today was library day for g and he brought this book home. practically already read. at least he claimed to have finished it 60 seconds after getting in the car. i guess i didn't really believe him and asked him to tell me what happened in it. exactly 31 minutes later he finally said, "and that was the end of the story." g doesn't believe in leaving out any details. i no longer doubt that he read the book and read it well. and i'm so very happy about that. this one is on a 4th grade level. quite an accomplishment for a 2nd grader who struggled with reading all through kindergarten and much of 1st grade. i'm thankful for authors like this one who take the time to write really good books for elementary age children. i haven't read any of this series yet, but from g's enthusiasm and the fact that we ran to the public library for three more of them just 3 hours after finishing the first i have to think that these are really good books.
now i can attest to the fact that these are really good books as i read many with g before he started reading them like crazy on his own. they're written on 1st and 2nd grade levels depending on the book and g started reading them in the spring of last year. i will forever be indebted to mary pope osborne to turning my baby on to real reading. he was so very proud of reading chapter books. i'm also indebted to her for handing so much knowledge to my child in such a manner that he would eagerly ask for more. he has read these books voraciously and told me just today that the one above has arrived at his school's library and he would like to read it. happy day. i'm a mother and educator who believes in cultural diversity, environmental awareness, scientific exploration, beauty in the arts, and the idea that history repeats itself. mary pope osborne believes in these things too. in her books we've traveled to every continent many times over. we've visited with darwin, leonardo da vinci, and clara barton among so many others. we've been introduced to haiku, sirens, and the blues. we've explored the arctic circle, traveled the seven seas on a pirate ship, and soared above the clouds on pterodactyl wings. these are really good books. if you have a new reader do check them out. i believe you will find them to be really good books too.
I agree, The Magic Treehouse books are wonderful! My darling son hated reading until he started with these.
ReplyDeleteOnce students get into reading Magic Tree House, we see their reading scores go way up! Of course, in a year or so, you'll want him to move on to other books. If he has a real interest in history, I recommend The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. These (there are 4 volumes) are homeschooling textbooks written at a grade 3 level. Each chapter is about 4 pages long with detailed pen-and-ink illustrations. They cost about $15 on Amazon and are well-worth the money. I usually read them aloud to my students and they love them.
ReplyDelete