wait for reading time each night. It’s very affordable for the whole box set. I even bought a box set for the kids school library.