Do you want to know what Jack and Annie do in The Magic Tree House In Christmas? This maybe their last adventure! This book is about two kids named Jack and Annie who go to a magic tree house to live an adventure in a book. And the pictures are really good but they only have a few pictures. I give it two thumbs up! If you want to see what adventure they have, read Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne.

I liked this book a lot because it was interesting and it was an absoloute page turner!I recommend this book to people who like adventure books and a little bit of magic!

I LOVE to read but this book has open my reading up even more I am a A+ in reading I love this book!!!!I really do!!...Thanks

I bought this set on tape for my son's 6th birthday so we could listen to them in the car while travelling. The stories are well-done and made him use his imagination. We enjoyed trying guessing what dinosaurs were being described and he wondered if the kids could see the moon and stars while they were in the castle. Even my 3-year-old had a good time listening. They can't wait to go on another trip to hear more of the stories.

I AM A GRANDMOTHER OF A 7 YR OLD BOY. I WISHED THAT I COULD
DEVELOP A LOVE OF BOOKS IN HIM LIKE I HAVE. THE TREE HOUSE SERIES HAVE DONE JUST THAT. MY GRANDSON AND I TAKE TURNS READING EACH CHAPTER. I AM NOT SURE WHO ENJOYS THE STORIES MORE ME OR HIM. WE CAN'T WAIT FOR THE WEEKENDS SO WE CAN READ TOGETHER.

How would you like to ride on a pteranodon? Now you can! You could ride a pteranodon when you read magic tree house dinosaurs before dark. Annie's brother Jack did. Jack and Annie were also chased by a Tea-rex, and Annie tried to make friend with a duckbilled Dinosaur she was trying to talk to the Dinosaur. Jack kept taking notes. Jack and Annie now there is a magical witch or wizard because Jack found something that had an M on it.

I rushed home every day after work to read a little more of this Trollope comedy. The book starts out with the death of a bishop during a change in political power. The new bishop is a puppet to his wife Mrs. Proudie and her protégé Mr. Slope. Along the way we meet outrageous clergymen, a seductive invalid from Italy, and a whole host of delightfully ridiculous characters. Trollope has designed most of these characters to be "over the top". I kept wondering what a film version starring the Monty Python characters would look like. He wrote an equivalent of a soap opera, only it doesn't take place at the "hospital", it takes place with the bishops. Some of the characters you love, some of the characters you hate, and then there are those you love to hate. Trollope speaks to the reader throughout the novel using the mimetic voice, so we feel like we are at a cocktail party and these 19th century characters are our friends (or at least the people we're avoiding at the party!). The themes and characters are timeless. The book deals with power, especially power struggles between the sexes. We encounter greed, love, desperation, seductive sirens, and generosity. Like many books of this time period however, the modern reader has to give it a chance. No one is murdered on the first page, and it takes quite a few chapters for the action to pick up. But pick up it does by page 70, and accelerates into a raucously funny novel from there. Although I didn't read the Warden, I didn't feel lost and I'm curious to read the rest of this series after finishing this book. Enjoy!

"Barchester Towers" has proven to be the most popular novel Anthony Trollope ever wrote-despite the fact that most critics would rank higher his later work such as "The Last Chronicle of Barset","He Knew He Was Right" and "The Way We Live Now".While containing much satire those great novels are very powerful and disturbing, and have little of the genial good humor that pervades "Barchester Towers".Indeed after "Barchester Towers",Trollope would never write anything so funny again-as if comedy was something to be eschewed.That is too bad,because the book along with its predecessor "The Warden" are the closest a Victorian novelist ever came to approximating Jane Austen."Barchester Towers" presents many unforgettable characters caught in a storm of religious controversy,political and social power struggles and romantic and sexual imbroglios.All of this done with a light but deft hand that blends realism,idealism and some irresistible comedy.It has one of the greatest endings in all of literature-a long,elaborate party at a country manor(which transpires for about a hundred pages)where all of the plot's threads are inwoven and all of the character's intrigues come to fruition."Barchester Towers" has none of the faults common to Trollope's later works -(such as repetiveness)it is enjoyable from beginning to end.Henry James(one of our best novelists,but not one of our best critics) believed that Trollope peaked with "The Warden"and that the subsequent work showed a falling off as well as proof that Trollope was no more than a second rate Thackeray.For the last fifty years critics have been trying to undo the damage that was done to Trollope's critical reputation."Barchester Towers"proves not only to be a first rate novel but probably the most humorous Victorian novel ever written.

