kiwik Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 What grade level are the magic treehouse books. In particular the reasearch companion to the sunset of the sabretooth (number 7?) as it is the only one I have been able to find so far. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEC Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 What grade level are the magic treehouse books. In particular the reasearch companion to the sunset of the sabretooth (number 7?) as it is the only one I have been able to find so far. Thanks 'reading level' is a really vague notion - there are lots of different ways of measuring that. Most of the lists I've seen them in suggest ~2nd grade. I will say, though....the stories are fun for young kids, but they do NOT qualify as a high-quality read imo. For one thing, the grammar is truly awful. Secondly, the vocabulary is quite limited (even for a 2nd or 1st grade book). My kids happily breezed through them, which was great, but we didn't study from them or do them as a read-aloud as I didn't want to reinforce bad habits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Thanks. He is 5.5 but I think he could read them with support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEC Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Thanks. He is 5.5 but I think he could read them with support. probably. my DD read through the first 40, on her own, during the first 1/2 of K...they're pretty easy reads. They're listed as 2nd grade, but that seems a bit high to me. <shrug> They DID serve the purpose of getting her over the emotional hurdle of 'chapter books' and provide her a sense of reading accomplishment. That certainly is useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 What grade level are the magic treehouse books. You can search for grade level for all the Magic Treehouse books here. http://mthclassroomadventures.org/index.php?r=site/readinglevels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 If he's interested, go for it. If I recall correctly the guides were a teensy bit harder than the books, but if you're helping him through it he'll probably be fine. Have you seen http://www.lexile.com ? It rates the book at a 350, which they define as K-1 range, but they don't have the guide that goes with it in their catalog. (Common Core > Text Complexity Grade Bands is where I found how the Lexile measurement compares to grades.) Amazon puts the book itself at age 6/1st grade, and the guide at age 7/2nd grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Thanks Arcadia for the link. It is listed as 3.7. DRA28 (we don't have these so I don't know what it means). 3.7 is what - 9 or 10? That seems quite ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Thanks Arcadia for the link. It is listed as 3.7. DRA28 (we don't have these so I don't know what it means). 3.7 is what - 9 or 10? That seems quite ridiculous. Third graders are generally 8 or 9 years old here. But I'm with you. My kids were more than ready for something else and had moved on from MTH by the end of third grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Scholastic has a Book Wizard that lists reading level by lexile, DRA, and Guided Reading. I think Magic Tree House books are a second grade level. While a lot of kids on this forum are reading early, in most schools the majority of kids learn to read longer early chapter books by the end of first /beginning of second. It is a step up from Nate the Great or Frog and Toad due to the length and there aren't pictures on every page. Here is the link for the book http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/sunset-sabertooth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 They are considered solid second-grade readers at our local public school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 It has a Lexile score of 350 which puts it in second grade. My kids finished all the Magic Tree House Books they were interested in K, so I'm a bad judge on those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 2nd grade. they were very well received by my son. he reads very well now, but still doesn't want to get rid of those books.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferLynn Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 The kindergartners who could read in DD6's kindergarten class last year were reading them. Kids with older siblings also were early MTH readers. Now in first grade, the teacher reads them as Read Alouds and most of the kids are reading them recreationally. DD6 reads them and the guides in one or two sittings now. We read at a higher level for official reading practice, but MTH was the turning point where DD started to read for fun whenever possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Sorry about the age confusion. Someone once told me for us grades to add 6 so I guessed at 9 or 10 on the basis that 3.7 was fairly far through the year. My ds5.5 could read the research companion with some support but I think if I could find one of the actual books it would be a better fit. Unfortunately the only one I have found was over $30 and I think $0.5 a page is a bit excessive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Sorry about the age confusion. Someone once told me for us grades to add 6 so I guessed at 9 or 10 on the basis that 3.7 was fairly far through the year. My ds5.5 could read the research companion with some support but I think if I could find one of the actual books it would be a better fit. Unfortunately the only one I have found was over $30 and I think $0.5 a page is a bit excessive. $30?? Usually they are $3.99 or $4.99 on Amazon or at any book store. I have never seen them that expensive unless it was a boxed set. I've also found them