ABOUT MAGIC TREE HOUSE®:

Widely regarded among parents, teachers, and librarians for its power to instill a passion for reading, Mary Pope Osborne’s award-winning, #1 New York Times best selling Magic Tree House series is an international phenomenon and has sold more than 134 million books worldwide since its debut in 1992. The books have been translated into 33 different languages in over 30 international markets. All Magic Tree House books are available in print, as ebooks and Listening Library audio books, which are all narrated by Mary Pope Osborne. Visit WWW.MAGICTREEHOUSE.COM for more information about the series, activities, and more.

MARY POPE OSBORNE is an ardent advocate and supporter of children’s literacy, and the award-winning author of more than 100 books for children and young adults, including novels, retellings of mythology and folklore, picture books, biographies, and mysteries. From 1993–1997, Ms. Osborne served as president of the Authors Guild, the country’s leading organization for published authors. She has traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad, visiting schools and speaking on issues related to children’s literacy. She spoke at the UN regarding the importance of worldwide literacy and was profiled on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams for her continued efforts. Mary has donated over 350,000 books to underserved children across the country through her Gift of Books program. She resides in Connecticut. The creator of the Magic Tree House series, Ms. Osborne is also the coauthor of the companion Magic Tree House Fact Trackers series with her husband, WILL OSBORNE, and her sister, NATALIE POPE BOYCE.

Follow Mary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryPopeOsborne

The Magic Tree House Classroom Adventures Program is a free, comprehensive set of online educational resources for teachers developed by Mary Pope Osborne as gift to teachers, to thank them for their enthusiastic support of the series. Complete with free online resources including lesson plans, curriculum guides, and creative activities, the Classroom Adventures Program incorporates every book in the series, including the nonfiction Fact Tracker titles, enabling teachers to build upon students’ interest in Jack and Annie’s adventures, while simultaneously meeting core curriculum standards across a multitude of subjects. Educators can learn more at WWW.MTHCLASSROOMADVENTURES.ORG.

ABOUT MAGIC TREE HOUSE® FACT TRACKERS:

Magic Tree House® Fact Trackers are the nonfiction companions to your favorite adventures! Filled with up-to-date information, photos, illustrations, and fun tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discovered in the #1 New York Times bestselling Magic Tree House® series. With subjects including science, history, folklore, sports, animals, and more, there’s a Magic Tree House® Fact Tracker for every kid nonfiction reader. Teachers can use Fact Trackers alongside their Magic Tree House® fiction companions to meet common core text pairing needs.

NATALIE POPE BOYCE grew up in a military family, and they moved every few years. One of the most beautiful places they every lived was in Salzburg, Austria. She and Mary could see a castle from their windows and often took walks on the lovely old street where Mozart grew up. Their time in Austria later inspired Mary to write Moonlight on the Magic Flute.

In fact, Natalie says the Fact Trackers have been fun to write because many bring back memories of places where they've lived. For example, when it was time to work on Dolphins and Sharks, she remembered seeing dolphins leaping out of the water when her family's house was on the ocean in Virginia. The sight of them never failed to excite her and her brothers and sister.

After Natalie grew up, she continued to travel. While living in Ireland for a year, she learned about Irish folklore. This made writing Leprechauns and Irish Folklore such a rewarding experience. Natalie also once lived in Hawaii, which was good preparation for writing Tsunamis. She was used to hearing tsunami warning sirens on all the beaches and had always been fascinated by their power and wondered what caused them. Natalie thinks that living in different places is a great education. She also thinks that books give kids an amazing chance to have their own adventures. . . and they never have to leave home!

Teachers: Lesson plans and other resources for Magic Tree House Nonfiction Fact Trackers are available free of charge on www.MTHClassroomAdventures.org.