Eve of the Emperor Penguin

My daughter really enjoyed listening to the story after she downloaded it to her MP3 player. It was a great way to keep her entertained on a long train ride. The Audio CD came within a week and was in great condition. We're happy with the purchase.

I thought the book is really cool. It's really fascinating because people might learn about penguins when they're reading this book, especially if you read the research book about the penguins. I think that you should read a lot of the Magic Tree House books because they're really helpful; so are the research books. I think that Mary Pope Osborne did a really good job at writing her books. Some people tell me that some of her books are horrible but I disagree because for instance I like this book and so should you.

My son is 7 years old and he has worked hard to improve his reading for the past couple of years. When I started reading the Tree House books to him he loved them! He decided he needed to have the entire series. We now have it and he reads them to us! They are all magical and he LOVES the penguins.

#40 in the Magic Treehouse 'Merlin Mission' series provides a rhyme immersing Jack and Annie in a mission to find the fourth secret of happiness for Merlin the magician. The magic tree house here takes them to Antarctica, where they meet scientists and reporters in modern times. How can they search for ancient artifacts in a modern setting? A delightful fantasy blends magic and science in another satisfying Magic Treehouse saga.

I have read many of the Magic Treehouse books while recently "studying" for my 6-year old's Magic Treehouse Birthday Party. She really loves this series, reads them ravenously, and plays "Jack and Annie" constantly with her friends. I read around 15 of them, up until now the first part of the series (this is my first of the Merlin Missions), and have found the books to be cute, quick and entertaining. I have never found anything in them that concerns me for my daughter to be reading, which is more than I can say for many of the series out there for young children, whose main characters are often wisecracking, sibling-hating and constantly in trouble. I love the way Jack and Annie play together and protect one another, even while they don't always agree and have different styles and strengths. In any case, regarding this specific book, I think it is a wonderful addition to the Magic Tree House Series, or if you child is new to the series, an excellent introduction. My daughter just got it for her birthday.. and I gave it a quick read because now that I've read so many, I wanted to see what the Merlin Missions were all about. I was quite impressed. This book seemed a little bit more developed and engrossing than some of the early stories. Not in a way that is too difficult for kids, but just more substantial. It was a good mix of fantasy and fact, like usual, with easily digestible facts and lessons, in this case on penguins and the Antarctic. This book was doubly interesting in that it was a culmination of a 4-book set (the magic treehouse books have 4 book sets that circle around a particular theme or type of mission -- in this one they are trying to find 4 secrets of happiness for Merlin who is exceedingly sad and have been asked by Morgan le Fay, the owner of the treehouse, to help). The secrets they share -- nature, curiosity, compassion and taking care of others -- provide just lovely messages for kids. There are a few scary parts, when they fall down a cliff, or when a predatory bird is attacking a penguin, but Osborne has a gift for having adventure in her stories without the "scary" aspect being too much for kids. My daughter will hardly watch anything these days because of mean or scary characters, and that extends to some books -- but these stories always engage her without frightening her. If your kids already like the Magic Tree House series, definitely add this one to their collection. If MTH is new for your children, this is a great one to start with. It stands alone nicely (she has a short prologue which explains things well up to this point), and may get your child interested in reading the earlier books. What's so great about Magic Tree House is that it is wonderful for boys and for girls. And it really creates a gentle exposure to history and character often natural science, but in a fun way. And for those kids that love the topic of the book, there are non-fiction research guides, very easily accessible fo