Memories and Life Lessons from the Magic Tree House

by Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illustrator)

Overview

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the #1 New York Times bestselling series with heartfelt advice from Mary Pope Osborne's own life and her magical adventures with Jack and Annie—perfect for Magic Tree House fans of all ages!

Look for heroes, far and near. Give your gifts to the world. Have compassion for all creatures. These are just a few of the lessons that Magic Tree House fans will learn on their magical journey through this book. With quotes from the series and classic art by Sal Murdocca, Mary Pope Osborne, beloved author of the #1 bestselling Magic Tree House series, shares the wisdom she's gained from her own childhood and thirty years of whisking Jack and Annie away in the magic tree house.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593484548
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Series:	Magic Tree House
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	102,037
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

MARY POPE OSBORNE is the author of the New York Times #1 bestselling Magic Tree House series as well as coauthor of the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker series, along with her husband, Will, her sister, Natalie Pope Boyce, and friend Jenny Laird.

For more information, visit the Magic Tree House website at MagicTreeHouse.com!

SAL MURDOCCA has illustrated over two hundred children's trade books and textbooks. He is also a librettist for children's opera, a video artist, an avid runner, a hiker, a bicyclist, and a teacher of children's illustration at the Parsons School of Design. Sal lives in Rockland County, New York with his wife, Nancy.

Hometown:

Goshen, Connecticut

Date of Birth:

May 20, 1949

Place of Birth:

Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Education:

B.A., University of North Carolina

Website:

http://www.marypopeosborne.com

Editorial Reviews

2022-08-17
An author reminisces on her life and her work.

After 30 years of writing the Magic Tree House series, Osborne collects some of the books’ core values and lessons and makes connections to moments in her own life, whether formative or small. As a child in a military family, she moved frequently and often relied on her siblings, her imagination, and nature for reliable amusement. The 10 chapters each present a different theme, such as the importance of compassion, the magic of a good book, honoring heroes, and the warning to “Be Daring, but Not Foolish.” Each short chapter presents particular maxims, some of which are more profound than others (“Look outside yourself to find unexpected treasure all around you” versus “Love dogs. Start now”), but they are always sincere. Prefacing each of Osborne’s reminisces are selections from various series installments that relate to the theme at hand. However, this scrapbook memoir is only loosely tied together, and readers will probably get only minor satisfaction from it unless they are great fans of the series. Two-toned pictures by the original series illustrator, Murdocca, are interspersed throughout; children depicted present White. Bookending the text are notes from the author on why she decided to write this work as well as the moment of inspiration for the series. Also included are some of Osborne’s family photographs.

Strictly for the author’s devotees. (Nonfiction. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews