In The Tree House (Andrew Larsen)

This is a perfect summer book. It is also a great book on friendship with siblings. Who doesn't love the idea of having their own treehouse?!


This is definitely one to read at the beginning of the school year to coincide with a Magic Treehouse unit and friendship unit.

Goodreads says:

An evocative story about two brothers who are growing up (one faster than the other), an unusual summer night and a special tree house that proves childhood is not just a time but also a place.

The Tree That Grew to the Moon (Eugenie Fernandes)

We have been talking a lot about genre in my class. This story is full of 'what if' conversations. It is a great exercise for kids to talk about all the crazy, good, bad things that could happen if something continues. The illustrations in this story are great and the kids in my class were quite captured by the conversation between the girl and her mom.

The author was born in New York but now lives in Ontario, so we'll claim her as Canadian. She also wrote Little Toby and the Big Hair, which, as someone with lots of hair, has always had a special place in my heart!


Goodreads says:

If Lena plants a baby tree in her bedroom, and sprinkles it with a little imagination, anything could happen. It might even grow to the moon!

A Big Day for Baseball (Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne)

I'm a big fan of the Magic Treehouse series for the age of kids that I teach. This one is particularly relevant for us because we read the story of Jackie Robinson every year as part of the anthology we use. This tells the story of Jackie Robinson's first game and would be a great preamble to reading Teammates.

Goodreads says:

Meet Jackie Robinson and solve a mystery in the #1 bestselling Magic Tree House chapter book series! 

PLAY BALL! Jack and Annie aren't great baseball players . . . yet! Then Morgan the librarian gives them magical baseball caps that will make them experts. They just need to wear the caps to a special ballgame in Brooklyn, New York. The magic tree house whisks them back to 1947!

When they arrive, Jack and Annie find out that they will be batboys in the game--not ballplayers. What exactly does Morgan want them to learn? And what's so special about thisgame? They only have nine innings to find out!

Discover history, mystery, humor, and baseball in this one-of-a-kind adventure in Mary Pope Osborne's New York Timesbestselling Magic Tree House series lauded by parents and teachers as books that encourage reading.

Magic Tree House books, with fiction and nonfiction titles, are perfect for parents and teachers using the Core Curriculum. With a blend of magic, adventure, history, science, danger, and cuteness, the topics range from kid pleasers (pirates, the Titanic,pandas) to curriculum perfect (rain forest, American Revolution, Abraham Lincoln) to seasonal shoo-ins (Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving). There is truly something for everyone here!

Have more fun with Jack and Annie on the Magic Tree House website at MagicTreeHouse.com! 

The Pig on the Hill (John Kelly)

What is it with ducks? This pig must be related to Jory John's bear from Goodnight Already and I Love You Already.  This one would be good to read with Treehouse in our Open Court unit on friendship because duck builds a bridge between their two houses.



There are some hilarious illustrations in this book!

Goodreads says:

The pig lives all alone in a house on top of a hill. He’s very happy with his quiet life. He has his books, his tidy tidy house and a lovely view.

Until one morning he opens the curtains to find a duck has taken up residence on the tiny pinnacle of rock outside his window. Much to the pigs annoyance the excessively friendly duck likes the spot and decides to build a house there. With a swimming pool. And a garden and patio.

The duck tries to be friendly. He’s very confident and outgoing. It seems he’s been everywhere (unlike the pig), done everything; skiing, mountain climbing, parachuting, scuba-diving, even brain surgery. The pig just wants to be left alone.

Eventually, after a particularly loud party, the pig shouts at the duck, and the next morning finds a note pinned to the duck’s front door. It reads:

‘GONE AWAY.’

At first the pig is pleased. But gradually realises that his life without the duck is quiet and slightly dull. He comes to miss the duck and regrets rejecting him.

One day there is a knock on the door and the pig opens it to find the duck wearing a som- brero and carrying a pinata. He’d only been on holiday in the South. He does it every year. Maybe next year the pig will join him.