This is the second of the six Barsetshire novels, and the first great novel in that series. THE WARDEN, while pleasant, primarily serves as a prequel to this novel. To be honest, if Trollope had not gone on to write BARCHESTER TOWERS, there would not be any real reason to read THE WARDEN. But because it introduces us to characters and situations that are crucial to BARCHESTER TOWERS, one really ought to have read THE WARDEN before reading this novel.

Trollope presents a dilemma for most readers. On the one hand, he wrote an enormous number of very good novels. On the other hand, he wrote no masterpieces. None of Trollope's books can stand comparison with the best work of Jane Austen, Flaubert, Dickens, George Eliot, Tolstoy, or Dostoevsky. On the other hand, none of those writers wrote anywhere near as many excellent as Trollope did. He may not have been a very great writer, but he was a very good one, and perhaps the most prolific good novelist who ever lived. Conservatively assessing his output, Trollope wrote at least 20 good novels. Trollope may not have been a genius, but he did possess a genius for consistency.

So, what to read? Trollope's wrote two very good series, two other novels that could be considered minor classics, and several other first rate novels. I recommend to friends that they try the Barsetshire novels, and then, if they find themselves hooked, to go on to read the Political series of novels (sometimes called the Palliser novels, which I feel uncomfortable with, since it exaggerates the role of that family in most of the novels). The two "minor classics" are THE WAY WE LIVE NOW and HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT. The former is a marvelous portrait of Victorian social life, and the latter is perhaps the finest study of human jealousy since Shakespeare's OTHELLO. BARSETSHIRE TOWERS is, therefore, coupled with THE WARDEN, a magnificent place, and perhaps the best place to enter Trollope's world.

There are many, many reasons to read Trollope. He probably is the great spokesperson for the Victorian Mind. Like most Victorians, he is a bit parochial, with no interest in Europe, and very little interest in the rest of the world. Despite THE AMERICAN SENATOR, he has few American's or colonials in his novels, and close to no foreigners of any type. He is politically liberal in a conservative way, and is focussed almost exclusively on the upper middle class and gentry. He writes a good deal about young men and women needing and hoping to marry, but with a far more complex approach than we find in Jane Austen. His characters are often compelling, with very human problems, subject to morally complex situations that we would not find unfamiliar. Trollope is especially good with female characters, and in his sympathy for and liking of very independent, strong females he is somewhat an exception of the Victorian stereotype.

Anyone wanting to read Trollope, and I heartily believe that anyone who loves Dickens, Austen, Eliot, Hardy, and Thackery will want to, could find no better place to start than with reading the first two books in the Barsetshire Chronicles, beginning first with the rather short THE WARDEN and then progressing to this very, very fun and enjoyable novel.

This is an exciting book. Jack and Annie go back in time and end up at a castle. I liked the part where Jack fell out of the castle and into the moat. They meet a mysterious knight. Jack and Annie find another "M" clue at the end of the story.

If you like the Magic Treehouse series and adventure and knights, this is the book for you - The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne. In the book, Annie and Jack went back in time when there were knights in castles. They went in an Amory Room. Jack found a secret passage, it lead to the storeroom to a precipice over the moat. Jack thought that there must be a window. It was a foot away from the window to the ground. So he put his foot outside the window and dangled it. Read the book to find out more.

Two kids named Jack and Annie go on an adventure back in time. The Magic Tree House takes them there. Sometimes the exploring is scary and sometimes it's funny. You will enjoy this book, Dinosaurs Before Dark. Mrs. Swafford's Third Grade Reading Class

What a fantastic journey this book was! The myriad adaptations that these creatures have made to various different challenges is truly fascinating. The photos of different ant species and the many detailed behaviours are very exciting. I would recommend this book to anyone with the slightest bit of curiosity. My only complaint (and certainly not a criticism) is that the writing in this book is clearly aimed at a 12-14 age level. Others may find the descriptions of behaviours and experiments a tad facile...

