The Magic Tree House Servies, in my opinion, are a good thing. Not only do we get a rather well told story that kids can relate to, we also get a book that actually teachers the kids something. In this work, Jack and Annie of Frog Creek, take off for ancient Japen (1600s) to find the secret of happiness. This books gives us a wonderful account of ancient Japan, it's culture, traditional folk tales and is loaded with historical facts. The book is very well written as the author is a natural story teller and I was quite impressed with the illustrations. This is a work the kids seem to enjoy, which is a pretty good indorsement for a young persons book. Just a note: I have seen some critical comments (very, very few) in the review section of other books in this series, as to to the use of "majic" as a theme. Folks, if you don't like your children to read books such as this, simply tell them no. If your child has trouble distinguishing between fiction, fantasy and reality, perhaps you should read the books with your child and point out the defferences....it would probably do both of you some good. Overall, recommend this work and the others in the series quite highly.