Time Warp Trio

I can't remember how I heard about this Time Warp Trio, but I thought I would check out some of the books. I have a young nephew and niece who will be able to read in the next few years. I figured that I better start to get a handle on some of the books out there for younger readers so I will know what to get them. The Time Warp Trio books are very interesting, and they remind me of the Edward Eager books that I loved as a kid. The books are written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith. The books were made into a television series. The premise behind the books: Joe Arthur gets a book, known as The Book as a birthday present from his uncle Joe, who is a magician. The book is a time traveling device. Joe and his friends, Sam and Fred, get sucked in time traveling adventures when they open The Book. It seems that through the series, the kids try to figure out how to use the book. What I like about the books is that it introduces young readers to various historical or fictional characters. Since the books are so short, I was able to read three of them in one sitting. I didn't get the books in chronological order since I got them from the library. I read:

Knights of the Kitchen Table
This is the first book in the series. Joe, Sam, and Fred find themselves back in King Arthur's time. They go to Camelot and help King Arthur get rid of a giant and a dragon that threaten the city.

Tut Tut
This is the sixth book in the series, and Joe, Sam, Fred, Joe's sister, Anna, and Anna's cat, Cleo, journey back to Ancient Egypt. Joe argues with Anna that there were only male pharaohs. Anna insists that she saw a female pharaoh, and opens The Book to show them. Joe, Sam, and Fred think they traveled back to the time of King Tut. Instead, Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh, and Thuthmose III are in charge. Hatshepsut was regent for Thuthmose, but continued to be in charge even after Thuthmose came of age. Joe, Sam, Fred, and Anna manage to escape back to modern times with the help of Isis.

Summer Reading Is Killing Me
Joe, Sam, and Fred have a summer reading list, and they don't want to read it. Unfortunately, the summer reading list is put in The Book in this seventh book of the series. Now all the characters from the reading list, Frog and Toad, Hoboken Chicken, Peter Rabbit, and many others are all in the same timeline. Before anything permanent happens to the characters, (meaning anything bad or hurtful) Joe, Sam, and Fred have to find The Book and return to their own time and remove the summer reading list from The Book. Watch out for the Teddy Bear!

The books were fun reading. I'm sure that as my nephew and niece get older, they will really enjoy the books. Reading them in the series order would probably be the best thing so you understand how The Book works as the boys figure it out. Now I want to check out the television series.