Below is the complete list of Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House books in order of publication. This is the recommended reading sequence for the series.
Magic Tree House Books in Publication Order
- Dinosaurs Before Dark / Valley of the Dinosaurs (1992)
- The Knight at Dawn / Castle of Mystery (1993)
- Mummies in the Morning / Secret of the Pyramid (1993)
- Pirates Past Noon / Pirates’ Treasure! (1994)
- Night of the Ninjas (1995)
- Afternoon on the Amazon (1995)
- Sunset of the Sabertooth / Mammoth to the Rescue (1996)
- Midnight on the Moon / Moon Mission! (1996)
- Dolphins at Daybreak (1996)
- Ghost Town at Sundown / A Wild West Ride (1997)
- Lions at Lunchtime / Lions on the Loose (1998)
- Vacation Under the Volcano / Racing with Gladiators (1998)
- Polar Bears Past Bedtime / Icy Escape! (1998)
- Day of the Dragon King / Palace of the Dragon King (1998)
- Viking Ships at Sunrise / Voyage of the Vikings (1998)
- Hour of the Olympics / Olympic Challenge! (1998)
- Tonight on the Titanic (1999)
- Buffalo Before Breakfast (1999)
- Tigers at Twilight (1999)
- Dingoes at Dinnertime (2000)
- Civil War on Sunday (2000)
- Revolutionary War on Wednesday (2000)
- Twister on Tuesday (2001)
- Earthquake in the Early Morning (2001)
- Stage Fright on a Summer Night (2002)
- Good Morning, Gorillas (2002)
- Thanksgiving on Thursday (2002)
- High Tide in Hawaii (2003)
- A Big Day for Baseball (2017)
- Hurricane Heroes in Texas (2018)
- Warriors in Winter (2019)
- To the Future, Ben Franklin! (2019)
- Narwhal on a Sunny Night (2020)
- Late Lunch with Llamas (2020)
- Camp Time in California (2021)
- Sunlight on the Snow Leopard (2022)
- Rhinos at Recess (2023)
- Time of the Turtle King (2023)
- Windy Night with Wild Horses (2024)
- Sea Otter Sunrise (2025)
Magic Tree House Super Edition Books in Publication Order
- Danger in the Darkest Hour / World at War, 1944 (2015)
Magic Tree House Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order
- Games and Puzzles from the Tree House (2010)
- My Magic Tree House Journal (2014)
- Magic Tree House Survival Guide (2014)
- Animal Games and Puzzles (2015)
- Magic Tree House Incredible Fact Book (2016)
Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Books in Publication Order
- Dinosaurs (2000)
- Knights and Castles (2000)
- Mummies and Pyramids (2001)
- Pirates (2001)
- Rain Forests (2001)
- Space (2002)
- Titanic (2002)
- Twisters and Other Terrible Storms (2003)
- Dolphins and Sharks (2003)
- Ancient Greece and the Olympics (2004)
- American Revolution (2004)
- Sabertooths and the Ice Age (2005)
- Pilgrims (2005)
- Ancient Rome and Pompeii (2006)
- Tsunamis and Other Natural Disasters (2007)
- Polar Bears and the Arctic (2007)
- Sea Monsters (2008)
- Penguins and Antarctica (2008)
- Leonardo da Vinci (2009)
- Ghosts (2009)
- Leprechauns and Irish Folklore (2010)
- Kids in Hard Times (2010)
- Snakes and Other Reptiles (2011)
- Dog Heroes (2011)
- Abraham Lincoln (2011)
- Pandas and Other Endangered Species (2012)
- Horse Heroes (2013)
- Magic Tricks from the Tree House (2013)
- Heroes for All Times (2013)
- Soccer (2014)
- Ninjas and Samurai (2014)
- China (2014)
- Sharks and Other Predators (2015)
- Vikings (2015)
- Dogsledding and Extreme Sports (2016)
- Dragons and Mythical Creatures (2016)
- World War II (2017)
- Baseball (2017)
- Wild West (2018)
- Texas (2018)
- Warriors (2019)
- Benjamin Franklin (2019)
- Narwhals and Other Whales (2020)
- Llamas and the Andes (2020)
Magic Tree House Merlin Missions Books in Publication Order
- Christmas in Camelot (2001)
- Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (2003)
- Summer of the Sea Serpent (2004)
- Winter of the Ice Wizard (2004)
- Carnival at Candlelight (2004)
- Season of the Sandstorms (2005)
- Night of the New Magicians (2006)
- Blizzard of the Blue Moon (2006)
- Dragon of the Red Dawn (2007)
- Monday with a Mad Genius (2007)
- Dark Day in the Deep Sea (2008)
