The Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House Series #2) Book

To start with, I still don't understand the popularity of these books, at least not for the age group it's often suggested for. My five-year-old finds them dull, though he might like them more if he were an independent reader. The story was too dry and lacked any real excitement. However, my nearly two-year-old is starting to get interested.

As a parent I found this book a little annoying. Annie doesn't think before she acts. The story is overly vague and bland. I had a hard time following the story in the book because it all seemed to be repetitive sneaking around with a handful of random, vague facts spattered around. Even the dialogue with the contemps was pretty inconsistent. There was a "thou" thrown in there, but also the slang "'em". It just didn't seem to flow. Then there was the obvious curiosity about kids wandering off in the middle of the night and trying not to get caught by their parents.

That being said, while I don't think it's a great story for the grade levels it's promoted for, I do think it will be fantastic for a younger age group. I wouldn't really use it as an introduction to history, but it could be a fun read and encourage a younger child to have interest in a variety of things. It could give a lot of inspiration to a younger child interested in make-believe. I like it a lot for a younger age group, just not the age group it seems to be used for.