Magic Tree House
The Magic Tree House is an American series of children's books written by American author Mary Pope Osborne. The original American series is illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca, although other illustrators have been used for foreign-language editions.
The series consists of two groups. The first group consists of books 1-28, in which Morgan Le Fay sends Jack and Annie Smith, two normal children who are siblings from the fictional small town of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, on numerous adventures and missions with a magical tree house. The second group, referred to as the Magic Tree House "Merlin Missions," begins with book 29, Christmas in Camelot. In the Merlin Missions, Jack and Annie are given quests by the ancient wizard Merlin the Magician. These books are longer than the previous 28, and some take place in fantasy realms like Camelot. Kathleen and Teddy are two apprentices who befriend Jack and Annie during their adventures, with one of these adventures being to free Kathleen from a spell. The two occasionally join Jack and Annie, and, when they don't, provide them support instead. During Super Edition #1, Teddy sends them on a mission instead of Morgan or Merlin. The companion "Magic Tree House Fact Trackers" are co-written by Mary Pope Osborne with her husband Will Osborne or her sister Natalie Pope Boyce.
In the beginning, Mary Pope Osborne wrote the books with Morgan sending the children on missions. Then she switched over to them being sent on missions by Merlin. About 10 years later, in 2014, she switched back to writing only the books with Morgan sending them on missions. These books were, again, much shorter.
Series background
After graduating college, Osborne and a friend went traveling. Osborne spent time in Crete and traveled through Iraq, Iran, India, Afghanistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Pakistan. The trip came to an end when Osborne experienced blood poisoning in Nepal requiring her to stay in a hospital for a couple of weeks where she read The Lord of the Rings. Remarking on her travels Osborne said, "That journey irrevocably changed me. Experience was gathered that serves as a reference point every day of my life. I encountered worlds of light and worlds of darkness — and planted seeds of the imagination that led directly to my being an author of children's books."Osborne's travels and experiences have factored largely into her own writing, while her writing has allowed her to experience some of the thrills of traveling. As she said, "Without even leaving my home, I’ve traveled around the globe, learning about the religions of the world."
Osborne's writing career began "one day, out of the blue" when she wrote Run, Run As Fast As You Can in 1982. The book itself is semi-autobiographical in nature, according to Osborne: "The girl was a lot like me and many of the incidents in the story were similar to happenings in my childhood." The book served as the starting point for Osborne's writing career. Her early work received mixed reviews. Her work includes young adult novels, picture books, retellings of mythology and fairy tales, biographies, mysteries, a six part series of the Odyssey, a book of American Tall Tales, and a book for young readers about the major world religions.
Osborne says that she can work on Magic Tree House up to 12 hours a day and seven days a week and has used space at shared office space, The Writer's Room. She has modeled her writing after Hemingway by trying to be simple and direct and is "noted for writing clear, lively, well-paced prose in both her stories and her informational books."
Magic Tree House books
According to its official website, Magic Tree House Books are for beginning chapter book readers.Magic Tree House Merlin Mission books
Magic Tree House Merlin Mission Books 1-27 were written for more advanced readers. They are more challenging adventures for readers ages 7–10.The Magic Tree House Merlin Missions were originally ordered sequentially, starting at Book #29. With the 25th anniversary re-prints, the books have been separated into their own distinct series and re-numbered starting at Merlin Mission #1.
