Mary Pope Osborne

The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie back in time to feudal Japan where the siblings learn about the ways of the Ninja.

Night of the Ninjas

Sarah Sammis

Earlier in the year when I was part of the Read Your Own Book Challenge, I read through my son's collection of The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne. He has the first eight and a couple other ones from later points in the series.

Night of the Ninjas is the fifth in the series. Jack and Annie have discovered the identity of the owner of the treehouse. She now has sent them back to Japan on a quest to help her gather the first part of a magic spell. They must do it by learning the way of the ninja.

Fighting against the ninjas are evil samurai. I don't typically think of samurai as being evil but that's the role they're cast in for this book. Along the way though, in a Karate Kid fashion, the children are taught how to be one with nature to defeat their enemies (or at least hide from them).

It was an okay book but it lacks the depth of later books in the series.

Briar's Reviews

After doing some crazy cleaning, I came across this lovely little gem from my childhood. I used to binge this series like no tomorrow. I remember doing the summer reading challenge and bringing home as many of the books in this series as possible. I thought they were so cool, so whimsical and so magical. Not much has changed, as I completely adored picking up this book. The nostalgia was on point!

I don't remember what happened through books one through four, as it has been a long time, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this novel. Jack and Annie are on a quest to save Morgan with their little pet mouse. They travel in the magic tree house and are suddenly among ninjas! They go on an adventure to find one of the items that can help save Morgan, and learn a lot along the way.

I really like this series. It's packed full of fun and is a great middle grade read. It's simple, fast, and the action never stops. It might not be totally historically accurate, but it's a great read with lots of whimsy packed in it. I think, as long as you don't go into this book expecting it to be some non-fiction, educational romp then you'll be fine. Enjoy it for the goofy fictional book that it is. 

I also have a special place in my heart for this series because it did spike my reading interest back in the day, so I'm totally biased. I just remember the fun of grabbing the books in this series and being whisked away on a magical adventure. That's childhood for you.

Four out of five stars.