Pandas and Other Endangered Species

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #26

by Mary Pope Osborne, Salvatore Murdocca (Illustrations), Natalie Pope Boyce

When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in Magic Tree House #48: A Perfect Time for Pandas they had lots of questions. What do pandas eat? Where do they live? Why are snow leopards so scarce? How can we help? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts. Filled with up-to-date information, photos, illustrations, and fun tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discovered in their favorite Magic Tree House adventures.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Chapter Books, Science, Childrens, Nature

128 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Mary Pope Osborne is an American author of children's books and audiobook narrator. She is best known as the author of the Magic Tree House series, which as of 2017 sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, including for Osborne's charitable efforts at promoting children's literacy. One of four children, Osborne moved around in her childhood before attending the University of North Carolina. Following college, Osborne traveled before moving to New York City. She somewhat spontaneously began to write, and her first book was published in 1982. She went on to write a variety of other children's and young adult books before starting the Magic Tree House series in 1992. Osborne's sister Natalie Pope Boyce has written several compendium books to the Magic Tree House series, sometimes with Osborne's husband Will Osborne.

Reviews

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read or listened to all of the Magic Tree House series and many of the fact trackers multiple times due to all of my children's interest in these books from the ages of about 4-8. I normally don't write reviews for them, but since my 5-yr-old son specifically asked me to read this one on my own from cover to cover because he just loved it so much, I thought I would write about it, and the others in the series here.

I think that the fiction books in the series are very simply written and are at a lower reading level than the audience they are intended for. That said, my kids have learned so much from these books. When my son learns or talks about almost any country or time period in history, he invariably makes a connection to a Magic Tree House book. We are unexpectedly home schooling this year due to moving multiple times and often when we are learning he already knows about the places and times in the curriculum, sometimes in more detail than I do! He had to tell me how to pronounce the "Caliph of Baghdad" and also explain to me what that is.

These books have made so many subjects come alive for my kids, and now that my 5-yr-old is reading the fact trackers independently and making book recommendations to me, I couldn't be more pleased with the impact these books have had on his and my other children's learning.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2012, Mary Pope Osborne and her sister Natalie Pope Boyce published Pandas and Other Endangered Species. This book is a nonfiction research guide to the book entitled A Perfect Time For Pandas by Mary Pope Osborne which was published in 2012. The book is mainly about pandas but also contains briefs introducing the species of Bengal Tigers, Fender’s Blue Butterflies, Kincaid’s Lupines, Orangutans, Sloths, Kiwis, Sea Otters, Snow Leopards, and other endangered species. The book contains an introduction to the concept of endangered species. Chapter Five is on the Primatologist Jane Goodall and the Biologist George Schaller. Both Goodall and Schaller have to help protect endangered species. The book has two chapters which give an introduction to pandas. The book was written with the advice of a scientific consultant and an educational advisor. The scientific advisor was Brandie Smith, who is the director of the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The illustrator for this book was Sal Murdocca. The book has an index. Similar to the other books in the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers series, the book has a section on how to do more research for young readers about pandas and other endangered species. Osborne’s and Boyce’s book on Panadas and Other Endangered species is a good introduction to pandas and the concept of endangered species.

[Alison Brewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a little "all over the place" for me. I do not feel like there is a flow to the book. Although this may be the case, there are a lot of facts and knowledge that I did not know before-hand. This book dives into pandas and other species, Chinas's national treasures, and hope for the future. Did you know, female pandas only have two to three days during mating season to get pregnant? This book is for you if you love animals and want to know more about how you can contribute to nature reserve.
In the classroom, this book would be likely suggested to individual animal lovers who want to know random facts about different animals. I would not suggest this being a book read out-loud to the class as it is choppy.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my boys while we were studying endangered animals. They were a bit confused about how a bulk of it focused on just pandas and then it went to other endangered animals -- "Wait, why are they talking about butterflies in a panda book?" These books are kind of hard to read aloud with all the little facts and blurbs to the side (hard to know when to read them aloud or whether to just skip them). All in all, a pretty good book. I think I prefer the fiction versions of the MTH books and then colorful picture books for the nonfiction.

[Molly T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one with my niece. It was my first foray into the "fact tracker" series in the Magic Tree House books, and I liked it better than the fiction series. It was informative without being too dry. Not only did I learn about pandas, but it even touched on some conservation heroes like Jane Goodall. It also discussed the reasons why species are becoming endangered at an alarming rate and gave kids a few things even they could do to help the environment. I can't wait to discuss it with her to see what she found most interesting!

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids love these nonfiction companions - possibly even more than the Magic Treehouse books themselves. This one is full of information about pandas and a chapter on some other endangered animals as well. My kids particularly enjoyed the chapter on baby pandas and how pandas grow up. An excellent resource for kids interesting in learning more about pandas - whether or not they have read A PERFECT TIME FOR PANDAS (although that is also a fun adventure with Jack and Annie).

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to many endangered species, with photos and drawings of many of them. As usual, it has a good list of books, websites, dvds and zoos to learn more. This goes with A Perfect Time for Pandas

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fact Tracker about endangered species and environmentalism to accompany A Perfect Time for Pandas . . .

