This is Kathy Pfautsch and you are listening to Check It Out.
With summer coming to a bittersweet end and school creeping around the corner, it wouldn’t be too early to get the reading juices flowing again. On that note, I will be recommending a kid friendly entry level chapter book that we all might know that is the first book of the ever-loving Magic Treehouse series entitled Dinosaurs Before Dark written by Mary Pope Osbourne.
In this ten chapters chapter book, main characters/siblings Jack who is the oldest and Annie who is the youngest, stumble upon a treehouse in the woods close to their home in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. Searching inside they find numerous books but one about dinosaurs heightens Jack’s interest. Brushing through the pages he suddenly sees a winged beast called a pteranodon. Whishing he could see the pteranodon in person, the brother notices the wind picking up. It begins to blow rapidly, spinning the treehouse around in circles. As soon as this happens the children close their eyes holding onto each other. Finally, the wind dies down and the treehouse has come to a stop. They are now in the Cretaceous period.
The two siblings get to encounter the famous winged beast along with other friendly dinosaurs. Jack decides to take notes on things during their adventure. Walking far and wide throughout the land, exploring every nook and cranny, Jack and Annie see plenty of things. What catches their eye the most is a heard of Anatosaurus. But soon the peaceful time observing these creatures is interrupted by a tyrannosaurs rex. Running back to the treehouse the brother remembers he forgot his backpack and the book.
Will Jack retrieve his bag and book? Do the siblings survive the tyrannosaurs rex attack? Will they return to their hometown Frog Creek? What is this medallion with a “M” on it?
Check out Dinosaurs Before Dark at the Sioux City Public Library to find out the ending and to also check out other entries in the Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osbourne.
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