"Carnival at Candlelight"

"Carnival at Candlelight" by Mary Pope Osborne
Illistrated by Sal Murdocca
Published by Random House Children's Books in 2005
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Reading Level: 3rd grade
Summary: "Carnival at Candlelight" is about a boy, Jack, and a girl, Annie, who are friends with two sorcerers, Teddy and Kathleen. Jack and Annie are assigned four missions to complete so that they may prove themselves to Merlin so they can get their own magic powers. In this mission Jack and Annie travel to Venice, Italy where they must save the Grand Lady of the Lagoon. Jack and Annie become confused by some of the directions which lands them in a jail cell with a bunch of rats. When they finally get out they realize that the real mission is to save all of Venice, Italy from a huge flood. The King of the Jungle, which is a flying lion, takes them to the Ruler of the Seas. Jack and Annie asked the Ruler of the Seas to please help them save the Lady of the Lagoon and so he makes the flood stop. Jack and Annie completed their first mission and made it safely back to Frog Creek woods before their mom and dad woke up.

Response: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I noticed that it is an exceptional children's book, one that should be taught in my classroom. Mary Pope Osborne is an amazing author and the way she includes information on the subject as well as pronunciation guides for the readers, are such great features for the students who will read this book. This book really makes one stretch their imagination. If you don't have an imagination, you're not going to enjoy this book! At this time I cannot make any connections from this book to another book I have read.

Teaching Ideas: This particular book could be taught anytime throughout the school year. However, some of Mary Pope Osborne's other books like her research books, could be taught at particular times during the year. For example, she has a book on Pilgrims that I could incorporate into a Thanksgiving unit. The Magic Tree House books have a wonderful website which allows students to answer questions on their particular book. If the student answers all the questions correctly, they are given a passport stamp for the place they just visited!