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Magic Tree House: #38-39
Book by Mary Pope Osborne
- GenresChildrens
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
About the author
Mary Pope Osborne
540 books2,679 followersMary 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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 21, 2019
Schoolmates travel back in time to the 1500's and meet historical figures of the time and are careful not to impart the modern wisdom that we all to often do not appreciate or celebrate as we likely should.
Great read .
Great read .
June 3, 2013
Fantasy books with big dose of historical truth, and plenty of inspirational sage advice given by Leonardo DaVinci give Monday with a Mad Genius enoug...moreFantasy books with big dose of historical truth, and plenty of inspirational sage advice given by Leonardo DaVinci give Monday with a Mad Genius enough appeal that any 3rd or 4th grade girl or boy has good reason to keep reading. This chapter book by Mary Pope Osborne doesn't dissapoint with plenty of adventures and enough twists, turns, and revelations about Leonardo DaVinci's art and broadly inquisitive mind that any child would want to know more about this Renaissance man's life.
Our two young protagonists brother and sister Jack and Annie are about to start another school year in their town of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. A treehouse magically appeared in their parents backyard. This treehouse was owned by magician and librarian Morgan LeFay from Camelot. Merlin the most famous of magicians in Camelot has sent them on four "Merlin Missions to save Camelot. Two teenagers Kathleen and Teddy have given Jack and Annie the Wand of Dianthus to save Merlin on their second mission. The two can only use the wand on three conditions: "You can only use it for the good of others. You can only use it after you've tried your hardest. And you can only use it with a command of five words." (p.9) With those words of wisdom, Jack and Annie are transported by the magic treehouse to another mystical place and time- Florence, Italy early 16th century.
Finding Leonardo DaVinci in the bustling city of rebirthed Florence is no easy task. Jack and Anne are always one step behind from baker, bookstore owner, to bird seller, then keep missing him on his morning business stops through the city. Finally in exasperation they use the wand to help the genius morning, noon, and all day long. After convincing the bird seller that Jack and Annie are not trying to steal his bird, the two then begin their real adventure of finding out exactly what were Leonardo's interests as artist, inventor, and scientist. We see DaVinci show Jack and Annie his collossal and monumental fresco depicting the wages and horrors of war. Leonardo is experimenting with paints and fast drying surfaces, so he asks Annie and Frank to help dry the painting with bowls of fire. Unfortunately, the fire is too hot and melts and ruins the fresco painting. Leonardo is despondent and a bit agitated with himself at having not forseen this problem.
Annie and Jack are here to help, and they go over to DaVinci's magnificent and infinitely fascinating studio where books, costumes, instruments, half finished drawings and paintings, and loads of journals are kept. Jack and Annie come upon one book, and they see that Leonardo has written everything from right to left and backwards. They must hold Davinci's notebook up to a mirror. Along with some strange musings by Leonardo about many countless observations of human and animal behavior, the two come upon DaVinci's notebook sketches of his great flying bird. Leonardo ever the inventor and scientist decides that he will, unbeknownst to Jack and Annie, take his flying contraption up to the highest hill in Florence and try to take flight. Frank and Annie try to stop him, but it is too late. He runs and lifts a few feet with his arm flapping, but Leornardo and his flying bird end up in a tangle of wood and leather pieces. Again, Leornardo has failed, but the Annie and Frank are here to help the genius morning, noon, and night. They use the Wand of Dianthus to give DaVinci real bird wings and feathers. The three go to the highest bell tower in Florence and commence to fly off and around this beautiful Renaissance city. DaVinci is ecstatic, and the two have kept their promise to help the genius. Leonardo introduces Jack and Annie to the famous Mona Lisa, and readers are given some insight into why she doesn't smile. Read to find out Mary Pope Osborne's interpretation of this great artistic mystery.
