Customer Reviews

Vacation Under the Volcano (Magic Tree House, #13)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The purpose of fantasy is to enable children (and adults) to experience what they never could in reality. Every child knows that no adult would send him to the vicinity of a rumbling volcano--which is exactly why they love stories in which things like that happen. Seeing make-believe heroes in danger and seeing them get out of it is one of the ways children learn to be brave and optimistic. If a 4-year-old loves these books, then he's getting something useful out of them. My 8-year-old loves them, and I will happily keep reading them to him as long as he wants!

I learned alot about Ancient Rome.But it was really cool when Mount Vesuvius started to shake!Melted rock,pumice,and ash fell to the ground!Can Jack and Annie get to the tree house in time?.....they might get buried alive!

I discovered these books in my work as a teacher of reading to 2nd grade students. And students just love them!
Let me start by saying this is an excellent series of books. The way that Mary Pope Osborne incorporates: science, social studies(history/geography) and many other important academic elements into her stories is phenomenal!
The stories are exciting and well written. They have a way of drawing kids in and keeping them wanting to turn pages.
In our guided reading groups we usually read a chapter or two per day and the students frequently beg me to read more! That is how much kids love these books! Isn't that refreshing?
This particular installment in the Magic Tree House series finds Jack and Annie traveling back to ancient Rome! They happen to land in Pompeii in A.D. 79 on the day that Mount Vesuvius erupts!
This book incorporates two very popular elements for young children: volcanos and magic. It is undeniable that young students are intrigued by the power of volacanos. They love to read about them and this particular book is a great way for them to start researching.
Jack and Annie's adventures never fail to thrill readers and keep them interested.
I highly recommend these books for students in early elementary school. They are excellent for students in 2nd grade. Enjoy!

Shortly before leaving for vacation, Jack and Annie remembered that they needed to go to the magic tree house to solve a mystery. Morgan said "your aventure is going to the Roman times you need to find this book or it will be lost forever""WOW! I always wanted to go to the Roman times this will be fun Annie" said Jack.

The magic tree house takes them to the seaside town of Pompeii during Roman times, which was 2,000 years ago. Many Romans traveled to Pompeii for vacation. They built large houses called villas and planted groves of olive trees on the slopes of a nearby mountain called Mount Vesuvius.

As they walked into the town of Pompeii, they noticed there were no birds and the stream under the bridge was dried up. Once in Pompeii, a soothsayer said "go home". Jack and Annie walked by the town forum, public baths and the Temple of Jupiter while looking for the library.

When they get to the library, they start looking for the book "Vir Fortissinus in Mundo". After finding the book, Jack opened the door and noticed everything crashing down in front of them. The ground started to shake as Mount Vesuvius erupted into a deadly volcano. "That is what the soothsayer meant" said Jack.

Jack and Annie ran from the library and headed back to the tree house. As they ran, a great cloud of pumice, ash, and burning rock formed over the city. When it rained down on Pompeii,it coverd the town. They used pillows to cover their heads from the falling ash.

The tree house was in the olive grove on the side of the mountain. Jack and Annie were running towards the volcano while everyone else was running away from it. When they got to the dried-up stream, the brige. They were trapped in the pumice, when a big, strong man named Hercules saved them. He pulled them from the pumice and took them to the other side of the stream.

Jack and Annie made it to the magic tree house, which took them back home. Morgan made them Master Librarians and they went on vacation with their family.

If you like exciting stories, you will you won't be able to stop reading Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osborne. In this story, Jack and Annie travel in the magic tree house to ancient Rome to try and save a library from a volcano. When they get to Rome they have to be sure they are safe from the hot lava that is going to destroy the library. Then a giant appears out of nowhere and picks Jack and Annie up and drops them in a dried up river. Did they save the book that they were searching for? Find out when you read this book.

We paired this with the Discovery Kids Magazine on Pompeii and found out that this book is a great way to find out about Pompeii and what happened, not just as a tourist attraction. It really puts kids in the moment of the time period. Every detail, down to the arrangement of the city was accurate. You can actually find a map replicating Pompeii and show your child where Jack and Annie went. Wow. Talk about subject integration! You know it is a great book when you can go down the list of Bloom's Taxonomy and use the book to create activities for every level.

We are leaving today to buy every book in the series.
Perfect for homeschooling.

My 1st grader hates to put them down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. When he was in kindergarten, the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not given her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!

My son and I have been reading the Magic Tree House series for the last couple months and we love them. These are the first books that my son has taken a real interest into, checking them out and reading them on his own. Vacations under the Volcano is our favorite one so far. After checking out a bunch from the library we finally decided to buy a set, and he was so disappointed that this one wasn't part of the set that he bought it seperatly on his own. This book has sparked a whole new interest for him.

I like that this story is based on a real historical event. As opposed to some of the others, like Sunset of the Sabertooth, which is one of my least favorites. As far as the danger goes, which another reviewer mentioned, I think Mary does a great job keeping the stories exciting. They would really become dull if the kids only strolled through meadows. For another scary one try Earthquakes in the Early Morning.

On a side note, its good to read them in order, but we didn't and you definatly don't have too.

I read the Magic Tree House series when I was eight or nine, and I loved them! This was one of my favorites, since I love studying ancient Rome. Jack and his sister Annie are wisked away to ancient Rome in the magic tree house so they can get an ancient story that is in danger of being lost forever. Soon they find out that they are in Pompeii the very day Mount Vesuvius will erupt! Can they escape and get the story?

You learn a lot about Ancient Rome. But it's also very funny and exciting. I just loved it.