- Eve of the Emperor Penguin (2008)
- Moonlight on the Magic Flute (2009)
- A Good Night for Ghosts (2009)
- Leprechaun in Late Winter (2010)
- A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time (2010)
- A Crazy Day with Cobras (2010)
- Dogs in the Dead of Night (2011)
- Abe Lincoln At Last! (2011)
- A Perfect Time for Pandas (2012)
- Stallion by Starlight (2013)
- Hurry Up, Houdini! (2013)
- High Time for Heroes (2014)
- Soccer on Sunday (2014)
- Shadow of the Shark (2015)
- Balto of the Blue Dawn (2016)
- Night of the Ninth Dragon (2016)
About Magic Tree House
Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House books are one of the clearest examples of a children’s series that looks simple on the surface but is a little more layered once you look at the full order. The official series site and Penguin Random House pages show that the main chapter-book line follows Jack and Annie through time-travel adventures, with the classic sequence beginning at Dinosaurs Before Dark and continuing through later adventures all the way to newer titles such as Sea Otter Sunrise. The current official PRH series page lists the chapter-book line through Book 39, which confirms that the main series is still the backbone of the brand.
The most useful structural divide is between the original run and the later Merlin Missions. The first 28 books are the earlier Jack-and-Annie adventures that many readers think of as the core classic sequence. After that, the books shift into the Merlin Missions era, where Merlin the Magician sends Jack and Annie on more advanced quests. Reference summaries and official collection pages both reflect that split, even though modern reading lists often still keep the books in one continuous overall number order.
That is why publication order is the best way to read the series. A child can sometimes jump into a single adventure and still enjoy it, but the fuller experience comes from watching Jack and Annie grow into their roles. The early books establish the basic rhythm of the tree house, Morgan le Fay, and the thrill of being sent into history with only a small clue about what is expected. The later books build on that familiarity and make the missions feel larger, more purposeful, and slightly more demanding.
One of the strengths of the series is how clearly it understands its audience. The books are short, but they are not thin. Osborne keeps the prose accessible while giving children real historical settings, real tension, and just enough recurring magical structure to make each book feel both comforting and exciting. Jack and Annie also balance each other well. Jack tends to be cautious and curious in a bookish way, while Annie is more impulsive and open to wonder. That contrast helps the books stay lively across such a long run.
Another reason the order can look confusing is that the Magic Tree House world now includes more than the chapter books themselves. The official site also separates out Fact Trackers, Merlin Missions, Super Editions, and graphic novels. Those are all part of the wider franchise, but they are not the same thing as the main chapter-book reading line. For a clean “books in order” page, the chapter books should remain the focus, with the companion lines treated as optional extras rather than part of the core sequence.
For readers who already have the list above, the best way to think about Magic Tree House is as a long-running chapter-book adventure series with one simple central promise: Jack and Annie open the tree house, travel somewhere extraordinary, and come back knowing more than they did before. Read in publication order, the books become more than isolated historical adventures. They form a gentle, dependable progression from the earliest time-travel discoveries to the larger magical quest structure of the later books, which is exactly why the series has remained so durable for beginning readers.