What makes this chapter book so interesting is that fantasy, wild imagination, and some very factual details about Leonardo Davinci's life are mixed together. Jack and Annie are about 8 or 9, so they have all the hyper inquisitiveness about that world that the Leonardo DaVinci himself likely had about the world his whole rich life. That our author Osborne puts these words into our fictional Leonardo's voice. The key to happiness is curiosity! Davinci tells Jack and Annie that when life is depressing or gives us unexpected failures that curiosity is the key to unlocking our imagination and fascination about how the world works. Annie and Jack's adventure is over. They have helped the genius to experience flight, but he has given them something just as priceless- endless curiosity. They return to Frog Creek, Pennsylvania bounding down the forest floor reinvigorated and excited about returning to school. Wouldn't every teacher wish that all their students were return to school with boundless enthusiasm and curiosity about learning. With Mary Pope Osborne's tales, we can all believe this is possible
Our two young protagonists brother and sister Jack and Annie are about to start another school year in their town of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. A treehouse magically appeared in their parents backyard. This treehouse was owned by magician and librarian Morgan LeFay from Camelot. Merlin the most famous of magicians in Camelot has sent them on four "Merlin Missions to save Camelot. Two teenagers Kathleen and Teddy have given Jack and Annie the Wand of Dianthus to save Merlin on their second mission. The two can only use the wand on three conditions: "You can only use it for the good of others. You can only use it after you've tried your hardest. And you can only use it with a command of five words." (p.9) With those words of wisdom, Jack and Annie are transported by the magic treehouse to another mystical place and time- Florence, Italy early 16th century.
Finding Leonardo DaVinci in the bustling city of rebirthed Florence is no easy task. Jack and Anne are always one step behind from baker, bookstore owner, to bird seller, then keep missing him on his morning business stops through the city. Finally in exasperation they use the wand to help the genius morning, noon, and all day long. After convincing the bird seller that Jack and Annie are not trying to steal his bird, the two then begin their real adventure of finding out exactly what were Leonardo's interests as artist, inventor, and scientist. We see DaVinci show Jack and Annie his collossal and monumental fresco depicting the wages and horrors of war. Leonardo is experimenting with paints and fast drying surfaces, so he asks Annie and Frank to help dry the painting with bowls of fire. Unfortunately, the fire is too hot and melts and ruins the fresco painting. Leonardo is despondent and a bit agitated with himself at having not forseen this problem.
Annie and Jack are here to help, and they go over to DaVinci's magnificent and infinitely fascinating studio where books, costumes, instruments, half finished drawings and paintings, and loads of journals are kept. Jack and Annie come upon one book, and they see that Leonardo has written everything from right to left and backwards. They must hold Davinci's notebook up to a mirror. Along with some strange musings by Leonardo about many countless observations of human and animal behavior, the two come upon DaVinci's notebook sketches of his great flying bird. Leonardo ever the inventor and scientist decides that he will, unbeknownst to Jack and Annie, take his flying contraption up to the highest hill in Florence and try to take flight. Frank and Annie try to stop him, but it is too late. He runs and lifts a few feet with his arm flapping, but Leornardo and his flying bird end up in a tangle of wood and leather pieces. Again, Leornardo has failed, but the Annie and Frank are here to help the genius morning, noon, and night. They use the Wand of Dianthus to give DaVinci real bird wings and feathers. The three go to the highest bell tower in Florence and commence to fly off and around this beautiful Renaissance city. DaVinci is ecstatic, and the two have kept their promise to help the genius. Leonardo introduces Jack and Annie to the famous Mona Lisa, and readers are given some insight into why she doesn't smile. Read to find out Mary Pope Osborne's interpretation of this great artistic mystery.
What makes this chapter book so interesting is that fantasy, wild imagination, and some very factual details about Leonardo Davinci's life are mixed together. Jack and Annie are about 8 or 9, so they have all the hyper inquisitiveness about that world that the Leonardo DaVinci himself likely had about the world his whole rich life. That our author Osborne puts these words into our fictional Leonardo's voice. The key to happiness is curiosity! Davinci tells Jack and Annie that when life is depressing or gives us unexpected failures that curiosity is the key to unlocking our imagination and fascination about how the world works. Annie and Jack's adventure is over. They have helped the genius to experience flight, but he has given them something just as priceless- endless curiosity. They return to Frog Creek, Pennsylvania bounding down the forest floor reinvigorated and excited about returning to school. Wouldn't every teacher wish that all their students were return to school with boundless enthusiasm and curiosity about learning. With Mary Pope Osborne's tales, we can all believe this is possible
June 5, 2013
We listened to Monday with a Mad Genius for homeschool. I love the way Mary Pope Osborne brings history to life. Unfortunately, we lost the CDs before I could get it back to the library (so they say... I'm pretty sure I gave it back) so I had to pay $30+ to restock it.
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March 5, 2011did not like this book at all!! :(
March 30, 2016
Magic Tree House: #38-39
Osborne, Mary Pope
leonardo da vince and nemo
Osborne, Mary Pope
leonardo da vince and nemo
April 17, 2013
I loved it!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews