and colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc. MAGIC TREE HOUSE is a registered trademark of Mary Pope Osborne; used under license.
v3.0
For James Simmons
One summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods.
Eight-year-old Jack and his seven-year-old sister, Annie, climbed into the tree house. They found that it was filled with books.
Jack and Annie soon discovered that the tree house was magic. It could take them to the places in the books. All they had to do was point to a picture and wish to go there. While they are gone, no time at all passes in Frog Creek.
Along the way, Jack and Annie discovered that the tree house belongs to Morgan le Fay. Morgan is a magical librarian of Camelot, the long-ago kingdom of King Arthur. She travels through time and space, gathering books.
In Magic Tree House Books #5â8, Jack and Annie help free Morgan from a spell. In Books #9â12, they solve four ancient riddles and become Master Librarians.
In Magic Tree House Books #13â16, Jack and Annie have to save four ancient stories from being lost forever. In Magic Tree House Books #17â20, Jack and Annie free a mysterious little dog from a magic spell. In Magic Tree House Books #21â24, Jack and Annie help save Camelot. In Magic Tree House Books #25â28, Jack and Annie search for special kinds of magic.
Jack and Annie sat on their porch. Lightning bugs blinked in the warm summer twilight.
âWow, a shooting star!â said Annie, pointing at the sky.
Jack looked up, just in time to see a streak of light flash through the sky. The light hovered above the Frog Creek woods. Then it disappeared into the treetops.
Jack caught his breath. He turned to Annie.
âThat was no shooting star,â he said.
âRight,â she said.
They jumped up. Jack grabbed his backpack from inside the front hall.
âDad, Mom! Can we go out?â he called. âWeâll be back soon!â
âTen minutes, no more!â their mom said.
âOkay!â said Jack. He closed the door. âLetâs go! Hurry!â
He and Annie ran across their yard. They ran down their street. They ran into the woods. They ran until they came to the tallest oak. They looked up.
âYep,â said Annie.
Jack just smiled. He was too happy for words.
âThatâs our shooting star,â said Annie. âThe magic tree house.â
She grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed.
When they climbed inside the tree house, they both gasped. A beautiful woman with long white hair stood in the shadowy corner.
âHello, Jack and Annie,â said Morgan le Fay.
âMorgan!â Jack and Annie cried.
They threw their arms around her.
âWhy are you here?â said Annie. âWhat do you want us to do for you?â
âYou have already done many good things for me,â said Morgan, âand for King Arthur and Camelot. Now I want you to do something good for yourselves. You are going to learn magic.â
âOh, wow,â said Annie. âAre we going tobecome magicians? Will you teach us charms and spells?â
Morgan laughed. âThere is magic that does not need charms or spells,â she said. âYouâll find a special magic on each of your next four adventures.â
âHow?â asked Jack.
âA secret rhyme will guide you on each journey,â Morgan said. âHere this is the first.â She held up a slip of paper.
Annie took the paper from Morgan and read the rhyme aloud:
To find a special magic,
You must step into the light
And without wand, spell, or charm,
Turn daytime into night.
âTurn daytime into night?â said Jack. âHow can we do that?â
Morgan smiled.
âThatâs what you have to find out,â she said.
Jack had lots of questions. But before he could ask any of them, a flash lit up the tree
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