It's OK to Spend the Whole Summer (or even a year) in the Magic Tree House

What about kids who spend an entire summer (or year or two) in the The Magic Tree House?

Yes, more than once I have patted a parent on the back and said it was ok for kids to read oodles of Magic Tree House books!  "They are the cement that builds a foundation for future reading," I say.  "Reading series books builds a foundation for reading success," I assure parents again and again.  Now I can add honestly that buying MPO's books will help to make the world a better place!

I've been deep in reflection of late as I lay in bed in those moments before sleep and as I walk to garner energy for the end of the year madness surrounding me.  Perhaps it is my ending of the school year season of reflection or perhaps it is the annual realization that few of my students will spend their summers with books that makes me think about what is important! Whatever it is, I got a bit teary as I read the Facebook link a friend shared the other day!  

I read the first books in the Magic Tree House series in the nearly 20 years ago and knew they were winners!  I have wondered, over the years, about the magic in the books.  Is it the subtle intermingling of what is real and what is clearly not possible?  Is it the characters that endure and take us where we clearly cannot go otherwise?  Is it the stable, simple initial setting, a tree house that launches us into adventures?   Is it the interwoven genres and the interspersing of reality and fantasy?

Whatever it is, I have likely "sold" quite a few books for MPO over the years and I have "bought" more than I care to admit publicly, as my husband reads my blog!  Now, MPO is giving back through her own magical program putting books directly into kids hands. I cannot imagine a greater legacy.  I smile as my mind wanders to the "tale"of an epidemic of reading in a small city after MPO puts books into the hands of kids....and the books take them through time and space!

Thanks Mary Pope Osborne.  You are a REAL, live HERO using your gifts, all of them, to make the world a better place.  

http://www.npr.org/2014/06/17/322912636/from-the-magic-tree-house-kids-branch-out-to-chapter-books?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140617