When we were first assigned this book, I was excited because many of the children that I have tutored and babysat for have loved the Magic Tree House series, and I wanted to see what all the excitement was about. I predicted Carnival at Candlelight to be a magical story about two kids who have many fun adventures together. In reality, the book had so much more substance than I expected! I really loved that Mary Pope Osborne encourages kids to find the own solutions to their inquiries or problems. For example, on page 39 Annie wonders why there are so many winged lions in Venice. To figure out why, Jack looks up "winged lions" in their research book. They find out that the winged lion is the symbol of Venice, and stands for strength on both land and sea. Osborne's characters are inquisitive and I think that her readers are probably inspired to seek answers to their own questions as well. In addition, her readers can learn along with Annie and Jack throughout the book. Also, I really liked that Carnival at Candlelight taught virtues that are important and relevant to a child's life. On page 50 Jack and Annie learn an important lesson about patience when they try to skip ahead of the directions that were given to them. They learn that patience will help them effectively accomplish their goals. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it as a way to inspire kids to read and learn.