Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House Series #1)

by Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

With so many Magic Treehouse books to choose from, why not start at the very beginning? And with dinosaurs, no less! This is where Jack, Annie, and the treehouse itself begin. It's a prehistoric adventure sure to leave you plowing through the countless other installments of this timeless series.

Read the #1 bestselling chapter book that started it all! Magic. Mystery. Time-travel. Get whisked back in time in the magic tree house with Jack and Annie!

Where did the tree house come from?

Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark…or will they become a dinosaur’s dinner?

The Magic Tree House series has been a beloved favorite for over 25 years and is sure to inspire a love of reading—and adventure—in every child who joins Jack and Annie!

Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid?
• Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books
• Magic Tree House Graphic Novels:  Jack and Annie's original adventures come to life with full-color, vibrant art, perfect for graphic novel fans and reluctant readers
• Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader
• Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure
• Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679824114
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	07/28/1992
Series:	Magic Tree House: A Stepping Stone Book (TM) , #1
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	358
Product dimensions:	7.92(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.22(d)
Lexile:	510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

MARY POPE OSBORNE is the author of the New York Times number one bestselling Magic Tree House series. She and her husband, writer Will Osborne (author of Magic Tree House: The Musical), live in northwestern Connecticut with their three dogs. Ms. Osborne is also the coauthor of the companion Magic Tree House Fact Trackers series with Will, and with her sister, Natalie Pope Boyce.

SAL MURDOCCA has illustrated more than 200 children's trade and text books. He is also a librettist for children's opera, a video artist, an avid runner, hiker, and bicyclist, and a teacher of children's illustration at the Parsons School of Design. Sal lives and works in New York with his wife, Nancy.

Hometown:

Goshen, Connecticut

Date of Birth:

May 20, 1949

Place of Birth:

Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Education:

B.A., University of North Carolina

Website:

http://www.marypopeosborne.com

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1-3-- This enjoyable time-travel fantasy is a successful beginning chapter book. Jack and his younger sister find a tree house filled with books. When he wishes he could really see the Pteranodon pictured in one of them, it appears at the window. The children have been transported back to the Cretaceous period. They begin to explore and are soon threatened by a Tyrannosaurus. The Pteranodon comes to their rescue, and they figure out enough about the magic that carried them back in time to be able to use it to return home. There is plenty of suspense and magic here, and enough dinosaur information to please science buffs. Characterization is sketchy and older children will find the plot predictable, but readers just past the easy-to-read stage will find it satisfying. It should attract those who devour Ruth Chew's books. --Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ

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