There are only a few writers who truly capture the natural world's complex structure, presenting it in a readable manner. Edward Wilson is one of these. Here, he's joined by Bert Holldobler in picturing one of our world's more enigmatic creatures - the ants. This book is a joy to read, whether you seriously study evolution or simply want a grander picture of life's mysteries. This book is a collector's item in reviewing what is known about ants and calling on students to consider how much remains to be studied.

The ants are one of the dominant forms of life on this planet. They've spread to nearly every environmental niche, adapting their habits and colony structure successfully. Wilson and Holldobler willingly convey their awe at this variety to anyone wishing to share it. Among the amazing accounts they relate, perhaps two stand out. The finding of the earliest known fossil specimens by a New Jersey family, and the night-foraging ants of Australia. Holldobler and Wilson's journeys have taken them to remote sites around the planet. They have a fine sense of how to bring the reader into their camps and excursions, sharing their discoveries and their tribulations.

Along the way, we learn how ants form their colonies, breed, forage, make war and enslave or absorb their fellows or other creatures. "Ants all look the same to the naked eye" they state, then show what a fallacy it is to continue believing that outlook. Beginning as solitary ground wasps, the ants have become one of the most complex social creatures in life. Their colonies range from simple bivouacs to huge structures. They can remove tonnes of soil to build a nest or range over extensive territories, terrifying even people with waves of migrating insects.

Anyone seeking to understand even a little of the diversity of life should own this book.

This book is easy to read. Could easily be used by elementary, middle school, and secondary school teachers to prepare a number of interesting lessons and scientific projects. Not only can insects (ants in particular, of course) but society, community, non-linguistic communication, evolution, and putting the universe into a size perspective provides many areas for class discussion. "Ants are oblivious to human existence." An incredible statement that will spark great conversation. Ants do not even know we are here! And they wont miss us when we are gone. After we have destroyed our natural habitat, they will continue to live in their microwildernesses. Text also provides a brief chapter on how to collect and observe ants and ant colonies. I am a language teacher but found reading this text simple and interesting.

I loved Stage Fright on a Summer Night.It's about to kids,Annie andJack who go back in time to London.While they're in London they meet William Shakespear who askes them to cover for to faries(who are really two boys.)Jack and Annie agree to cover for two faries.But Jack gets stage fright and tries not to show it,but in the end he forgets his fear and was fabulous! William Shakespear thanked them and said good bye.

I gave my book five stars ***** because Jack and Annie go back to old England when William Shakespeare time. Morgan Lefay has this magic tree house they go back into time. When they were there this man came up and wanted them to be in a play. The man was William Shakespeare. I really recommend this book for you to read.

This book is about Jack having stage fright. I found this book useful because it taught me about the history of England in Shakespeare's time. I learned that Queen Elizabeth the First had black teeth. I recommend this book to first and second graders.

I find myself refering to this book so often that I don't know how I ever lived without it! A must, must have for Academy Awards fanatics! Believe me, I'm one of the biggest Oscar nuts out there and I'm telling you this book is worth every penny!!!! I can hardly wait for "75 Years of the Oscar"!!!!

If you are OSCAR crazy, splurge (it's expensive) save or steal and buy this book.....it includes all the gossip, snarky asides, and real data you'll crave and you'll refer to it again and again....true OSCAR nuts read it all the way through, like a novel.

This hefty tome by Robert Osborne, columnist and critic for THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, is a cinephile's dream! The author has exhaustively researched the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from its origin in the 1920s and includes a detailed chronology of the popular Academy Awards. This is a must-have for any movie buff. The over-sized book will attract even casual movie fans who might pick it up off your coffee-table and start skimming through the over-350 pages jam-packed with photos, quotes, and anecdotes of the first 70 years of the Oscars.

Move over, Paul Bunyan, there's a new tall-tale hero in town.

Well, not exactly a new hero.

In the New York City of the 1840s lived a legendary firefighter named Mose Humphreys. Standing eight feet tall, with "hands as big as Virginia hams," he fought fires all around the great city, striding towards danger with his flaming red hair under his stovepipe hat. Whether rescuing babies from flaming tenements or bankers from burning hotels, Mose was beloved by all New Yorkers for his bravery and selflessness.

Mary Pope Osborne's story, in true American folktale tradition, renders a loving portrait of a man who symbolizes all that we respect and admire in firefighters: courage, willing sacrifice, tireless service to others. These traits were never so dramatically demonstrated as they were on the morning of September 11, 2001, and the story is a fitting tribute to the 343 New York City firefighters lost on that tragic day.

Though dedicated to the memory of modern firefighters, the gritty tones of Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher's illustrations remind us that this is also a tale about firefighting in a city overcrowded with wood-framed buildings and illuminated by oil lamps, when water had to be physically pumped out of tank trucks with enough force to reach the upper floors of very modest buildings, and when firemen needed the strength to carry grown adults rung by rung down wooden ladders. The nineteenth century was a time when fire was a very real possibility, not an unfortunate occurrence that happens to others and played out on our TV screens.

Together, the text and illustrations bring Mose Humphreys to life brilliantly, and make him a potent symbol of the strength, valor, and sacrifice of all firefighters--in New York City and around the world...

I found this book at my 9 year old daughter's school bookfare. While she no longer reads picture books, I am enthralled by them and this one caught my eye. Like another reviewer, I had trouble choking back tears as I read the tale of Mose Humphrey's firefighting in the late 1800's of NYC. I bought the book and passed it on to a gentleman who is a volunteer firefighter, ems worker and full time police officer for his two young sons. A work of art, both with its sparse, yet moving prose, and beautiful paintings. Recommended highly for ages 4-7.

"New York's Bravest" combines text by Mary Pope Osborne with paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. The book begins with a historical note in which Osborne describes the background of her tale. In 1848, a heroic firefighter character first began appearing in stage productions. This character was based on a real-life New York City firefighter named Mose Humphreys. In 1915, historian Herbert Asbury included some Mose stories in two collections of stories about old New York. As Osborne observes, firefighter Mose is "America's first urban folk hero."

Osborne's story takes place in a past era where newsboys sold papers for a penny each. The story's hero is Mose, an eight foot tall firefighter with superhuman strength. Sample text: "'Come on boys!' said Mose. Mose was the most famous firefighter in New York City."

The story is well enhanced by colorful illustrations that are full of great details. There are some exciting firefighting scenes, as well as some nice pictures of Mose engaged in less dangerous pursuits (such as eating a hearty meal).

The book has the following dedication: "To the memory of the 343 New York City firefighters who gave their lives to save others on September 11, 2001." It's a beautiful tribute that I recommend to readers of all ages.

I recently got this book and have read 100 pages so far. It's full of fascinating tales of Karajan. For instance, I did not know he was a devotee of the "rehearsal-free" concert, that he believed in "spontaneous" music-making. I also didn't know he was actually a very shy person who preferred solitude and not the "jet-set" life-style. Also interesting that he sometimes suffered a sort of speech impediment -- stammering. Seems his words couldn't keep up with his mind.

Though I'm eager to finish this book and view it as a terrific addition to my library, I have some qualms with the writer's style. On the cover flap it's said how Mr. Osborne's writing is lauded for its "readability" to both musicians and non-musicians. And being a NON-musician myself I was hoping to see clear, clean English. Yet, Mr. Osborne never fails to use a lot of pretentious lingo such as Latin and French ("annus mirabilis" and "anuus horribilis"?), as well as highfalutan words like "ratiocination" and many others (be sure to have a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary on hand!). He also uses many arcane musical terms like "re'pe'titeur" yet fails to translate them for the non-musician. Terms like "legato" and "cadenza" -- albeit not as arcane -- also remain untranslated.

Perhaps a truly "readable" book on music is impossible? Given the gigantic ego of so many writers of music?
Still, all in all, this remains a magnificently researched and put together book.

This is probably the ultimate biography of a complex and controversial personality in recent musical history. The book is conventionally structured: it is based on a detailed chronology supported by a rich factual database on Karajan's accomplishments as an orchestra builder and manager, recording artist and film maker. Stretching to more than 700 pages, the rich detail of Osborne's account certainly is one of the main attractions of this book. We learn a tremendous amount about Karajan's working methods, contract negotiations, concert tours, recording schedules, casting policy, press reviews, etc. As the story progresses Osborne branches out in all kinds of directions, gradually weaving more and more threads into the basic narrative. Given the quality of Osborne's prose this never becomes tedious. And it really does learn us something substantial about the breathtaking speed, economy, tenacity and versatility of the Karajanesque genius. There is no doubt that the book as a whole transcends the merely anecdotal. What emerges is a rich, multifaceted, holographic image of a great artist. What is even more impressive about Osborne's book is that it gives us an idea of what constitutes the essence of great conductorship. Instead of being confronted with woolly and simplistic generalizations about a certain 'Factor X' that allows an individual to coax exactly the right sound from a full symphony orchestra, we see the conceptual foundations of this most elusive of disciplines emerge in all its technical, psychological and somatic richness. Therefore, this book is definitely a must-read for any classical music lover, irrespective of personal predilections with respect to the man himself.

This book is the most fascinating description of the stunning life of the mythical Herbert von Karajan. It gave me a more "real" feeling of a person I admired for so long. Richard Osborne's book helped me with the demystification of one of the persons I admire most - artistically speaking - aftera all, he was only human and with many flaws... The book is really a wonderful synthesis of the life of this incredible conductor. Is without doubts the best Karajan biography I ever read. And the little writings of Karajan ("die probe", as an example) are lovely little pieces of history. Wonderful!

The trapper's journal by Osbourne Russell during the early to mid 18 hundreds came as a bit of a surprise. First the book is a factual account without any explication of the events more than is necessary. It is not told as an adventure story eg "Last of the Mohicans" but rather as a journal pure and simple of the travels through the Rockies, mainly Yellowstone, of this young trapper over 9 years in the pay and as a member of Jim Bridger's fur company, around 100 men. The trade was at its peak at this time. As is true of most journals it is full of abbreviations of words because of time constraints eg brot. for brought, staid for stayed etc. This gives the impression of crudity in the writing, or of a man not used to writing but rather writing in only a haphazard fashion. Every reader knows how easy it is to loose all the fine points of writing when it is not practised constantly. The journal is full of place names and directions of travel and a few maps indicating the progress of the trappers. There is some description of the scenery and the Indians of the area eg Blackfoot which are a constant threat, Shoshones (Snake), Bonnack and Crow. Occasionaly I was pleasantly surprised by paragraphs of eloquence and beauty mixed in with the simplistic writing which was the norm. Russell was capable of very good writing when he was inspired or wished to do so. This is also demonstrated by his letters to his sisters which are written with great style and few grammatical errors, completely unlike his journals.

There is much which comes to the fore in regard to the period eg the waste and destruction as the parties of trappers even in groups as small as 3 wonder the countryside and simply kill a Bison Cow for a meal and then discard it, or just take the tongue to eat. Incredible disregard for nature is shown at times. The trapper is in continual fear of Blackfoot war parties who harrass them, both white and Indian, constantly. In one instance an enormous group of Blackfeet, thought to number up to 1000 or more by Russell, attempt to eradicate the entire group of Bridger's trappers, about 100. They decide not to due to an unfavourable (omen) display of Northern lights. Even in his day as the story nears the end of the 9 years Russell tells of the scarcity of Buffalo which were not wiped out in total until 1870 or so (80 million -> 1000). Its almost as if it comes upon them suddenly, "5 years ago thousands crossed the valleys of the Yellowstone, now its hard to find any". Russell even becomes a little conservationist in spirit when he states that maybe its time for the white man to leave this country because the wildlife has been so denuded.

An interesting book but with far too few passages describing the trapper's feeling along the way.

This is by far one of the best books that a fur trade re-enactor can read. It is also a must read for the modern beaver trapper as well. Osborne describes the everyday events of the fur brigades in their heyday. If you are a buckskinner, living historian, trapper or just an old west history buff then this is a MUST have!

A remarkable firsthand account of how it was back in the 1830's to early 1840's to be a fur trapper/trader in the Rocky Mountains. Russell lived it and told it like it was back then. One of few mountain men to keep a journal. I like how he gets quite descriptive in the day to day adventures and activities that he had to do for survival. An excellent book.