Carnival at Candlelight

Title: Carnival at Candlelight
Author:Osborne, Mary Pope
Publisher and Date :Random House Inc., 2005
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: k-3rd

I really enjoyed reading Carnival at Candlelight, and I felt that it had a lot to offer to kids and adults alike. The book centers around a brother-sister pair who are asked by Merlin to carry out a rescue mission. In this particular book Merlin asks Jack and Annie to travel to Venice, Italy, to help save the city from a flood. The children travel through the city learning facts about the city, meeting intersting historical figures( such as Tiepolo the painter), and learning the value of patience and following directions.


Some of the positive aspects of the book that I noticed were that it encouraged children to interact with their siblings in a positive manner. The book potrays a healthy yet believable sibling relationship; Jack and Annie encourage and support each other throughout the book. They help one another learn to be patient and to look for creative solutions to their predicaments. The book also allows and encourages kids to use their imaginatons. Even as an adult reading Carnival at Candlelight I felt myslef being drawn into the magic of the traveling tree house, the excitement of the adventure, the thrill of riding on the back of a winged lion, and the responsibilty of carrying around a magic spell book. I read the entire book through without putting it down; elementary school age children I believe would be led to do the same. Another positve aspect of the book was that it encouraged kids to make a difference. The story centers around two young children who are called upon to save an entire city. Children are shown through this that the world they live in is not just for adults, they too can make a difference in it. The final and most exciting aspect of the book for me was that it used bold paragraphs interspersed throughout the book to teach actual history about the city of Venice. Mary Pope Obsborne did a great job with this. She blended the excitement of the adventure with the educational aspect of the city. The bold paragraphs were not just filler parts of the story that did not belong, they were an intergral part of the mission. The children needed to learn about the city in order to save it; throughout the book they learned everything they need to know from gondolas and waterways to the famous painter Tiepolo. The children are aslo briefly introduced to Greek mythololgy with the statues in the palace of Mars and Venus, and with Neptune, ruler of the seas.


All in all I thought this was a great book! It was easy to read to read and educational at the same time. I could definitely see myself using it in the classroom someday. Whether I included it in a geography lesson about Italy or if I used the series as a end of the day treat. I had a wonderful teacher who would reward us with a chapter from a book at the end of the day. I was an avid reader even at a young age so this really appealed to me. I hope to be able to instill the love of reading in my students, and I think the Magic Tree House books are a fun way encourage kids to read. Mary Pope Obsborne is a great author and an interesting person. I look forward to usung her books and resource books in the years to come.