I created a guide that I used as a baseline for my ratings, sometimes I shift things up or down. A brief explanation of what my ratings mean:
Characters
5 = Annoying Jack and/or Annie
6 = Basic J and A
7 = J and A at top of game
8 = Basic side characters
9 = Interesting side characters
10 = Really Vibing with J/A and side characters
Atmosphere
1 or 2 - basic, not particularly exciting
3 or 4 - premise is more interesting than the execution
5 or 6 - execution is better than the premise
7 or 8 - Decent execution and premise
9 or 10 - Truly captures the imagination
Writing Style
Doesn’t vary much generally 8
Plot
1 or 2 - J/A just doing stuff
3 or 4 - J/A just doing interesting stuff
5 or 6 - J/A with a plot line
7 or 8 - J/A with a good premise
9 or 10 - Conflict and Resolution are both satisfying
Intrigue
1 or 2 - premise didn’t excite (and probably wouldn’t excite many kids) me read out of duty
3 or 4 - premise has niche interest
5 or 6 - premise initially good, bad execution
7 or 8 - good premise with wide appeal
9 or 10 - kids generally love the premise and it carries through the story
Logic
1 or 2 - disregards history and general rules of a story
3 or 4 - PARADOXES / doesn’t really make sense
5 or 6 - puts J/A too much into a specific historical event / makes some sense but not totally
7 or more 8 - history adjacent / mostly makes realistic animal/ story choices
9 or 10 - choices made make sense/ involved in history without affecting events
Education
1 or 2 - based primarily in myth and legend
3 or 4 - relies heavily on stereotypes/ doesn’t present many facts about subject
5 or 6 - portrays historical people and events with heavy mythology influence (or animals in unrealistic fashion)
7 or 8 - light fantasy influence or mostly realistic animals
9 or 10 - well-represented historical people and events, facts woven into story
Check out Part 1 here.
Check out Part 2 here.
50. Dingoes at Dinnertime
Maybe I just shouldn't have read the animal stories... Only one animal-centric tale breaks the top twenty. This entry is just Jack and wandering around the outback. However, this time around they do make some choices that give us new beats. Such as rescuing a baby anima... what a minute.
Character - 6
Atmosphere - 5
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 4
Intrigue - 5
Logic -9
Enjoyment - 6
Education - 7
Final Score: 6.25
49. Afternoon on the Amazon
I have a suspicion that the author really likes this book as it forms the basis of SO MANY OTHER BOOKS. This book is fairly educational though like many of the other early entries in the series.
Character - 6
Atmosphere - 7 - It is the rainforest and Mary Pope Osbourne fleshes it out fairly well in the space allotted her. Both the premise and the execution are enough to entertain kids.
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 3 - asdfghjkl Wandering. Around. The. Forest. I gave this plot a 3 the first time I saw it, looking back now it is more infuriating because I've read this plot over and over.
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 5 - I like teaching this book more than reading it on its own. The rainforest is a great theme!
Education - 8
Final Score: 6.25
48. Warriors in Winter
I'm honestly surprised that Jack and Annie don't end up in prison, they are arrested mind you.
Mary Pope Osbourne spent this quartet playing around with new ideas, and while I can respect that, it wasn't my favorite. This time Morgan wants Jack and Annie to not use a research book and instead take lots of notes about what they observe and feel - at a Roman army camp. Small wonder they got arrested.
Character - 7
Atmosphere - 5
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 4 - Jack and Annie wander from one tent to the next sort of aimlessly. They even make the same mistake as they made in The Knight at Dawn of trying on armor that is too heavy.
Intrigue - 3
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 6
Education - 9 - Even though we ditched the concept of a research book for this outing a ton of info was packed into the story. I might have given it a ten if the book hadn't committed one of my fictional pet-peeves. Eagle identification error. Jack blatantly says they are looking at a Golden Eagle... which makes sense paired with Romans. Here is the illustration:
Pictured: Definitely a golden eagle, not a bald eagle. Eagles are interchangeable right?
Stop assuming I won't recognize an eagle without this distinctive coloring!!!
Final Score: 6.25
47. A Perfect Time for Pandas
Pandas are my favorite animal, so I was predisposed to enjoying this book. It only just barely pulled through.
Character - 6
Atmosphere - 5
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 3 - In fairness, they aren't aimlessly wandering around a bamboo forest this time. But this has all the excitement of a zoo trip report for the first half of the book. In theory this has a plot, I mean things happen, but... I can't really recall ANY details. Except giant Jack.
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 7 - Giant Jack will never fail to be one of the worst utilizations of magic in the series.
Enjoyment - 6
Education - 9
Final Score: 6.25
46. A Big Day for Baseball
Another one of the reboot quartet. These books really struggle because of their odd introductions to canon. In this book Jack and Annie get magic baseball caps that make them look like age (and gender in Annie's case) appropriate batboys. If the cap comes off, they revert to their real self. If Morgan had this sort of costuming available why was it never available before or since? I don't particularly care for oddly competent Jack and Annie. Also, I was a bit put off by the new illustrator.
Character - 6 - I didn't much care for Jack and Annie in this one, but I did like the side characters. I was a little disappointed that we never really interacted with Jackie Robinson, but the elderly grandmother was a nice touch.
Atmosphere - 4
Writing Style - 7
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 6
Education - 7 - "Funny. Our whole trip, we never thought to read about baseball," said Annie. Trust me, I noticed. We kind of abandoned our schtick here.
Final Score: 6.25
45. Dragon of the Red Dawn
The title definitely is a bit of a mind twister. I think because this book was written after MTH became a big deal in Japan, so Mary Pope Osbourne was able to appeal to Japanese knowledge. I really loved the story of Basho the poet, but I'm not sure I would ever have guessed that the dragon was meant to bring rain and put out a fire.
Character - 8 - Not going to lie, this book falls towards the end of a stretch of books with great characterizations. Master Basho was simply delightful, and his character was so much more peaceful than many of the others.
Atmosphere - 6
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 4
Intrigue - 3 - If I were a kid and started this book there would definitely be some question as to where the dragon was (page 78). The buildup is really slow, with Jack and Annie avoid samurai by joining a master as he crosses the city of Edo.
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 8
Education - 6
Final Score: 6.25
44. Eve of the Emperor Penguin
Look how dopey that penguin looks wearing its crown! This book occupies such an odd niche. It happens in present day (which kind of makes Jack and Annie's usual shenanigans even sillier) and it is played with lots of realism right up until we meet the emperor penguins in their hidden kingdom. Then they have to smuggle a baby penguin past a bunch of scientists... seems legit.
Character - 6
Atmosphere - 7 - A return to form for interesting locations after five books of fairly mediocre place-settings. I find Antarctica inherently interesting. It is kind of the 'forbidden fruit' of planet Earth.
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 6
Education - 5 - I don't know that I learned anything from this book. There are some good facts about Antarctica itself and how visiting there would work, but there is very little in the way of learning about penguins.
Final Score: 6.375
43. Day of the Dragon King
Of the original series this is the one that I found the least appealing on a surface level (sans Thanksgiving). It obviously redeemed itself in in other ways, but the concept and cover art do nothing to sell me on the book.
Character - 8
Atmosphere - 5
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 6 - A not entirely aimless journey means this book is blessed with something resembling a plot as Jack and Annie work to rescue a book from being destroyed.
Intrigue - 2 - Honestly, I just wouldn't have read this one except I sort of had to. I find it super unappealing.
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 6
Education - 9 - A nifty little lesson on the terra cotta army and a myth I'd never heard are both in here.
Final Score: 6.5
42. Moonlight on the Magic Flute
Jack and Annie go to a fancy party and actually attend the party! They don't even sort of get threatened with prison in this one - so exciting! I have a fondness for books set in locations that I have been to, and this one is set at a place I've visited twice. I have a good spatial memory but am really bad at visualizing things - so this gives me a boost that I've not had with the other books. Plus, I have a bit of a soft spot for Mozart's music in general and The Magic Flute in particular.
Character - 8
Atmosphere - 6 - The text is really good at capturing the layout of Vienna and especially the summer palace. I was able to recall where things were based on the text - I think it could have done better conveying the size of the grounds though.
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 4
Intrigue - 4 - I think there is probably niche interest in this book. Any kids that are in music lessons will likely recognize the name Mozart; some may even recognize The Magic Flute.
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 7
Education - 7
Final Score: 6.5
41. Night of the New Magicians
The concept of this book is really neat. I'm a big fan of the concept of the World's Fair and the 1889 Paris World's Fair is probably one of the most influential. The dual concept of the new magicians is also great but having four of them bogged down the text meaning no one got to be fully fleshed out.
Character - 8 - Alexander Graham Bell, Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison, and Gustave Eiffel make excellent additions to the line-up of historical figures, I wish that the four magicians had perhaps been a quartet of books to give them each a chance to shine.
Atmosphere - 5
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 6
Intrigue - 4
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 7
Education - 7
Final Score: 6.5
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