The Magic Tree House Series

Dinosaurs Before Dark 

Osborne, M. (1992). Dinosaurs before dark. New York: Random House.

While exploring one afternoon with her older brother Jack, 7-year-old Annie discovers a tree house. Before he can object, Annie climbs up the rope ladder to see it is filled with books. Jack follows her, and the two of them investigate the stacks of books, including one about Pennsylvania and Frog Creek where they live, and one about dinosaurs. When Jack touches a picture of a Pteranodon and says that he wishes he could see a real one, Annie claims to see a monster flying through the sky. Suddenly the wind begins to blow and the tree house starts to spin wildly. The children hold onto each other and close their eyes. When they open them, they find that they have been transported back in time to the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago. They meet a flying reptile they name Henry, a 12,00 pound flower-eating Triceratops, a duck-billed dinosaur with a voice like a tuba called an Anatosaurus, and a T-rex who could eat a human in a single bite. A mysterious gold medallion with the letter M is collected along the way, reassuring the two that their trip in the flying tree house was real. This is the first book in the extensive Magic Tree House Series. 

This series would fit great in to many science or history lessons. These books would be better for younger students, maybe as a first chapter book.The students could read them aloud or in groups. For this particular book, I would include this is in a science unit because of its association with dinosaurs. It should also be noted that this series is both fantasy and historical fiction. It should be discussed with younger students that time travel is not possible, but you could discuss what it would be like if it was.