Carnival at Candlelight was the first of the Magic Tree House books that I have ever read. It is a great book for beginning readers. I have not read a children's book in a while, so it was nice to escape into a world of imagination and excitement for an hour. Not only did I enjoy reading and escaping into this wonderful adventure, but I learned from this book. The bold print throughout the book was filled with facts about Venice, Italy. I do not have much knowledge of places or the culture of Venice and I can image that my young students will not have hardly any knowledge if any at all of the existence of Venice.
The story not only tells of a place that would possibly be new to young children, but it also provides important life lessons; such as patience, following directions, and knowing how to use your limited resources. The two children in the story have to use patience while trying to save "The Grand Lady of the Lagoon." If they become impatient then bad things can start to happen and they will lose the trust of an important person, Merlin. The children also have to follow Merlin's directions or else they will not be able to finish their mission. Teaching young children that following directions is important is a major lesson that needs to be taught. Another lesson that is presented in the book is that of knowing how and when to your the resources that have been provided for you. Young children need to know that they do have resources available to them and they also need to know how to use them and when the right time is to use them. I think Carnival at Candlelight presents these three life lessons in an appropriate manner.
I believe that this would be an excellent book to use in a classroom where children are just starting to read chapter books. It can also be used in a younger classroom as a book that I could read aloud to my class and explain what the lessons and facts from the book mean. A series of books that I might relate to this book are the Magic School Bus books. The children in those books get on a bus and and go to different places, just as the children in get in the tree house. The children learn a lot about real places, human anatomy, and other interesting things that young children need knowledge of while their minds are growing. Carnival at Candlelight will be a book that I will use in my classroom and I will teach the lessons that the books promotes. I look forward to reading more of the Magic Tree House books to see the lessons they present and also the knowledge of places they provide.
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2 comments:
This was also my first Magic Tree House book. I learned so much about the city of Venice! I am sure that our students do not know information such as this. Therefore, I agree with you that this is a great series to start beginners who are starting to read chapter books. I also think that students would greatly benefit from the teacher reading this book out loud to the class. I remember that my second grade teacher would always let read us a chapter from a book after lunch and we all liked this. I did not realize the lesson that could be learned from the book about the concept of following directions! This is defintley important for students to realize. When Jack and Annie did not follow directions, they found themselves in some tough situations! I also enjoyed the book and would use this series in my classroom!
Rachel Brown
Thanks for your comments on "teaching life lessons" or the recurring themes in this story. I also think MPO is able to craft these implicit themes without being too didactic...what do you think?
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