Buffalo Before Breakfast (Magic Tree House #18) [Paperback]

Mary Pope Osborne (Author), Sal Murdocca (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Jack and Annie are ready for their next fantasy adventure in the bestselling middle-grade series—the Magic Tree House!

Hello, buffalo!

That's what Jack and Annie say when the Magic Tree House whisks them and Teddy, the enchanted dog, back almost 200 years to the Great Plains. There they meet a Lakota boy who shows them how to hunt buffalo. But something goes wrong! Now they need to stop a thousand buffalo from stampeding!

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Morgan Le Fey, a magical librarian from the time of King Arthur, has charged a brave young pair of children with the task of freeing an enchanted dog from a spell by collecting four gifts. In the 18th easy-to-read chapter book in Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series, eight-year-old Jack and seven-year-old Annie travel back almost 200 years to the Great Plains to find a "gift from the prairie blue." Along the way, Annie and Jack make friends with young Black Hawk, narrowly miss a buffalo stampede, and learn about how the Lakotas view the earth and their place in it. (Ages 8 to 12)

From the Inside Flap

The Magic Tree House carries Jack and Annie back to the Old West, where they roam the Great Plains with a Lakota boy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 87 pages
• Publisher: Random House, Inc. (May 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679890645
• ISBN-13: 978-0679890645
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.3 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Explore the World > United States

More About the Author

"I'm one of those very lucky people who absolutely loves what they do for a living. There is no career better suited to my eccentricities, strengths, and passions than that of a children's book author."--Mary Pope Osborne

Mary Pope Osborne is the author of the popular Magic Tree House series. She works with her husband Will and her sister Natalie on the nonfiction companion series, Magic Tree House Research Guides. Many of her books have been named to best-books lists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Back in time with the Lakota, May 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Buffalo Before Breakfast (Magic Tree House #18) (Paperback)

I have been reading this series with my nephew for the last year or so. Our favorite so far was the Titanic installment, but this one was very good as well. We learned about the legend of white buffalo woman, the fate of the buffalo, the uses of the buffalo and the real name of buffalo (bison). The illustrations by Sal Murdocca are vivid and add a lot to these books. Especially refreshing in this book was that the Lakota are not made to speak like illiterates but use the language as ably as Jack and Annie. This time around, Jack has his nose in a book the whole time while Annie is more adventurous. Jack does come to the rescue of his Lakota guide, however, and earns the name "Rides Like Wind." Jack's notetaking ought to help young readers learn the fundamentals of writing reports, and his research reveals some of the most interesting facts. Both my nephew and I learn something from The Magic Tree House books. I for one went to bed that night with visions of the Plains grass undulating like a sea. I hope Mary Pope Osborne, like Barbara Park, continues writing letters to her readers in each book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic As Buffalo Themselves!, October 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Magic Tree House #18: Buffalo Before Breakfast (Library Binding)

This is one of my favorites, probably my 3rd. I like buffalo and Indians, especially because of what fun they cause on good western movies, like "How The West Was Won", and the Indians got of to a good start in "Stagecoach", "The War Wagon", and especially "The Pony Express. Another reason why this book exceeds 5,000 stars is because of all the fun there is, it seems like a Hardy Boys book rather than a learning book. But for some reason I'm starting to think that the more action there is in a Magic Tree House book, the more learning topics the book has. Definitely one of the Top Five, too good to say Top Ten.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My students begged for more!, July 22, 2001

By 

"aw4first" (KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buffalo Before Breakfast (Magic Tree House #18) (Paperback)

In the course of this easy chapter-book adventure, two young explorers magically travel to the Great Plains of the U.S., to a Lakota village. There they learn of Lakota customs and beliefs, gain an appreciation for the Lakota ways, learn about a part of U.S. history not always taught to elementary students, and model respect for a culture different from their own. Readers will enjoy exciting elements of an impending buffalo stampede, a wild rescue on horseback, and a sighting of the legendary White Buffalo Woman. Although the children are needing to complete a task to help free a dog as a part of a larger story (books #17-#20), this book stands on its own pretty well too. My first grade students were fascinated when I read this book aloud, and begged for more. I'm planning to increase the number of Magic Tree House books in my classroom this coming year.