Response to Works

Mary Pope Osborne has written hundreds of books that cover a variety of genres. Many of her books can be found in classrooms all over the country, woven into lesson plans about social studies and science. Her series and other books introduce students to new cultures and different times in history through adventure. Berner from the Library Media Connection stated, "each Magic Tree House book was built around a time and place of high interest to young children with an underlying story that makes children want to read the next book in the series," (Berner, 2008, p. 40). While Osborne's Magic Tree House series is very popular, I wanted to review some of the lesser known books.

Mermaid Tales from Around the World

This book is a compilation of about sixteen different mermaid tales from different cultures. Each story has an illustration that beautifully represents the culture the story is from. Publisher's Weekly stated that "a dozen mermaid tales from as many cultures receive vigorous and picturesque retellings and astonishing, period-flavored illustrations," ("Mermaid tales from," 1999). This book would be perfect for a series of mini read alouds because of the short length of each story. The language is simple, yet still represents the culture it's from. I would use this book to have students compare the same story between cultures. Students are able to see that not everyone views a mermaid the same way, but there are some similarities between some stories. I really enjoy that this book contains author's notes at the end that include information about the source of each story. This is perfect for teachers because they can use this as a stepping stone to talk more in depth about a specific culture.

My Brother's Keeper: Virginia's Civil War Diary

This book tells the story of the battle at Gettysburg from the eyes of a nine-year old girl named Virginia. Each event is captured in a diary entry on behalf of her brother who is off trying to hide his uncle's horses from Confederate soliders. This book does a great job at using a well know historical event to draw students into history. It gives students a glimpse into what life might have been like for a person their age during the Civil War. I personally love that the narrator is female because more often than not many stories about the Civil War are told through the male perspective. This is a great book to show a positive female role model in history to girls, even though the book is fiction. At the end of the book, you can find historical notes that help students note what information was real in the story and what was not. Osborne's language really captivates the reader. Katie M. from Illinois wrote, "while reading parts of this book, [she] almost cried for sadness and joy," in her 2005 book review on scholastic.com ("Book Review," 2005).