Reviews - Civil War on Sunday

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Civil War on Sunday by Mary Pope Osborne

75 reviews for:

I remember this being one of my favorites in the Magic Tree House series. My little sister and I would climb on our top bunk bed and pretend that it was a tree house taking us back to the Civil War. It made me want to learn more about Clara Barton.

beauty1991's review against another edition

5.0

I thought it was really cool when they discovered that they had family in the civil war and they were able to help them out.
I feel bad that the next one is the Revolutionary War, and they have to return to those sad and hard times.
Hope all goes well for them.

ejbookbroad's review against another edition

3.0

Read aloud to my reading class, they really liked it.

kat1137's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous 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

divadiane's review against another edition

4.0

This was a particularly moving story in which Jack and Annie go back to the civil war and discover that it is not as simple as we learn in history class. War is a complicated thing and affects everyone. Even children fought in the war. They are tasked with getting a piece of writing which is to be followed, they receive it right at the beginning but end up staying to help for a while. Afterwards they recognize that they had actually followed the list and then felt it was time to go home.

ricksilva's review against another edition

4.0

This is the start of a new four-book story arc for Magic Tree House, with Jack and Annie tasked with finding four different pieces of writing from different historical periods. In this book, they are seeking "something to follow", and are sent back in time to one of the more frightening and tragic settings they have visited: A field hospital in the American Civil War.

This was definitely one of the most emotionally-charged books in the series, with both kids having moments of fear and hopelessness that they had to overcome. The story strikes a good balance, focusing at various times on Jack and on Annie, and the introduction of Clara Barton as a mentor-figure allows for some good character development.

Author Mary Pope Osborne threads a thin line, conveying the horror of the hospital filled with wounded soldiers without ever getting into overtly gory descriptions. She fits in a decent amount of Civil War history, given the space she has to work with, and includes some excellent details. Her use of Walter Kittredge's song "Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground" was an especially nice touch, and it was fun to see the lyrics included in the "facts" section at the end of the book.

This was also a standout book in the series for illustrator Sal Murdocca, who did a great job bringing Clara Barton to life.

I read this with the Kiddo (almost age 10 now!) and he enjoyed it enough that he was asking for "one more chapter" at each sitting, and we finished it in three nights.