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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Two kids find a magical tree in a park. I enjoyed the appearance of the Green Man.
Ruth Chew's [b:Secret Tree House|550975|Secret Tree House|Ruth Chew|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1191862905s/550975.jpg|538217] was one of my childhood favorites, so when I saw a section of Ruth Chew books at one of my local library branches, I knew I had to get this for bedtime reading. I found it to be quite entertaining even as an adult. The book was written in the 1970s, and, sadly, the scenario in the book could never work in a modern book. 2 kids in New York spend time playing in the park (without their parents) and befriend a strange man who feeds the birds. They discover a magic tree that seems to move different places in the park and a mysterious island. One day, they find a way to get inside the tree, and a very curious and magical thing happens. Definitely a fun read. I'm glad to have found a Ruth Chew collection. I'll be checking more of these out in the future.
I loved, loved, loved these books when I was in 1st-2nd grade. I remember checking out every one, several times, from the school library --before there was any hoopla about witches and children (and I went to a Catholic school!) I loved them so much that I was devastated when I found they were out of print, so I tracked down as many used copies as I could about 4 years ago.
It's the most boring book I've read. The characters and magic were flat. The story moved so slowly that I fell asleep a few times while I read the book. The writer was not able to grab my attention at all. Majority of the time I had no idea what the point of the story was. There was a lot of telling as opposed to showing what happened. The book was just painful to read. 1 star. Not recommending this to my students.
Ruth Chew was one of my favorite authors as a kid - I still enjoy the magic woven in her stories!