#Murdocca

[picturebookshelf]

Magic Tree House: Blizzard of the Blue Moon (2006)

Story: Mary Pope Osborne -- Art: Sal Murdocca

#magic tree house #merlin missions #blizzard of the blue moon #unicorns #jack and annie #2000s #00s #chapter books #kid books #kidlit #children's books #mary pope osborne #sal murdocca

[cicadabooks]

a review of Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (Magic Tree House book)

because some friends were waxing nostalgic for these books, and I never read them, and so I finally picked up a few of them.

looks promising? castles and stuff.

wait, didn’t these kids go learn about dinosaurs, but now there’s Merlin? Ok... we’re just going with it. (idk, The Time Warp Trio was MY jam back in the day.)

stuff happens, they meet someone who barks at them, but it’s a friend, also there’s Merlin for like a micro second, anyway they get to the castle

what

Wait, this is legit kind of scary and creepy. I don’t like this. Little kid me would have not liked it either. I was not expecting to be actually spooked.

....“safe from the bone” is a pretty good line.

anyway it turns out there’s a pretty easy explanation: there’s a ghost/invisible dog thing carrying the bone. Whew! we like to see some order and reason around here.

Moving on,

sick! they all turn into ravens! that’s what I’m talking about. Classic. also they fly around and do stuff as ravens.

(Animorphs was also my jam back in the day, why do you ask. I’m too scared to reread it now though.)

oh shit look who showed up. well at least the Raven King is polite.

Now I need to explain some context. And the context is: what image do you think of, reading this? Your immediate mental character design, based on the description?

Below is something like what assumed:

Real scraggity - maybe Howl’s Moving Castle movie version Howl (in bird mode) plus general scruffyness. This wierdo lives with, and resides, over some corvids.

Anyway,

below is what the illustrator, Sal Murdocca, slaps on the page.

who tf

pecs + armor muscle

what

I thought this character was a nerd who had a bird beak for a nose, what is this

I’ve been reading a book full of placid drawings of children wandering around and cute little ravens - where did this come from. Sal Murdocca letting loose I guess.

Anyway here’s another shot of the raven king

To wrap up the story, the protagonist kids save the day, the raven king turns into a baby raven (!?), the ghost dog turns back into a real dog, etc etc.

The children walk through Ye Olde Town

frankly the two kids look kinda bored here. Like they’re trying to be politely excited. 30 books in, they’ve seen it all.

The two children go back to their own time, it’s halloween,

oh my god, the protagonist kids aren’t even trying. I know the gag is that they are now not scared of pretend costumes, after their adventures - but these kids look seriously jaded. Meanwhile, take a study of these fellow childrens’ costumes. They’re actually pretty well crafted. Like, effort / money went into those. Also because Sal Murdocca once again went a lil wild and drew the hell out of that hairy eye ball. Anyway, these kids could at least pretend to be a little scared, even if they are jaded adventures, just for the other kids’ sake. Right now they look like they’re giving the royal wave to passerbyers.

Final notes: Although I came upon these books years too late, I could see younger kid me maybe getting into this book in particular. I did already have Animorphs, The Time Warp Trio, and also Camp Haunted Hills (esp book 3 with the time travel) - maybe my taste was a little more out there / different than what the Magic Tree House books offered?

Bonus: Also, I saw that the current edition of this book has this cover -

which tbh is probably savvier from a marketing perspective. “slap that sal murdocca version raven king on the cover STAT,” I can see the marketing team saying. Personally, I’m still glad I went in not knowing anything and having my wtf moment when I saw the illustration reveal of the raven king.

(Also, for some reason, the marketing team/whoever deciding - “and UP the muscles even more on the raven king on the cover.” Because... these book are ‘More challenging adventures for experienced readers, ages 7-10’ (from the publisher site) and that’s what we do?)

Also small nitpick but I read the chain mail as more silvery (in sal murdocca’s pencil drawings), not the sameish charcoal black as the raven kind’s skin color. (Also sal murdocca‘s illustration was better tbh, I’m assuming someone else maybe illustrated this cover. idk who, because I started looking around the website and both illustrators involved in this series have chops, so idk who did this cover)

Also, wait, is the brother pushing his little sister towards the raven king? There’s a lot happening in this cover.

#Magic Tree House #sal murdocca #Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve #mary pope osborne #I semi kind of work in kidlit and end up reading books like this and doing this kind of nitpicking a lot #books

[readingbooksinisrael]

Book Review: Night of the New Magicians/Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Sal Murdocca

A classic Merlin Mission book where the stand out was the beautiful illustrations, including two page spreads, and fully leaning in to the black and white color scheme to make the night sky stand out more.

Other than that, the idea of scientists being seen as magicians from a Camelot perspective was cute, and also helped explain how amazing the inventions were.

Jack and Annie are starting to catch on to Teddy and Kathleen, which is good, because I was getting a bit annoyed at their obliviousness.

#book reviews #my revs #night of the new magicians #mary pope osborne #sal murdocca #salvatore murdocca #merlin missions #magic tree house #magic tree house series #orilium #magical readathon

[muppet-facts]

Muppet Fact #1041

When Sam the Robot got an x-ray, it revealed that he had a toaster inside of him.

Source:

Oscar-the-Grouch's Alphabet of Trash. Jeff Moss. Illustrated by Sal Murdocca. Golden Press. 1977.

#muppet facts oc #jim henson #the muppets #muppets #muppet facts #fun facts #sam the Robot #Sesame Street

[retrogirlsbooks]

Magic Tree House #8: Midnight on the Moon by Mary Pope Osborne

Cover illustration by Sal Murdocca

ISBN 0-590-98825-5

#1990s #1996 #scholastic

[sigmastolen]

@ illustrator sal murdocca good effort but make sure you don't flip your reference images -- this child is playing reversed flute

#then again it is a Magic Item in the plot of the story so maybe it would still make music backwards #i am a pedant #music makes the people come together #musician tv watching priorities #more or less #take a look it's in a book

[rainerifernando]

Livro: Introdução a Arquitetura de Computadores.

Autores: Miles J Murdocca e Vicent P Heuring.

Editora Campus.

Com 512 páginas.

Medidas: 17 cm largura x 25 cm altura.

Item em perfeito estado, conforme fotos.

Ideal para colecionadores e estudantes de informática.

Artes e Antiguidades

[email protected]

[readingmychildhood]

Magic Tree House #1: Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne

First Book!

I really wanted to start with this series, partially because I love love loved the musical when I was a kid (yes there is a musical and it is set in Camelot) and partially because we own at least 30 of them.

The Story

Jack and Annie are whisked away to dinosaur times! They pet a pteranadon, feed a triceratops, talk with a duck-billed anatosarus, and are chased by a t-rex. Then they go home, and decide to not tell anybody what happened. Respect.

How Was It

So I actually decided to start reading it out loud since my brother was in the room. He's four years younger than me and I read to him a lot when we were younger - I especially remember doing character voices for the Percy Jackson series. It was really nostalgic to just have him listen and react to this super short book. It honestly made me think about my voice acting work and consider whether or not I want to try reading for kids' audiobooks.

My brother and I had several moments where we both laughed out loud; at one point Jack says he's gonna kill Annie which we both cackled at. It was a major escalation from him repeating "Oh, brother," earlier in the book. There's also a very goofy moment where they say that crouching down and pretending to chew will help chill out an upset dog (and also dinosaurs). I don't remember ever hearing that before, but maybe that's that sweet sweet 1992 knowhow shining through.

It's really short and sweet, which makes sense for the age range. Jack is eight and a half and Annie is seven. (And that is established on the first page, as well as where they are, Frog Creek, Pennsylvania.) I'm working with kids between nine and fifteen right now and I can see how this kind of story would be perfect for kids just a bit younger than them. I recently went to a workshop by a friend of mine who's a children's book author, and she stated that usually the protagonist is a year or two older than the intended reader, which would make this book perfect for six or seven year olds.

Something I noticed, especially with reading it aloud, is that the dialogue tags are nearly always "Jack said" or "Annie said." There's a few moments of emphasis - "Annie shouted," "Jack cried," "Jack called," - but nearly all of them were "said" and only a handful of speaking exchanges didn't have a tag at all. I wonder how much of that is stylistic and how much of that is really really helpful for a young reader trying to keep track of several characters.

Additionally, the watercolor illustrations by Sal Murdocca are an absolute treat. They're vivid and express a wonderful sense of scale for the two little kids' story.

This was a really sweet read, and I'm looking forward to reading more of this series. There were multiple laugh out loud moments, both on purpose and out of nostalgia. (The fact that it takes like thirty minutes total certainly doesn't hurt either!) If I'm lucky, I can read to my brother next time too.

#magic tree house #books #blog #dinosaurs

[uykulupsikolog]

Genndy Tartakovsky Goes Nuts with Fixed Feature Presentation at Annecy 2023

Alongside producing partner Michelle Murdocca, the prolific ‘Samurai Jack’ and ‘Hotel T’ franchise director took the stage, and with a detailed display of artwork, storyboards, layout and finished animation, regaled a packed Petite Salle crowd with how truly funny – and treasured – a dog���s balls really are. from AWN Headline News https://ift.tt/m0oi2AT

[karenlacorte]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Magic Tree House Season of the Sandstorms.

