“Mummies in the Morning” is the third book in Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House chapter book series. This book is probably one of my favorites in the series because this book stretches farther than just the main idea of all the other books in the series. The book started out just like the others, Jack and Annie went into the Frog Creek woods to the tree house. This time Jack wished to go back in time to ancient Egypt to see the pyramids. When the tree house stopped spinning, Jack and Annie looked out the window and saw a big parade with a golden coffin and a cat running toward the pyramid. Annie decided to follow the parade to try to sneak a peak of the mummy, but when she got down there the parade of people vanished. The only thing left was the black cat, which was staring at them from the base of the pyramid. Jack and Annie followed the cat into a hole in the pyramid wall. Jack and Annie walked to the middle of the pyramid where the tomb of the mummy was located. Jack was terrified when they ran into a ghost queen who asked them for help finding the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead would help her pass through the Underworld and onto her next life. Jack and Annie described the hieroglyphs to her so she can tell them where the book was hidden. After they found the book, they took the scroll to the ghost queen’s sarcophagus. Annie ran out after she saw the rotting body and got lost in the pyramid. Jack ran after her and soon they realized they were trapped inside the tomb. The black cat helped them find their way out and back to the tree house. Jack and Annie wished to go home. The tree house spun for a moment, and then they returned back to the Frog Creek Woods. The two main characters in the book were Jack and Annie. Jack was more of the thinker of the two and was always looking out for his little sister Annie. Annie was more of the adventurous type and was always getting into things and/or chasing things. They always solved the problems they got into together with great teamwork. The book began in Jack and Annie’s house, then progressed to the Magic Tree House in the Frog Creek Woods. After they wished to go to Egypt, they arrived there. The rest of the book took place in the pyramid as Jack and Annie explored it. In the end, they were back home in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. The theme or moral of the story would be that people should always trust their first instinct or gut feeling. One time Jack wanted to go home on the safe route and Annie got side tracked and took them off of their course, which made them get lost. In return to find their way out there were two paths and they went with Jack’s gut feeling. I would recommend this book to about a third grader or older. It was a very easy read and is an interesting short story about ancient Egypt. I would rate it a five out of five because it was really fun to read and kept me interested.
I didn't care for "Mummies in the Morning" by Mary Pope Osborne, because I didn't like the place they traveled to. Jack and his sister Annie went to the magic tree house and when they got there all the books were thrown every where. When they were cleaning up they saw a shadow behind Jack. The shadow disappeared and they were really creeped out. Jack and Annie time traveled to the dinosaur era. They were looking for four items for Daisy. They didn't want to stay in the dinosaur era, because it was dangerous. They seen a cat and the cat stole the book. The cat pointed at the egypitan page in the book so that's where they went. When they got there the cat started running towards the pyramids. Jack and Annie followed the cat into the pyramid and they saw the shadow. When they were in the pyramid they seen the shadow that seen earlier. The shadow went to hell and he wanted help to go heaven. Annie and Jack adventurous siblings. Jack is around eight years old and Annie is seven years old. They are very close siblings. Annie is more talkative and Jack is a researcher.The story takes place in ancient Eygypt. The setting is important to the story because that's where the find the three objects they're looking for. The time period is important because there was pyramids and a simese cat. The main theme is about adventure and completing a job that was given to them. Jack and Annie successfully found all the items they were asked to find. I would recommend this book to younger kids. Both boys and girls would like this because of the adventure in the story.
Jack and Annie travel back in time to ancient Egypt where they find a ghost queen who is looking for help finding a book. Jack and Annie get themselves into some scary situations while looking for the book that will send the ghost to the afterlife. These scary situations are not too terrifying for young children but rather exciting and keeping reader’s at the edge of their seat and wondering what will happen next. Jack and Annie are constantly going on adventures in the past, present, and future and I think that their adventures to the past are the most beneficial for using in a classroom. This book would be great to read to the classroom when continuing the Magic Tree House series or if the lesson plan has moved into talk about Egypt. This book allows students to see the lessons of Egypt in a more fun and interactive way. Osborne, M., & Murdocca, S. (1993). Mummies in the morning. New York: Random House.
—Alex Roth
Billie read this book to me in two sittings. She learned some new words reading it, but the writing is pretty bland in my opinion, and very shallow when it comes to any depth of emotion or real personality in the characters. She enjoyed it enough, mostly because of the possibility of a creepy mummy emerging, but never really talked about it afterward. She will usually refer back to books again and again if she really likes them. This was probably not one of her favorites, nor mine, but it does provide simple reading for young readers.
—Heidi
Magic Tree House books take everyone on an adventure. Jack and Annie close their eyes and suddenly their tree house starts to spin... and suddenly they are in another world! This graphic novel series is excellent for children beginning to read. It takes them on an adventure that lets their imagination soar. In this book, Jack and Annie explore Egypt and learn about mummies and pharoahs. Not only is the series imaginative and fun, but it's informative and includes a learning opportunity about unique parts of the world!This is another series that takes me back to my own childhood. These serve as wonderful ways for early readers to develop reading skills while supplementing with illustrations. The plots are simple but imformative, while making curious characters such as Jack and Annie relatable to readers everywhere. I recommend this series to parents and children who have a thirst for knowledge and adventure. While the pictures themselves are black and white, the cover of the book is brightly colored with oranges and greens that catch the eye! Not to mention the big tree house, which is something every child dreams of!
—Kendall Davis
