In a recent survey of my school students, grades K through 4, Magic Tree House books won hands down as the favorite, with a strong showing in all five grade levels. The Research Guides are an excellent addition to a library collection. The connection with Jack and Annie is enough to hook any and all readers of the fiction series. But the research guides stand on their own as informative and fascinating reading. Fact-filled and thoroughly readable, these are excellent references for any reports as well as suppement to the fiction book for which it is companion.
The table of contents and index are useful, as is a list of suggested web sites and CD-ROM's, videos, books, and even museums. Best of all are the tips for making the most of each reference, for example, take your notebook to the museum, and it isn't necessary to read the entire non-fiction book. Photographs and drawings are plentiful and right on the mark.