January 26, 2022 - Children's Series Spotlight

Welcome back, book lovers! 

A new set of posts for 2022 are going to feature some of our readers' and staff members' favorite children and young adult authors. We're excited to start off today!

In January 2022, we are putting a spotlight on the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. The mystery series is a favorite with our young readers of various ages.

About the series...

The first of the Magic Tree House books, Dinosaurs Before Dark, was published in 1992. She was initially inspired to write the books while working in a teen homeless shelter and realizing that for the teens writing themselves into stories taking place in the Himalayas or Serengeti had a major effect on the teens. Osborne says she tried writing the book seven different ways before finding a way that worked." It introduces the main characters of Jack and Annie, a brother and sister duo of adventurers who are transported to different areas of time thanks to the titular magic treehouse. The first book established the format for feature books and introduced recurring characters Morgan le Fay and Merlin, as part of the Arthurian motifs. Osborne says she is more like Jack but wishes she was more like Annie.

Osborne tends to place small cliffhangers at the end of each chapter, which has been highlighted as one of the major reasons for the appeal of the books within their target age group. Another important factor in their success is the educational nature of the series. The books are cited for their ability to interest students in history and Osborne’s usage of vocabulary encourages young readers to learn new words and for their promoting gratitude and cross-cultural understanding in its readers.

About the author...

Mary Pope Osborne (born May 20, 1949) is best known as the author of the Magic Tree House series, which as of 2017 sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, sometimes for Osborne's charitable efforts at promoting children's literacy. One of four children, Osborne moved around in her childhood before attending the University of North Carolina. Following college, Osborne traveled before moving to New York City. She somewhat spontaneously began to write, with her first book being published in 1982. She would go on to write a variety of other kinds of children's and young adult books before starting the Magic Tree House series in 1992. Osborne's sister Natalie Pope Boyce has written several compendium books to the Magic Tree House series, sometimes with Osborne's husband Will.

Images and info courtesy of Wikipedia, Google, and WV Reads.

Please let us know if this series was a favorite of yours or similar recommendations! Maybe you had a favorite adventure? We'd love to hear from you in our comment section, on our social media pages, or in person! We've got some of these titles from the series on our shelves of course.

Intrigued? Check out the series on WV Reads! We have numerous titles in our ebook collection. https://wvreads.overdrive.com/search?query=Magic%20Tree%20House