High Tide in Hawaii, by Mary Pope Osborne

Specifics
Magic Tree House book 28, High Tide in Hawaii, by Mary Pope Osborne, Illustrated by Sal Murdocca
Published by Scholastic Inc., 2003

Target Audience
Lexile level 370L
This book is for early chapter book readers, second to sixth grades.

Summary
Jack and Annie are a brother and sister from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. There is a magic tree house that appears by their house. There are many books in that tree house, and if they point at a book, and say that they wish they could go there, the tree house takes them to that place. The magical librarian who owns the tree house sends the two on quests to find things. The two bring back some small item from each place and time they visit. They visit the island of Hawaii, where they run into a village, and become friends with some of the children. The two village children teach Jack and Annie how to surf, and they all learn what a tsunami is. They bring a lei back home with them, as a symbol of the friends that they made in Hawaii.

Evaluation
This is a great story that involves realistic definitions of magic and beauty. At the end of the book, Jack realizes that there are all kinds of Everyday magic that have to do with a person's relationship with the world and the people around them. The characters that Jack and Annie meet fit the setting of Old Hawaii. There is even a page in the back of the book that tells the reader a bit about the Polynesian people of Hawaii. Reading the book, you do feel like you are in that time and place, learning along with Jack and Annie about where and when they are. The culture of the Polynesians is accurately portrayed, and the facts that the author learned before reading this book are shared with the reader.

Lesson
There are a lot of lessons that can go along with this book. As a foreword to the book, Mary Pope Osborne wrote about her wish to go to Hawaii- and then wrote about how, by writing this book, she did go to Hawaii, in her imagination. This letter specifically is a great way to show students that reading really can transport you to a different place for a little bit. Students can also learn about Hawaii, surfing, and tsunamis The author's use of allegory and assonance with the poem telling Jack and Annie what to look for in Hawaii will be discussed, the class will be asked if they want to guess what the poem means before reading the rest of the book. The author's use of symbolism (the lei means friendship) will be discussed, as well as the alliteration used in the titles of Osborne's books.