| Original # | Merlin Mission # | Title | Published | Story Arc | Plot Summary/Notes |
| 29 | 1 | Christmas in Camelot | In the Quest to save Camelot arc #1 | Jack and Annie go on a quest to save Camelot, a quest that will prove to a beleaguered King Arthur that children and imagination really can make a difference. Eventually Jack and Annie break the spell over Camelot and meet the Knights of the Round Table most notably Sir Lancelot. This is also the first story where Merlin the Magician sends Jack and Annie on an adventure instead of Morgan, having learned of their abilities from Morgan Le Fay. | |
| 30 | 2 | Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve | In the Quest to save Camelot arc #2 | Jack, Annie, and Teddy must restore order to a duke's castle, on the outer realm of Camelot, for Merlin. Jack and Annie reunite with Teddy from the Enchanted Dog arc who becomes a recurring character in the rest of the books. It is also the first book where Jack and Annie perform their own magic. Jack and Annie are able to use the power of a magic hazel twig to transform themselves back to humans from ravens and Jack is able to tap into its power to defeat the Evil Raven King by turning him into a baby raven. This new ability of theirs is likely foreshadowing of later books when they start to make magic of their own. | |
| 31 | 3 | Summer of the Sea Serpent | In the Quest to save Camelot arc #3 | Jack and Annie must retrieve the Sword of Light for Merlin for all the good of Camelot. Jack and Annie meet Kathleen who, along with Teddy, becomes a recurring character in the books, acting as their sidekick. In this book Jack and Annie retrieve the Sword of Light and earn the right to wield it, learning later that the sword is in fact Excalibur and they retrieved it from Camelot's past so King Arthur can one day get it. | |
| 32 | 4 | Winter of the Ice Wizard | In the Quest to save Camelot arc #4 | Jack and Annie must go on a mission for the evil Ice Wizard, which is retrieving one of his eyes, in order to free Merlin and Morgan. | |
| 33 | 5 | Carnival at Candlelight | In the Using magic wisely arc #1 | Jack and Annie must go and save Venice, Italy from a flood disaster, but Merlin's instructions are confusing. The next four books are part of an arc where Jack and Annie complete missions to prove to Merlin that they can use magic wisely. | |
| 34 | 6 | Season of the Sandstorms | In the Using magic wisely arc #2 | Jack and Annie must help the caliph of ancient Baghdad spread wisdom to the world. | |
| 35 | 7 | Night of the New Magicians | In the Using magic wisely arc #3 | Jack and Annie travel to the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889 in the Magic Tree House. They have to save four new magicians, before an evil sorcerer kidnaps them and steals the secrets of their magic. As it turns out, there is no evil sorcerer and the only one that shows up is Merlin himself who had wanted Jack and Annie to meet the four. | |
| 36 | 8 | Blizzard of the Blue Moon | In the Using magic wisely arc #4 | Jack and Annie travel in the Magic Tree House to the New York City of the Great Depression in 1938. They must help a unicorn under a spell. However, two evil sorcerers in training, Balor and Grinda, are up to the same challenge. In this book, Jack and Annie are given the power to make magic on their own via a magic wand. | |
| 37 | 9 | Dragon of the Red Dawn | In the Happiness arc #1 | Jack and Annie travel back in the Magic Tree House to feudal Japan to find the first of four secrets of happiness for Merlin the magician because Morgan has noticed that he does not feel well, does not eat or sleep, and is tired. To do this, they must spend the day with famous Japanese haiku poet Matsuo Bashō. | |
| 38 | 10 | Monday with a Mad Genius | In the Happiness arc #2 | Jack and Annie travel back in the Magic Tree House to Florence, Italy, to find the second of four secrets of happiness. To do this, they must help Leonardo da Vinci all day, "morning, noon, and afternoon, till the night bird sings its song." Companion book: #19, "Leonardo da Vinci" | |
| 39 | 11 | Dark Day in the Deep Sea | In the Happiness arc #3 | The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to a deserted island, in the 1870s, looking for another secret of happiness. They get rescued by scientists on HMS Challenger, in the Atlantic Ocean, and end up helping the scientists, who are looking for a sea monster. Will they be able to help the scientist and find the secret of happiness? This book is 144 pages long, making it the longest book in the series. Companion book: #17, Sea Monsters | |
