The Knight at Dawn

(The Mystery of the Tree House 2)

(Magic Tree House 2)
by
Mary Pope Osborne

illustrated by

Sal Murdocca

Random House, March 1993, 66 pp.
ISBN: 0-679-82412-X

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenres: Time Travel / Medieval Times
Reviewed: 9/11/2003

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

"There's my favorite," said Annie.

The light was shining in a book about knights and castles. There was a blue leather bookmark in it.

Annie turned to the page with the bookmark. There was a picture of a knight on a black horse. He was riding toward a castle.

"Annie, close that book," said Jack. "I know what you are thinking."

Annie pointed at the knight.

"Don't, Annie!"

"We wish we could see this guy for real," Annie said.

"No, we don't!" shouted Jack.

They heard a strange sound.

"Neeee-hhhh!"

It sounded like a horse neighing.

They both went to the window.

Annie shined the flashlight down on the ground.

"Oh, no," whispered Jack.

"A knight!" said Annie.

A knight in shining armor! Riding a black horse! Through the Frog Creek woods!

Review

After returning from their trip to the age of the dinosaurs (see Dinosaurs Before Dark), Jack and Annie have a hard time sleeping. So, early the next morning, they sneak back into the woods to the Magic Tree House.

There, Annie picks up the book on castles and knights and wishes she could see the man in shining, black armor pictured in the book. Then they hear a horse whinny, see the knight, and are whisked off to medieval times. Annie, who is quite enraptured with the look of the old castle from the outside, just has to see what it looks like on the inside.

When they are both discovered creeping around the castle, they end running from three guards and hiding in a storeroom. How will they ever escape? Will Annie ever get to meet the brave knight? And, how will they find their way back to the tree house in the dark? 

The Knight at Dark is the second book in the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. This is the second of four books in "The Mystery of the Tree House" 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

In this second installment of the Magic Tree House, I was quite pleased to learn that the story takes place the day after the story in the first book, Dinosaurs Before Dark. Annie finally get her way when she decides where to go, although Jack tries to stop her.

I do like that the focus of The Knight at Dark was more on Annie this time, rather than Jack. Once again, the story is fast-paced and the dialog is simple and quick.

Overall, The Knight at Dark is a fun story for a child to read, or for an adult to read to their child. My daughter, who read this book over five days to me had this to say, "I liked it a lot." That's good enough for me!

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.