KidCrunch

Earlier this week, my daughter and I embarked on a trip around the world (and back in time) with Jack and his sister Annie from Mary Pope Osborne’s book series The Magic Tree House.  This is one of the best book series for kids who are just starting to read chapter books.

In The Magic Tree House series, eight year old Jack and seven year old Annie discover a book-filled tree house near their home in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania.  By pointing to a book and making a wish, Jack and Annie are magically transported by the tree house to the setting of the book.

Young readers pick up tidbits of knowledge with each adventure - as they cross the Delaware with George Washington, help a baby kangaroo escape an Australian wildfire or watch the Olympic Games with Plato.  In addition, there are Research Guides that provide background information on many of the adventures.

The true value of the series is not the knowledge gained from each book.  Instead, it is the love of reading that many kids first experience when introduced to The Magic Tree House books.  Like so many young readers, my kids read one Magic Tree House book after another until they finished the series. 

To help your kids on this journey, the books in this popular series are listed in order below.

1. Dinosaurs Before Dark
2. The Knight at Dawn
3. Mummies in the Morning
4. Pirates Past Noon
5. Night of the Ninjas
6. Afternoon on the Amazon
7. Sunset of the Sabertooth
8. Midnight on the Moon
9. Dolphins at Daybreak
10. Ghost Town at Sundown
11. Lions at Lunchtime
12. Polar Bears Past Bedtime
13. Vacation Under the Volcano
14. Day of the Dragon King
15. Viking Ships at Sunrise
16. Hour of the Olympics
17. Tonight on the Titanic
18. Buffalo Before Breakfast
19. Tigers at Twilight
20. Dingoes at Dinnertime
21. Civil War on Sunday
22. Revolutionary War on Wednesday
23. Twister on Tuesday
24. Earthquake in the Early Morning
25. Stage Fright on a Summer Night
26. Good Morning, Gorillas
27. Thanksgiving on Thursday
28. High Tide in Hawaii
29. Christmas in Camelot
30. Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve
31. Summer of the Sea Serpent
32. Winter of the Ice Wizard
33. Carnival at Candlelight
34. Season of the Sandstorms
35. Night of the New Magicians
36. Blizzard of the Blue Moon
37. Dragon of the Red Dawn
38. Monday with a Mad Genius
39. Dark Day in the Deep Sea
40. Eve of the Emperor Penguin
41. Moonlight on the Magic Flute

The challenge for parents will come when their kids finish The Magic Tree House series.  My oldest son had a hard time finding books that he enjoyed as much (until he found The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner.)  He is ten now, but I suspect he still sneaks a copy of the latest Magic Tree House books from his little sister for a quick, familiar read.

Shop for The Magic Tree House books and other popular kids book series at the KidCrunch Store.

Today, young students everywhere are celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss.  The ingenious Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904, wrote and illustrated 44 books for children, including these favorites (with their memorable first lines):

1. Oh, the Places You’ll Go!  Congratulations!  Today is your day.  You’re off to Great Places!  You’re off and away!
2. Green Eggs and Ham  I am Sam.  I am Sam.  Sam I am.
3. The Cat in the Hat  The sun did not shine.  It was too wet to play.  So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day.
4. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish  From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere.
5. Happy Birthday to You!  I wish we could do what they do in Katroo.  They sure know how to say “Happy Birthday to You!”
6. There’s a Wocket in My Pocket!  Did you ever have the feeling there’s a WASKET in your BASKET?
7. Horton Hears a Who!  On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool, In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool, He was splashing…enjoying the jungle’s great joys…When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.
8. Fox in Socks  Fox / Socks / Box / Knox / Knox in box.  Fox in socks.
9. Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!  The time has come.  The time is now.  Just go.  Go.  GO!  I don’t care how.
10. The Lorax  At the far end of town / where the Grickle-grass grows / and the wind smells slow-and-sour when it blows / and no birds ever sing excepting old crows…is the Street of the Lifted Lorax.

Shop for these and more Dr. Seuss books at the KidCrunch Store.

One of the best books I have purchased for my kids is 50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet by Dennis Denenberg and Lorraine Roscoe.

The profiled heroes include both historical and contemporary figures from diverse fields.  Notable men include Benjamin Franklin, Jonas Salk, John Glenn and Yo-Yo Ma.  The heroic women include Mary McLeod Bethune, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martha Graham and Sandra Day O’Connor.

For each hero, the book includes an easy-to-read two page profile with black and white photographs and illustrations.

This is a great book to keep in the backseat of the car for kids to flip through - and be inspired.

Shop for this book and other biographies at the KidCrunch Store.

Kids who like science will love The Magic School Bus, a series that follows the adventures of Ms. Frizzle, a fearless science teacher who takes her students on amazing field trips aboard her incredible bus.  The Magic School Bus changes form and moves across time to bring Ms. Frizzle and her class to outer space, inside the human body and on other fantastic journeys through the world of science.

Magic School Bus Classic Books are cartoon-like, detail-packed books written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen.  The series was turned into an educational TV show - with Lily Tomlin as the voice of Ms. Frizzle - that is available as Magic School Bus DVDs.  Later, a variety of authors contributed to additional books in the classic format, plus a series of Magic School Bus Chapter Books which continue the adventures of Ms. Frizzle and her class in chapter book form.

The Magic School Bus series is valuable because it conveys detailed scientific information in a format that is both understandable and entertaining to kids.

Shop for Magic School Bus books and DVDs at the KidCrunch Store.