#34

[lawyersservice]

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[picturebookshelf]

Magic Tree House: A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time (2010)

Story: Mary Pope Osborne -- Art: Sal Murdocca

#magic tree house #merlin missions #jack and annie #a ghost tale for christmas time #a christmas carol #mary pope osborne #sal murdocca #2010s #10s #chapter books #kid books #kidlit #children's books #christmas #charles dickens

[fata-cu-palarie-neagra]

Genndy Tartakovsky Goes Nuts with Fixed Feature Presentation at Annecy 2023

Alongside producing partner Michelle Murdocca, the prolific ‘Samurai Jack’ and ‘Hotel T’ franchise director took the stage, and with a detailed display of artwork, storyboards, layout and finished animation, regaled a packed Petite Salle crowd with how truly funny – and treasured – a dog’s balls really are. from AWN Headline News https://ift.tt/eiGsOuH

[readingbooksinisrael]

February 2023 Read This Month

Rereads

Conrad’s Fate/Diana Wynne-Jones (Chrestomanci #2 (chronological order) ) (mg multiple world fantasy)-Someone at Stallery Mansion is changing the world. At first, only small details, but the changes get bigger and bigger. It's up to Conrad, a twelve-year-old with terrible karma, to find out who is behind it. But he's not the only one snooping around. His fellow servant-in-training, Christopher Chant, is charming, confident, and from another world, with a mission of his own.

Spinning Silver/Naomi Novik (ya fairy tale retelling)-Miryem, the Jewish daughter of a Jewish money-lender, catches the eye of the ice king of the Staryk when she takes over her father’s business when his good-heartedness leads them into poverty; and Irina, the daughter of a local noble, who knows her husband the Tsar is not as human as he tries to seem.

4.5 stars

Ellen Outside the Lines/A.J. Sass (mg contemporary realistic fiction)-Thirteen-year-old Ellen Katz feels most comfortable when her life is well planned out and people fit neatly into her predefined categories; and she knows she can always rely on her best-and-only friend, Laurel, to help navigate social situations at school. But when Ellen and Laurel are in separate groups on a school trip to Spain, Ellen might need to make new friends, including one whose gender doesn’t fit neatly into a category.

When the Angels Left the Old Country/Sacha Lamb (na historical fantasy)-An angel and demon have been learning Talmud together in a shtetl so small it has no name but Shtetl. When a girl from Shtetl vanishes on the way to America the demon convinces the angel that they need to go to America to find her.

3.5 stars

Dawn/Erin Hunter (The New Prophecy #3) (mg animal fantasy)- The travelling cats have come back to the Forest, which is being destroyed in leaps and bounds. Even so, it is not easy to convince the other cats they need to leave, especially with at least one cat from each Clan missing.

Just Roll With It/Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie (mg contemporary realistic fiction graphic novel)-As long as Maggie listens to what her dice tell her everything will be alright in her new middle school, but soon her reliance on the dice starts stopping her from enjoying time with her new friends.

2 stars

Christmas in Camelot/Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Sal Murdocca (Merlin Missions #1) (children’s chapter book Arthurian fantasy)-A spell has been cast on Camelot that there will not be joy there. Jack and Annie need to break the spell before Christmas is over.

#rtm #read this month #wrap up #february 2023 #february rtm #2023 rtm #i really enjoyed all these books except cic and jrwi really

[looky-here-imma-reading]

Dark Day in the Deep Sea (Magic Tree House: Merlin Missions #11)

by Mary Pope Osborne

Illustrations by Salvatore Murdocca

4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

Jack and Annie continue their quest for the secrets of happiness–secrets they need if they’re going to save Merlin. But when the magic tree house leads them to a tiny deserted island in the middle of the ocean, they’re not sure who needs help more–Merlin or themselves! The brother and sister team are soon rescued by a ship of explorers and scientists. But the crew isn’t looking for the secrets of happiness. The crew is looking for . . . a sea monster!

My Review:

I loved this. I read this before the kid did. I loved all the adventure that was going on. Jack and Anne go through the ringer here. They talk their way onto a boat with scientists, they survive being thrown overboard, and they encounter a giant octopus. What’s not to love.

#magic tree house #merlin missions #dark day in the deep sea #mary pope osborne #salvatore murdocca #kids books #chapter books #historical fiction #adventure #fantasy #magic #time travel #library #hardcover #my reviews

[murdoccalawyers]

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