Mary Pope Osborne

Lions at Lunchtime

Sarah Sammis

Lions at Lunchtime by Mary Pope Osborne is the third of the four riddles and 11th in the Magic Tree House Series. Jack and Annie have their third scroll riddle to solve. It takes them to Kenya where they see zebras, wildebeests, hyenas and lions. They also meet a Masai warrior.

The book is full of interesting facts about the animals and the life cycle around the waterhole. The riddle this time is also focused on the animals of the area.

Like the previous two riddles, the answer will be obvious to an adult but will probably take the child reading the book a little long to sort out. My son came up with a number of possible solutions but had to wait to figure it out with Jack and Annie.

My only complaint with the book is that it makes Kenya seem more remote than it is. Now of course Jack and Annie can travel through time and space so they might have gone back in time in their journey to Kenya. It would though have been nice to include some details about how the Maasai are one part of Kenyan society instead of being represented as a mysterious and possibly threatening stranger near the waterhole.

Lions at Lunchtime

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