Hour of the Olympics

(The Mystery of the Lost Libraries 4)

(Magic Tree House 16)
by
Mary Pope Osborne

illustrated by

Sal Murdocca

Scholastic, May 1999, 70 pp.
ISBN: 0-590-70646-2

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenres: Time Travel / Ancient Greece
Reviewed: 10/12/2005

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

New to Olympia

The bearded man smiled at Annie.

"My name is Plato," he said.

"Plato?" said Jack. That name sounded familiar.

"You may have heard of me," the man said. "I am a philosopher."

"What's that mean?" said Annie.

"A lover of wisdom," said Plato.

"Wow," said Annie.

Plato smiled at her.

"It's odd to see a girl walking so bravely through Olympia," he said. "You must be from far away."

"We're Jack and Annie," said Annie. "And we come from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. It's very far away."

Plato looked puzzled.

Annie turned to Jack.

"I think we should show him our cards," she said in a low voice. "He's a lover of wisdom."

Jack nodded. He reached into his bag and took out the secret library cards. He showed them to Plato.

The letters M and L that stood for Master Librarian glittered on the cards.

"Amazing!" said Plato. "I've never met such young Master Librarians."

Synopsis

Jack and Annie travel to Ancient Greece to the city of Olympia. They are sent by Morgan to retrieve a specific scroll.

While in Olympia, they meet an elder gentleman named Plato, a famous philosopher. He informs them that the Olympics are going on, but Annie can't attend it because she is a girl, and girls are not allowed. He also introduces them to a mysterious woman who has written a poem. Annie asks her why she has signed her name as Anonymous. The woman informs Annie that if she were to write her real name, the poem would not be accepted because she is a female.

Later, when the Olympics start, Jack and Plato attend the sporting event. Jack notices that there is a short guard who suddenly waves to him. Jack realizes that Annie has snuck into the Olympics in disguise. All is going well until Annie forgets herself and takes off her helmet to cheer on the competitors. The last thing Jack sees is Annie being dragged away by the authorities.

Hour of the Olympics is the sixteenth book in the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. This is the fourth of four books in "The Mystery of the Lost Libraries" collection. The book is illustrated by Sal Murdocca. This story is intended for early chapter book readers in 2nd to 4th grade. The writing is perfect for young readers as there are not a lot of difficult words, but new ones are introduced and then reinforced with repetition.

Review

Everyone loves the Olympics. And to have a chance to travel back in time to Ancient Greece to witness the birth of this sporting event is a wonderful idea.

I liked the way that Mary Pope Osborne handled the issue of women not being treated as equals in that society. We must not forget our past. Women did not always have the same rights as they do today, and this is a chance for young readers to learn about this.

I enjoyed the pace of Hour of the Olympics and quite received quite a bit of pleasure from this story as my daughter read aloud to me.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.