Dolphins and Sharks

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #9

by Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce, Sal Murdocca (Illustrator)

Magic Tree House Research Guides are now Magic Tree House Fact Trackers! Track the facts with Jack and Annie!
 
When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in Magic Tree House #9: Dolphins at Daybreak, they had lots of questions. Did dolphins ever live on land? How do dolphins communicate? How do sharks hunt for food? Which sharks are the most dangerous? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts. Filled with up-to-date information, photos, illustrations, and fun tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discovered in their favorite Magic Tree House adventures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Childrens, Science, Chapter Books, Nature, Middle Grade

113 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 29, 2012

About the author

Mary Pope Osborne is an American author of children's books and audiobook narrator. She is best known as the author of the Magic Tree House series, which as of 2017 sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, including for Osborne's charitable efforts at promoting children's literacy. One of four children, Osborne moved around in her childhood before attending the University of North Carolina. Following college, Osborne traveled before moving to New York City. She somewhat spontaneously began to write, and her first book was published in 1982. She went on to write a variety of other children's and young adult books before starting the Magic Tree House series in 1992. Osborne's sister Natalie Pope Boyce has written several compendium books to the Magic Tree House series, sometimes with Osborne's husband Will Osborne.

Reviews

[Charissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to this, I learned a lot of things about sharks and dolphins. And I thought all dolphins look the same!

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good research guide, with photos, illustrations, research tips and further reading to keep young ones interested. This is the companion to Dolphins at Daybreak

[Trey Auntie Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned about something. I learned about dolphins and sharks. I learned a bull shark is the most dangerous shark.

[Sherebanu Chandawala]

It's an awesome book

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Dolphins and Sharks, Mary Pope Osborne and her sister Natalie Pope Boyce provide fun and interesting facts about two of the most popular ocean animals. Osborne is the famous author of the Magic Tree House series. This book is actually a companion to the ninth Magic Tree House book, Dolphins at Daybreak. The genre is nonfiction. The intended audience of this book is children aged six to ten years. Unfortunately, I was unable to find out if this book received any awards or accolades. This book is very appealing to children. I think older kids would find this book more appealing than younger kids. This book would be an amazing resource for teachers. Since this book is a nonfiction work, there really is not a theme, plot, or characters. Therefore, the most appealing aspect of this book would be the illustrations and pictures. This book was illustrated by Sal Murdocca. These illustrations are great teaching resources as well. They will teach kids how to differentiate the types of dolphins and sharks. In addition, this book provides illustrations of the anatomy of both dolphins and sharks. This book is teaching children something new. Therefore, the language needs to be age-appropriate so that children are actually understanding what they are reading and learning. This book definitely uses age-appropriate language. My six-year-old brother recently read this book, and he was able to understand everything that he was reading. For these reasons, I decided to give this book a five-star rating.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dolphins and sharks was very interesting. I really liked learning that the Killer whale was actually a dolfin. It was a great book and I'm glad that I read it. My favorite dolphin was the spinner dolfin. I may not like sharks, but my favorites were the maco sharks and the hammerhead shark. I can't wait till some of the other reasearch guides come out. They are really good. It is cool about some of the dolphins about what they do and how the comunicate. At first I thought that sharks always atack people but they do it just because they are confused. I felt like I was really there, experiencing those things the sientences looked at. It was so good that it seemed like I couldn't put it down.

[Chris Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like in Book i nod Dolphins 50 miles in bigger and i Mrs.Josephs son Daybreak, they had lots of questions. Did dolphins ever live on land? How do dolphins communicate? How do sharks hunt for food? Which sharks are the most dangerous? Find out the answers to these

[Cindy Pardew]

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers 2003

[Bonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had a lot of “facts” that were just options about different things. A lot of some scientist think this or that. There were a few things that they just got wrong and a quick google search was able to find the true story. Even my 8 year old whom I read this too was able to point out things that were not correct. And quickly found his own resources from his other marine life book to call out the incorrect information. That’s not all bad though. It was a learning opportunity for my kids. They were able to go out and look up the “facts” and see if they were true or not. Learning how to research and think for yourself is such a valuable tool to have.

[Stephanie Littig · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Magic Tree House books are fantastic for kids. These not only teach students but are fun to read as well. This one starts off with the ocean, then goes onto fun stuff about dolphins and sharks and ends with how we can help save them. I really liked chapter 3 on dolphin life. Gave great information on dolphin communication, play, and hunting. There are also fun facts on the sides of most pages. Fun read, and quite informational!

[Linda Klinedinst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dolphins and Sharks - Book #9 in the Magic Tree House Research Guide by Mary Pope Osborne

I really enjoyed this book...this book is very interesting - you learn about the Dolphins and you learn about the Sharks. I learn some things about both that I never knew before.

I dearly love this book...I read this as a Library E Book through my County Library on my Overdrive.

I give this Book 5/5 Stars

Happy Reading :)

[Q]

Great information about dolphins and sharks presented in a way that's easy to understand for young readers. Pictures and light illustrations break up the text to help hold attention among the facts. This book (and the entire Fact Tracker series) would be a great source for kids' research projects, or can be enjoyed for simply providing further context to a beloved installment in the Magic Tree House series.