to be easy to find at used book stores. I have the first 28 and spent $1.00 or less for most of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 This side of the world has strange pricing. I can get them from amazon but the postage works out more than the books. I am looking out for second hand copies but they are not common here. The $30 price may have been for a set though it didn't look that way at first glance. I hope to get a kindle soon so i might try the kindle version of one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 This side of the world has strange pricing. I can get them from amazon but the postage works out more than the books. I am looking out for second hand copies but they are not common here. The $30 price may have been for a set though it didn't look that way at first glance. I hope to get a kindle soon so i might try the kindle version of one. I use Kindle PC and buy many books that way. We don't have a Kindle either. My son has no problem reading them on his mini-laptop. In fact, her prefers it :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 My son read the entire series last year between September and February, among other books. They are higher than 2nd grade, the higher the number. Also, the fact trackers/ research guides are at a higher reading level also. I use various levels of reading books for my son. He really enjoyed these and got a lot out of them, even though they were significantly below his reading level. Sometimes it's good to let them read some books just for fun :), and they learn some historical facts and events, which sparks interest for further research. At least that's what happened in our case :)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliR Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 KIWIK, the books are available from Book Depository for just under their cover price with free (and quick) overseas shipping. They do ship to New Zealand. I rarely use Amazon now, especially for kids' books as the savings on retail just do not make up for the huge postage to the Southern Hemisphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Agreeing with others, early 2nd grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 The research companions are higher than the regular books. The regular books range from level 2-3 and the research companions range from 3-4. Or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 (edited) 1st -3rd grade is usually the time range I expect kids to read (if they want to) MTH. My Kinder loves them although he isn't able to read them on his own. I've read aloud every single one of them to him, starting the summer he turned 4. (yep that's 49 books). My oldest ds wasn't interested in them until last year in 3rd grade. He's read most of them. (He had a higher interest in the Merlin Missions though--which are longer books) They're good books at getting kids hooked on reading. My oldest read Charlotte's Web, Alice in Wonderland, Trumpet of the Swan, and most of Roald Dahl's books before he read MTH. But it wasn't until he got hooked on MTH that he really started to read voraciously. He could read the harder books, but he did it without much interest and a lot of prodding from me. After his MTH stint (and I was worried he was going backwards!) he started to read with interest. He's finishing up HP Half Blood Prince, he's read the entire series, no worries. He now will pick up and read bigger and longer chapter books without any prodding from me. He's a reader. I really think that MTH helped his confidence level. Before he read them he would pick up and thumb through a chapter book, but it just overwhelmed him. The fact that he could easily knock out 2 MTH in a day really helped him realize that the bigger and longer books were doable also. I know that's more than the OP asked, but I wanted to say that regardless of reading lexile scores etc, don't discount those easier series for the older student who has the reading ability but may lack the reading confidence. If that makes sense. Edited October 25, 2012 by Walking-Iris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 KIWIK, the books are available from Book Depository for just under their cover price with free (and quick) overseas shipping. They do ship to New Zealand. I rarely use Amazon now, especially for kids' books as the savings on retail just do not make up for the huge postage to the Southern Hemisphere. I couldn't find them. Thanks I will have another look. I probably asked the search engine the wrong question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I couldn't find them. Thanks I will have another look. I probably asked the search engine the wrong question. http://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=magic+tree+house&search=search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 (edited) I just noticed that Amazon brought their Magic Tree House Kindle prices back down :party:! They are back to being the same price as paperbacks. I have the first 12 plus a few more as paperbacks and hardcover and I have a few on Kindle (before they jacked up the price). I have so many books that I cannot afford (space wise) to buy them all and the fact trackers as printed books. I was going to buy them on Kindle anyway but now that the price dropped again, I am definitely getting them on Kindle :D. Anyway, as I mentioned before, we use Kindle PC because we do not have a Kindle. We have been very happy with this option so far. Keep in mind that you could try it and if you don't like it you can return the Kindle book for a refund ;). I have bought about 4-5 books that way, that did not turn out to be what I wanted. I returned them and got a full refund from Amazon, no questions asked, and no return shipping ;). Just another point for you to consider! Edited October 27, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I take that back :glare:! I just tried to buy a couple of the titles that we are missing and they are saying the Kindle prices differ from country to country, so they want $6.90 for the same book that costs $4.99 in the US :glare:. I think I will go with the paperbacks from Bookdepository since even Amazon in Canada wants $5.99 for them. Amazon's loss :D! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) After this thread I ordered the first two Fact Trackers from Bookdepository (I had not purchased any of the Fact Trackers yet). I placed the order on Oct. 27th and by Nov. 2 it had not shipped. I contacted Bookdepository and was told there is a delay with those books. I was told they would probably ship on Nov. 5th. I waited and waited (meanwhile they had already charged my credit card, that's what Bookdepository does :glare:) and got irritated enough to finally contact them again, today. A couple of hours later my books said shipped and then I got a scripted reply that my order has shipped and if I haven't received it by... yada yada yada... Now I am ticked :mad:! I have spent quite a bit of money with them over the past couple of years. I think I will be dishing out the extra $1 to just buy them from Amazon.ca and avoid the hassles. I wish Amazon.com would lower their Kindle prices for those of us outside the US :(. Most books I buy on Kindle are at least about the price of a paperback. I have no idea why the Magic Tree House books have to be $2 more :001_huh:! Anyway, I just thought I would let everyone know. Edited November 13, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 Have a feeling amazon own book depository now anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Have a feeling amazon own book depository now anyway. I had no idea but you are right! http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/05/amazon-the-book-depository No wonder their service started going down hill about a year ago :(! This is so sad! Their customer's service staff was in England prior to the acquisition. No wonder it appears to be outsourced now :mad: and you get those typical scripts as replies, just like with Amazon. Had I known this before, my reply to them would have been much different. Oh well! Nothing we can do to change that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaughingCat Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) . I wish Amazon.com would lower their Kindle prices for those of us outside the US :(. Most books I buy on Kindle are at least about the price of a paperback. I believe that is forced on Amazon by the various publishers - who don't want paper books to be undersold. ETA - I mean inside the US - I don't know for outside, but inside the US, most of the books I'm interested in are maybe $1 less than the paperback at best, and Amazon has a little note about 'price set by publisher' Edited November 13, 2012 by LaughingCat2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I believe that is forced on Amazon by the various publishers - who don't want paper books to be undersold. ETA - I mean inside the US - I don't know for outside, but inside the US, most of the books I'm interested in are maybe $1 less than the paperback at best, and Amazon has a little note about 'price set by publisher' I have seen that message but not with the Magic Tree House books. In the US the Kindle editions are the same price as the paperbacks. If you are outside the US though, you get hit with two dollars more per book. For books that are $4.99 - $5.99 normally, this is a very big markup :glare:! This is almost as much as shipping costs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 A friend of mine who uses them a lot said when amazon took over they did away with the free shipping but strangely that didn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 A friend of mine who uses them a lot said when amazon took over they did away with the free shipping but strangely that didn't work. I had no idea! My main supplier for the past three and a half years has been Rainbow Resource. I started using them while we were in the Middle East for a while and continued after we moved back to Canada. I used Bookdep for books that Rainbow does not carry or books that I forgot to get at the start of the school year. Prior to using Calvert most of my business went to Rainbow, since I find they have the best shipping on large orders but I did spend quite a bit of money with Boodep while we were using TOG, and some of their prices were cheaper since there was no shipping. I was ordering from Amazon.ca very rarely at the time. Then I noticed they started competing in prices and since I get free shipping from Amazon.ca for orders over $25 and I get my items much faster, I started using Bookdep less and less. I had not ordered since the acquisition, until this latest order (I think!), and I also bought three other books from them at the same time. Since we switched to Calvert I do not need to hunt too much but I still need extras for readers plus other books that I buy. We just get our extras from Rainbow, and you know what? I think I will try to get these from them also. I am irritated now :glare:! I had the Zoombinis in my cart for the longest time and they kept upping the price on me. I was looking at $10 extra to have it shipped from Amazon.com and $8 from Amacon.ca. I finally checked Rainbow and not only was it cheaper but with the $7.50 shipping for my order being less than $25, it still cost me less than buying from Amazon. I wish Rainbow carried everything I buy :lol:! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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