| 40 | 12 | Eve of the Emperor Penguin | In the Happiness arc #4 | Jack and Annie go to Antarctica to try to find their last secret of happiness, but they only find penguins. Only the penguins have the answer to this question. This is the only book where it is specifically stated that Jack and Annie did not travel through time. They also use the wand to make magic twice: once to find the penguins and a second time to teleport to Mount Erebus, the only time they use its power twice. Companion book: #18, Penguins and Antarctica | |
| 41 | 13 | Moonlight on the Magic Flute | In the Inspiring arc #1 | Jack and Annie head to 18th-century Austria, where they must find and help a musician by the name of Mozart. Decked out in the craziest outfits they've ever worn—including a wig for Jack and a giant hoopskirt for Annie, the two siblings search an entire palace to no avail. Their hunt is further hampered by the appearance of a mischievous little boy who is determined to follow them everywhere. But when the boy lets the animals out of the palace zoo, Jack and Annie have to use the only magic at their disposal to save themselves and the naughty little boy. The party is in the Summer Palace at five o'clock in the evening on October 13, 1762. When Jack and Annie use their magic flute Mozart makes a song called The Magic Flute. | |
| 42 | 14 | A Good Night for Ghosts | In the Inspiring arc #2 | Jack and Annie are on their second mission to find—and inspire—artists to bring happiness to millions. After traveling to New Orleans, Jack and Annie come head to head with some real ghosts, as well as discover the world of jazz when they meet a young Louis Armstrong. Companion book: #20, Ghosts | |
| 43 | 15 | Leprechaun in Late Winter | In the Inspiring arc #3 | The kids meet a girl in their third mission to put "artists" on the right path. She is sad because she believes in leprechauns and faerie, but cannot find any. The girl grows up to be Lady Gregory, a famous legend teller of the Irish lore. Can the kids save her from sadness and put the third artist on the right path? This is the first time that something that one of the kids has written has been used to travel through time: the kids time travel by wishing using Jack's notes on where they are traveling to. They travel to 1862 to go to Ireland. Companion book: #21, Leprechauns and Irish Folklore | |
| 44 | 16 | A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time | In the Inspiring arc #4 | The kids are whisked back to Victorian England to help famed author Charles Dickens. The kids know Charles had everything he wants. Will the kids find the thing Charles wants? The kids are thrown in jail, only to be saved by Charles Dickens! To find Charles' secret, they will need help from three ghosts and get to know Charles very, very, well. Companion book: #22, Rags and Riches: Kids in the Time of Charles Dickens | |
| 45 | 17 | A Crazy Day with Cobras | In the Penny's spell arc #1 | When Penny, Merlin's beloved penguin, is accidentally turned to stone by Teddy, the kids must travel to an Indian desert and find an ingredient to a spell before Merlin comes back. Jack and Annie have to escape a swarm of king cobras and meet the infamous All-Power Great Mogul. To start their quest, Jack and Annie must find an emerald rose to find the first piece of breaking Penny's spell. Companion book: #23, Snakes and Other Reptiles | |
| 46 | 18 | Dogs in the Dead of Night | In the Penny's spell arc #2 | Jack and his sister Annie travel to Swiss Alps to get the second magical object to break the spell on the beloved baby penguin, Penny. They face a dog rescue and many other adventures. Companion book: #24, Dog Heroes | |
| 47 | 19 | Abe Lincoln At Last! | In the Penny's spell arc #3 | Jack and Annie travel to the time of the Civil War, and they must help a friend of Abe's in order to find the third gift for breaking Penny's spell. The friend is an orphan named Sam. It's a race against time as Jack and Annie try to decide what is right. Companion book: #25, Abraham Lincoln | |