[Jonnathan Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it talks about how dolphins and sharks which also show pictures for students to see. Books about animals are neat because it can spark the interest in students at an early age.
This book is ideal for elementary school-age children, with lots of pictures and facts

[Darin Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easily read book about dolphins and sharks. Illustrations are in black and white which is disappointing, but they work within this writing. I enjoyed the separate sections for both the sharks and dolphins, with great descriptions, diagrams, and a "what can you do" section at the end.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I like dolphins. I did not like this book because I do not like sharks. I kind of liked this book because I kind of liked the part when I heard that people heal dolphins and sharks.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always learn a lot from these books. I love how they are concise and simple, but very informative and interesting. I learned why sharks are attracted to surfers, because they thrash around like dying fish. I never knew that but it makes a lot sense. Good stuff.

[Laurel Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

There goes my theory SHARKS have poor vision. Guess I will just hope the shark closes his eyes before he tries to take a bite out of me.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dd said she loved this book so much she didn't want it to end.

[Hannah Engle]

Grade level: 5th
Lexile level: 730L

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great fact tracker - accompanying the 9th Magic Tree House book Dolphins at Daybreak, this fact tracker tells kids all about dolphins and sharks . . .

[Sharon🔮👽 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dun nuh, dun nuh, dun nuh….

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love sharks and dolphins so I’m pretty happy reading this book

[Aarsh Patel]

i thing a dolphin is going to eat someone

[Payton Grissom]

I remember reading this book countless times in elementary school, so when I found it on Libby, I couldn't resist revisiting it for the nostalgia. I absolutely love dolphins!

[blueygurl2016 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book about ocean animals, mainly dolphins and sharks. I learned a lot.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2003, Mary Pope Osborne and her sister Natalie Pope Boyce published the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers entitled Dolphins and Sharks. This book is a nonfiction research guide to the book entitled Dolphins at Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne which was published in 1997. Osborne’s and Boyce’s book is a well-done introduction to dolphins and sharks. The book is for young readers. The book has wonderful black-and-white illustrations. The book has wonderful black-and-white photographs. The illustrator for this book was Sal Murdocca. Similar to the other books in the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers series, the book has a section on how to do more research for young readers about dolphins and sharks. The book has an index and includes photo credits. The book was advised by a science writer at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida and an educational adviser. there has been new research since 2003 about the Dolphins and Sharks. One example is that the book mentions that scientists are working to develop a shark-repellent spray. Since 2003, the company Shark Tec has developed a spray based on the chemicals given off by decomposing sharks that warn living sharks of danger (Shark Tec Defense 2023). I thought it was interesting that according to Osborne and Boyce, Bull Sharks have been found swimming in the Mississippi River (Osborne & Boyce 94-95). I believe overall Osborne’s and Boyce’s Dolphins and Sharks is a well-done introduction, but an older book, to the world of those marine animals.
Works Cited:
Shark Tec Defense. “The Science Behind Shark Tec’s Shark Repellent Sprays.” Last modified: October 17, 2023. Shark Repellent Spray background and science – SharkTec Defense

[Taylor Laird · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an easy read, and read almost like a picture book. It had a lot of pictures that went along with the story. This read was more of like an informational read, as the two kids research dolphins and sharks and discover some really cool facts, even though it is a fictional book. This could be read by any child that has an interest in dolphins and sharks, along with many of the other Tree House books. This book could be read along with the fictional based book of Dolphins at Daybreak. It is actually recommended to read both for someone who wants to get a good base on dolphins.

I could use any of the Magic Tree House books in my classroom to teach a number of things, but make it interesting for the kids, because we all know nobody likes reading information out of a textbook or being lectured at. With this we could even watch an entertaining informational video about both Dolphins and Sharks so the kids get a full understanding of what they are reading and can comprehend it.

This one in particular is a nonfiction based book and has some crazy facts that an elementary student would never know. For instance, it is stated that "baby dolphins are born with whiskers on their face, but lose them after birth". Also, this book has the two kids in the margins, defining some of the definitions in a "kid language" so that the kids don't feel overwhelmed reading this book.

Great read, and an awesome collection. A definite need for any classroom!

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time that we've borrowed the non-fiction Research Guides that is the companion to the Magic Tree House story (in this case, Dolphins at Daybreak.) Interesting, but this book doesn't hold our girls' interests quite as good as the stories do. I was surprised, honestly, at how much our oldest really enjoyed this book. But it is ideal for elementary school-age children, with lots of pictures and facts, and not too much information.

[Linda Branich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This non-fiction fast-trscker is a companion read to the Magic Tree House series #9, Dolphins at Daybreak.
It is an excellent resourse book for children, probably grades 2-4, maybe even grade 5 , depending on their reading level. Difficult, scientific words are also spelled phonetically so that the reader can use 'big' words and pronounce them correctlh when telling about the book. At the end of the book are many suggestions for children who wish to learn more about dolphins and sharks, including other children's non-fiction books about the topic.

an excellent, fun read for kids with many appropriate illustrations, diagrams and photographs.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

How fast can some dolphins swim? What is the biggest shark? Why do sharks attack? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this Magic Tree House Research Guide! Includes an illustrated gallery of dolphins and sharks, information on the ocean, dolphin communication, how sharks hunt for food, ocean exploration, and lots more!