Magic Tree House: Olympic Challenge
4th century BC. Greece. In Jack and Annie’s new adventure, the Magic Tree House takes them to Olympus, where the Olympic games are about to open. Their quest is to find the story of Pegasus, the winged horse. They meet the philosopher, Plato, and a young woman who has written the story down – but anonymously. She gives the Pegasus scroll to Jack.
Annie asks Plato why the story’s author is anonymous. He explains that women’s lives are very restricted in ancient Greece – most women are illiterate and they are forbidden to attend the games. Annie is outraged. Plato and Jack go off to the games, leaving Annie behind. They stop off to admire the huge statue of Zeus in the temple and then go to the race track to watch the opening procession and the chariot race.
Jack notices a very small soldier in the crowd who waves to him. It’s Annie in disguise – but then her hood falls off and the next thing he sees are angry soldiers marching towards her. Jack fights his way to her side and calls on the Pegasus scroll to save them. Suddenly, Pegasus himself appears pulling a chariot. Annie and Jack are whooshed into the air by the beautiful white horse with huge feathery wings.
As always, I enjoyed Philippe Masson’s well-researched illustrations, particularly of the two-storey high chryselephantine statue of Zeus – one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The story itself is simple and exciting and I’m sure that children of five plus will enjoy it as well as learning some interesting facts about ancient Greece.
–Elizabeth Hawksley
If I could go somewhere in the Magic Tree House I would want to go and see the Olympics like Jack and Annie. The chariot racing was fantastic and I liked the bit when the winged horse from the lost story came and rescued Jack and Annie. The pictures in the book were good and helped me imagine what it would have been like in ancient Greece; they dressed in long robes and some of the people wore armour for the Olympic Games. I didn’t like it that girls couldn’t play in the Games because my friend Nieve is a girl and she is a very speedy runner, much faster than me. I liked the ending when Jack and Annie see all the creatures from the lost stories in the stars, but I was a bit sad that they might not go in the Magic Tree House again.
—William Stockton, age 5