| 48 | 20 | A Perfect Time For Pandas | In the Penny's spell arc #4 | Jack and Annie visit China during the Great Sichuan Earthquake of 2008. Companion book: #26, Pandas and Other Endangered Species | |
| 49 | 21 | Stallion by Starlight | In the Greatness arc #1 | Jack and Annie go back to Ancient Macedonia and an adventure with Alexander the Great when he was a child and his famous stallion: Bucephalus. Companion book: #27, Horse Heroes | |
| 50 | 22 | Hurry Up Houdini! | In the Greatness arc #2 | Jack and Annie meet magician Harry Houdini. | |
| 51 | 23 | High Time for Heroes | In the Greatness arc #3 | Jack and Annie meet Florence Nightingale in Egypt. Companion book: #28, Heroes for All Times | |
| 52 | 24 | Soccer on Sunday | In the Greatness arc #4 | Jack and Annie travel to a soccer field in Mexico. Companion book: #29, Soccer | |
| 53 | 25 | Shadow of the Shark | none | While on a vacation from Morgan and Merlin, Jack and Annie accidentally travel back in time over a thousand years to ancient Mayan times and meet sharks and Mayan warriors. In this book, Jack and Annie accidentally go to the right place but the wrong time due to pointing to the wrong illustration. Companion book: #32, Sharks and Other Predators | |
| 54 | 26 | Balto of the Blue Dawn | none | Jack and Annie meet Balto, a jet-black Siberian husky in Alaska, 1925. Companion book: #34, Dogsledding and Extreme Sports | |
| 55 | 27 | Night of the Ninth Dragon | none | Jack and Annie must help save Merlin, Morgan, Teddy, and Kathleen and King Arthur when invaders threaten Camelot. Companion book: #35, Dragons and Mythical Creatures |
Magic Tree House Super Edition books
On January 6, 2015, the first Magic Tree House Super Edition was released. It is 183 pages long. The super editions are longer than the original Magic Tree House books and the Magic Tree House Merlin Missions.| # | Title | Published | Story Arc | Plot Summary/Notes |
| 1 | Danger in the Darkest Hour | January 6, 2015 | none | The first Magic Tree House Super Edition is called Danger in the Darkest Hour. It was reprinted as World at War, 1944 in 2017. Jack and Annie going back to World War II shortly before D-Day to rescue Kathleen from behind enemy lines. It also features the first time they have had to deal with a situation using their own talents and with no help from magic since the Merlin Missions began. Companion book: #36, World War II |
Non-fiction books
The Magic Tree House Fact Trackers are non-fiction companions to the fiction books, written by Mary Pope Osborne, Will Osborne, and Natalie Pope Boyce. They were first released in 2000 by Scholastic and Random House. They provide more in-depth follow-up information on the topics in the series than already covered. 42 have been published. The first two Fact Trackers were published in August 2000 as companions for the first two stories, then 7 to 8 years old. In 2008 story #39, Dark Day in the Deep Sea and its fact tracker #17, Sea Monsters were the first story and fact tracker to be published simultaneously.| No. | Title | Companion To: | Date Published: |
| 1 | Dinosaurs | ||
| 2 | Knights and Castles | ||
| 3 | Mummies and Pyramids | ||
| 4 | Pirates | ||
| 5 | Rain Forests | ||
| 6 | Space | ||
| 7 | Titanic | ||
| 8 | Twisters and Other Terrible Storms | ||
| 9 | Dolphins and Sharks | ||
| 10 | Ancient Greece and the Olympics | ||
| 11 | American Revolution | ||
| 12 | Sabertooths and the Ice Age | ||
| 13 | Pilgrims | ||
| 14 | Ancient Rome and Pompeii | ||
| 15 | Tsunamis and Other Natural Disasters | ||
| 16 | Polar Bears and the Arctic | ||
| 17 | Sea Monsters | ||
| 18 | Penguins and Antarctica | ||
| 19 | Leonardo da Vinci | ||
| 20 | Ghosts | ||
| 21 | Leprechauns and Irish Folklore | ||
| 22 | Rags and Riches: Kids in the Time of Charles Dickens | ||
| 23 | Snakes and Other Reptiles | ||
| 24 | Dog Heroes | ||
| 25 | Abraham Lincoln | ||
| 26 | Pandas and Other Endangered Species | ||
| 27 | Horse Heroes | ||
| 28 | Heroes for All Times | ||
| 29 | Soccer | ||
| 30 | Ninjas and Samurai | ||
| 31 | China: Land of the Emperor's Great Wall | ||
| 32 | Sharks and Other Predators | ||
| 33 | Vikings | ||
| 34 | Dogsledding and Extreme Sports | ||
| 35 | Dragons and Mythical Creatures | ||
| 36 | World War II | ||
| 37 | Baseball | ||
| 38 | Wild West | ||
| 39 | Texas | ||
| 40 | Warriors | ||
| 41 | Benjamin Franklin | ||
| 42 | Narwhals and Other Whales | ||
| 43 | Llamas and the Andes |
Legacy