[Julia Henderson]

Summary: This book is a follow-up book from another Magic Tree House book about pandas. In this book, Jack and Annie get the questions they had from the previous book answered in this book. The book has up-to-date information, photos, and illustrations.

Grade Level: 3-5

Lexile Level: 800

[Marya · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a few other endangered species mentioned here, but honestly I can't recall a single one. Dude! You have pandas! Pandas are super cool! What more did you think you needed?!

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love learning little tidbits about ways people are trying to save endangered species. This is a great book as always.

[Lynn Cutting · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read more of these books to help the kids understand why they are important and how they are connected to Magic greenhouse series yet nonfiction.

[blueygurl2016 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t as interesting as some but it was still pretty interesting. It kinda made me sad and makes me want to help pandas and other endangered species.

[Sydney Humphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I accidentally chose this book, thinking it was just a Magic Tree House book, but it turned out to be something even better. I like this book because it gave a lot of information, and not just about pandas. I learned a lot about endangered species. I also really like the style that it was written. It was very easy to read with a lot of pictures as well.

[PollyAnna Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't hate me because I didn't really like this book. I was simply disappointed because it's about Pandas AND Other Endangered Species. When I read a book about pandas, I want to read a book about PANDAS. I don't really mind learning about other animals, especially endangered ones; it's just that since the original MAGIC TREE HOUSE book is ALL about pandas, I was just looking forward to the nonfiction book that was written in conjunction with the original MAGIC TREE HOUSE book to be ALL about pandas. I love pandas so much, I just want to read all I can about them and I was everyone else to love them as much as I do....

Other than the fact that this book is about more than just pandas, overall, it's really pretty decent. I honestly don't think Mary Pope Osborne can go wrong with her MAGIC TREE HOUSE series. She's found a rhythm/pattern that seems to work; she might as well stick with it.

Besides, it was the MAGIC TREE HOUSE books that really started Samuel on his love for reading. He found that he could zip through them within 3 days, and the next thing I knew, he was WANTING to read.....! Momma's gotta love that! Which means, of course, that the MAGIC TREE HOUSE books are a little special in this house....

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another informative book in the series of Research Guides (now known as Fact Trackers), companion books to the Magic Tree House stories. This book is the companion book to A Perfect Time for Pandas. We have loved these books and read as many as we can get at our local library.

This book offers an in-depth look at Panda bears. We learn about where they live, what they eat, and how they grow, as well as the goodwill gestures of the Chinese to give pandas to foreign zoos. Overall, we found this book interesting and educational, although I think that additional endangered species were added to the book so it wasn't too short.

I think these books are great for elementary school-age children, especially if they are doing a report or want to learn more about a topic. It's a bit long to read all at one time, but we were fascinated by the topic. We really enjoyed reading it together - it was a fun read.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Target Audience: 3-6

Summary: After the last book, #48 A Perfect Time For Pandas, Jack and Annie were curious about animals. They asked questions about many different animals and were given the answers in depth. This book is simply informational about endangered species and provides a variety of animals to pick from, such as: pandas, cranes, bengal tigers, gorillas, and more. Jane Goodall also makes an appearance as well as many hot topics such as poaching.

Discussion Questions:
1. After one year, pandas will weigh ____ lbs? If humans weighed that much at one year, how heavy would you be at your age?
2. What is a mock fight and why do the gorillas perform such an event?
3. If you could choose to fund a major donation for one animal listed in this book, which would it be and why?
4. What can you do to help save some of these endangered animals?
5. Pick one unique characteristic about an animal that you did not already know and discuss it with your neighbors.

Osborne, M., & Boyce, N. (2012). Pandas and other endangered species. New York: Random House.

[Amara Tanith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pandas and Other Endangered Species is a wonderful installment to a wonderful series, and I would recommend it to any parent, child, or fan of children's books.

For a quick overview of what one can expect their child to learn from the book, see my full review at Amara's Eden.

[Ava Gardner]

i love pandas! This is a great book for panda lovers.

[Gheraba Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

That makes me ultra sure that Pandas are the most cute creatures ever .....

[Jacqueline A Bogue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

The b took was ok I wouldn't say it was the best but was very interesting about endangered species and it was a ok book

[Twotwo]

ar 5.6

[Jacalynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me lots of imformation on pandas and other endangered animals.

[Payton · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are 1600 pandas left.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

in china a hurricane attacked the panda playhouse and one baby panda and mother died.

[Sierra Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a field trip, we took our second graders to watch Born in China as a way to create awareness of the dangers some species face. I took the opportunity to also read this book to them so that they could get more information. As always, The Magic Tree House delivers! The accompanying pictures and illustrations add even more to this great companion to its fiction counterpart.

[Ellen Moore]

This is a chapter book that pairs with the Magic Tree House series, but is an informational text, without the magic. It is full of engaging pencil and pen illustrations and photographs, and covers topics from different endangered species, important people who are helping them such as Dr. Jane Goodall, and there is even a section called “Kids Can!” all about how kids specifically can help wildlife and endangered species. This would make a great independent reading book, and is very simple, clear, and informative. The back matter is really extensive, and would be really helpful for kids who want to help and learn more.