Dinosaurs Before Dark Graphic Novel (Magic Tree House Graphic Novel Series #1)

by Mary Pope Osborne, Jenny Laird (Adapted by), Kelly Matthews (Illustrator), Nichole Matthews (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

It’s The Magic Treehouse, now in graphic novel format. What could possibly be better? Travel back to prehistoric times and see it all with the gorgeous art of Kelly and Nichole Matthews.

The #1 bestselling chapter book is now a graphic novel! Magic. Mystery. Time-travel. Get whisked back in time in the magic tree house with Jack and Annie!

Where did the tree house come from?

Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark...or will they become a dinosaur's dinner?
For the first time in graphic novel—live the adventure again in the very first Magic Tree House book, with new art from comic artists Kelly and Nichole Matthews!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593174715
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Series:	Magic Tree House
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	15,159
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	GN110L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

MARY POPE OSBORNE is the author of the New York Times #1 bestselling Magic Tree House series as well as coauthor of the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker series, along with her husband, Will, and her sister, Natalie Pope Boyce. For more information, visit the Magic Tree House website at MagicTreeHouse.com!

JENNY LAIRD is an award-winning playwright. She collaborates with Will Osborne and Randy Courts on creating musical theater adaptations of the Magic Tree House® series for both national and international audiences. Their work also includes shows for young performers, available through Music Theatre International's Broadway Junior® Collection. Currently the team is working on a Magic Tree House® animated television series.

KELLY and NICHOLE MATTHEWS are twin sisters, and a comic art team, living just north of the Emerald City under the watchful eyes of their cats and dog. They get to do their dream job every day drawing comics for a living (when they're not playing video games). They've worked for Boom Studios!, Archaia, the Jim Henson Company, Hiveworks and now Random House! Follow them on Instagram @kickingsh0es and Twitter @kickingshoes

Hometown:

Goshen, Connecticut

Date of Birth:

May 20, 1949

Place of Birth:

Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Education:

B.A., University of North Carolina

Website:

http://www.marypopeosborne.com

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2021

Gr 1–3—This inventive graphic novel adaptation of the beloved chapter book series retells the story of siblings Jack and Annie discovering an enchanted tree house in the woods of Frog Creek, PA. Transported back in time, the pair encounter majestic dinosaurs in their original habitat. Jack and Annie are in for an unexpected visitor as a Tyrannosaurus rex approaches the nest of baby Anatosauruses they uncover. Not only will they have to evade history's most notorious dinosaur, but they will also have to figure out how to safely return home before bedtime. The story seamlessly translates into comics format, heightening the suspense for young readers. The pacing is effective, with more images and less text than in the original, which works well for emergent readers. The artwork has a distinctly digital quality, giving the tale an animated feel that children will appreciate. Jack and Annie are both white. VERDICT This fresh take on "The Magic Tree House" brings the adventures to life for those who enjoyed the classic series and newcomers alike.—Claire Moore, Manhattan Beach Lib., CA

School Library Journal

2021-02-09
Two kids climb a ladder to prehistoric adventure in a graphic bid to bring the classic series to an even younger audience.

A half-idle wish that stolid 8 1/2-year-old Jack makes while he and his impulsive little sister, Annie, are sitting in a mysterious, book-filled treehouse whirls the two off to the Cretaceous Period for encounters with dinosaurs both amiable and, in the case of a toothy Tyrannosaurus rex, not so much. The illustrators (twin sisters) make much use of inset and irregularly shaped panels to keep the action trotting along. They craft brightly lit, full-color scenes (more simply drawn than Sal Murdocca’s black-and-white illustrations in the 1992 original) in which Jack’s large eyeglasses and Annie’s big, wide, blue eyes (both kids present White) offer instant keys to their characters, and the dinos wading through grassy, flower-strewn prehistoric landscapes are more beneficent-looking than scary (even that T. rex). Laird incorporates necessary explication into the dialogue, simplifying some vocabulary—Jack’s “I wish I could see a Pteranodon for real,” in the chapter book becomes “I wish we could go there,” as he points to a picture of the flying reptile—but generally sticking to Osborne’s tone and phrasing. In the end the two time travelers get back home in time for dinner…Jack with a certain golden medallion he picked up as a lead-in to the next three episodes.

A bright, brisk repackaging that piles on the visual appeal. (Graphic fantasy. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews