Customer Reviews

High Tide in Hawaii (Magic Tree House 28)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While I appreciate that this is a popular series, as an elementary educator from Hawai'i I would like Amazon customers to consider not buying this particular installment of the Tree House books. It perpetuates the most ridiculous stereotypes of Hawai'i and Hawaiians. It makes Native Hawaiians out to be ignorant and indebted to a boy for his superior knowledge -- this is simply a repetition of the old story that Pacific Islanders needed to be saved by the West. At the risk of being cynical, how about a book that explains how the kids did not save Native Hawaiians from the near genocide that followed contact with the West? There are many good books for kids set in Hawai'i, written by people who know the Islands, its history and traditions. Please look for books like these -- The Fish and Its Gifts/Na Makana a Na I'a, Bon Dance in Hawai'i, To Find the Way, or Mr. Miyataki's Wonderful Machine.

Despite the author's claim to have been reading about Hawaii before writing this book, the place she describes in the story is hardly Hawaiian. In fact, it's as if the author has never seen a real coconut, been to Hawaii, or frankly, flipped through a travel brochure. There should be some truth in a story like this, otherwise, reading the book is just an exercise. You, yes, you, could have written this book in 3 hours.

I agree with the reviewer who pointed out the stereotypes used to describe the Hawaiians. Happy, dancing, friendly, open faces...It was silly and lazy on the author's part. And how many ancient Hawaiians were named Boka? The letter B was not used for Hawaiian words.

You get to new things like what poi is. But of couse Jack screams to his mom ''Annie and Me are going somewhere. And then his mom will always say ''be back soon!. A good series but I expect more from Mary Pope Osborne.

High Tide in Hawaii

Do you like adventure or mystery books? Well, if you do read High Tide in Hawaii by Mary Pope Osborn. This book is about two little siblings that have a magic tree house and they have adventures in it ... Jack and Annie are in their porch both reading books when magically the MAGIC TREE HOUSE appears "Hey, it is back" Annie said with a smile. Both of them smiled because the adventurous tree house was back and they will have another extreme adventure like all the days.

"Mom" Jack shouted just like always. "We are leaving to the woods, to the Magic Tree House" And just like always their mom will say "Be here soon." The siblings will pick up their necessary things. They live the house and go to the woods, climb the Magic tree house and discuss their adventure.


When the two young siblings reach the tree house they let their luggage on the floor and discuss the adventure for that day ...... They decided to go to the hot island of Hawaii and so they did. The tree house started to spin each time it spun faster and faster until ... it stopped , " Where are we " asked both of them . They were on a huge ship "You are in Hawaii," said a voice. Jack and Annie looked surprised . .... They got to Hawaii and saw many awesome things .They met some Indians from there and actually they met friends, two little siblings just like them but.... They ...... find out... in High Tide in Hawaii by Mary Pope Osborne

My 7-year-old read this in a matter of a couple hours. He loved it. He loved all the Magic Treehouse books. He even read a few of them two or three times. Excellent book. Wish they were a little longer so he couldn't zip through them so fast. :D

My children have several books in this series (Magic Tree House). I bought this one for my 9 year old. This one is about going back in time and learning about friendship. It's a nice story.

The only part I didn't like was the peer pressure for one character to surf (a child who was afraid to surf) with no lessons or safety info. At least they did show some danger in doing so later on in the story. (I don't think you should stop kids from learning new sports but there should be parental supervision, "how to" lessons and safety instructions.)

Overall, I feel this is a great book.

This book would be a good choice for people like my friend Lily, who are interested in magic and exploring different times. The Magic Tree House books can go back to times when the dinosaurs ran around and I think there was one when slavery was going on in America. In this book, the characters went to Hawaii and Jack and Annie learned about the huge waves there.
In my favorite part, they were at the beach surfing and Jack was reading a little bit about where they were. He felt a movement and searched up what that was in the book. The wave got bigger and bigger until it was huge, and they had to run away from it. They ran to the top of a giant hill to be safe.
These books are great for 3rd graders reading independently.

Would you ever want to have a magic tree house? In High Tide Hawaii, author Mary Pope Osborne tells us that one summer day two kids named Jack and Annie travel in their Magic Tree House. It can take them anywhere. It took them to an Hawaiin Island of long ago. A tidal wave causes strange things to happen. They go to a luau and eat strange native food. This is a good book! You should read it because it is in Hawaii and I think it's cool.

Our family has been plowing through the Magic Tree House books recently, and our kid really likes them... They certainly do capture kids' imagination and encourage them to read; they also are mildly educational, which is a nice added bonus.

This volume, though, has me wondering if at times the series isn't as well-researched as it ought to be... Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there something wrong when you have Jack and Annie traveling back in time to ancient Hawaii and meeting a boy named Boka... when the letter "B" doesn't exist in the Hawaiian language? Seems like Mary Pope Osborne, her ghost writers, or her editors, could have caught a goof like this before the book went to press. Oh, well. A minor point, perhaps, but it does reveal a rather cavalier attitude towards the global cultures that the books supposedly are helping introduce to young readers. (Axton)

My seven year old loves reading these books over and over again. While she is enjoying the books, she is learning about different places and times in history. She's learned about the Amazon, the wild west, hawaii, the civil and revolutionary wars, the middle ages, ocean mammals, and so much more. I highly recommend the whole series.