Mary Pope Osborne's books have been named to a number of the Best Books of the Year Lists, including, School Library Journal, Parents’ Magazine, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and Bank Street College. She has received honors from such organizations as the National Council of Teachers of English, The Children's Book Council, and the International Reading Association. She received the 1992 Diamond State Reading Association Award, 2005 Ludington Memorial Award from the Educational Paperback Association and the 2010 Heidelberger Leander Award. She has also received awards from the Carolina Alumni Association, the Virginia Library Association and in spring 2013 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Ms. Osborne served two separate terms as president of the Authors Guild and also chaired its Children's Book Committee. She has since traveled extensively in the states and throughout the world, visiting schools and speaking on issues related to reading and books. In 2011, she attended the International Tokyo Film Festival for the premier of the Magic Tree House anime file and visited schools in the tsunami-hit area of Japan. The film grossed 5.7 million dollars; Osborne donated all her proceeds into her educational works.
She was profiled on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams for her continued efforts to get books into the hands of underserved children on a Magic Tree House themed tour bus. She spoke of the pressure she feels as an author that children look up to, "for a child to value someone who writes books is so extraordinary."
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Magic Tree House series in 2012, Ms. Osborne created a Magic Tree House Classroom Adventures Program. Ms. Osborne's mission with Classroom Adventures is to inspire children to read and to love reading while simultaneously helping kids to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. Free of charge, the program provides a set of online educational resources for teachers and allows for Title 1 schools to apply for free Magic Tree House books. Under Classroom Adventures, Ms. Osborne, in partnership with the First Book organization in Washington, DC, has donated hundreds of thousands of Magic Tree House books to underserved schools.
Adaptations
Magic Tree House Children's Theatre
The Magic Tree House brand has taken on other forms. A full-scale musical adaptation was created by Will Osborne and Randy Court; Magic Tree House: The Musical, premiered in September 2007. Osborne hoped that it would have the same kind of kid and adult appeal as The Lion King or Mary Poppins. Based on the Magic Tree House book Christmas in Camelot, the Musical has toured nationally and had a cast album.A planetarium show; "Magic Tree House: Space Mission", also created by Will Osborne, is produced and presented exclusively at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
In 2011, Will Osborne collaborated with New Orleans composer Allen Toussaint and "Ain't Misbehavin'" co-creator Murray Horwitz to write "A Night in New Orleans", a musical adaptation of Magic Tree House #42: A Good Night for Ghosts about the life of Louis Armstrong. The show features an ensemble cast and live jazz band. It premiered in 2012 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and was shown free to every Newark 4th grade student.
Magic Tree House Kids Shows are theatrical adaptations of selected titles in the Magic Tree House series designed specifically for performance by kids. To date, children's shows have been created by husband and wife playwright and composer team Randy Courts and Jenny Laird in collaboration with Will Osborne based on the following Magic Tree House books: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Pirates Past Noon, A Ghost Tale for Christmastime, A Night in New Orleans, and Stage Fright on a Summer Night, a new children's show based on the life of William Shakespeare, set to premiere at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in October 2017.
Film adaptation
The animated film Magic Tree House, produced by Media Factory, premiered in Japan in October 2011 and was generally released there on January 7, 2012.In 2016, Lionsgate acquired the film rights with a script by Will Osborne and Jenny Laird. The movie will primarily contain plot elements from Book 29, "Christmas in Camelot."