Mary Pope Osborne Books in Order

Below is the complete list of Mary Pope Osborne books in order of publication. This is the recommended reading sequence for the series.

Magic Tree House Books in Publication Order

1. Dinosaurs Before Dark / Valley of the Dinosaurs (1992)
2. The Knight at Dawn / Castle of Mystery (1993)
3. Mummies in the Morning / Secret of the Pyramid (1993)
4. Pirates Past Noon / Pirates’ Treasure! (1994)
5. Night of the Ninjas (1995)
6. Afternoon on the Amazon (1995)
7. Sunset of the Sabertooth / Mammoth to the Rescue (1996)
8. Midnight on the Moon / Moon Mission! (1996)
9. Dolphins at Daybreak (1996)
10. Ghost Town at Sundown / A Wild West Ride (1997)
11. Lions at Lunchtime / Lions on the Loose (1998)
12. Vacation Under the Volcano / Racing with Gladiators (1998)
13. Polar Bears Past Bedtime / Icy Escape! (1998)
14. Day of the Dragon King / Palace of the Dragon King (1998)
15. Viking Ships at Sunrise / Voyage of the Vikings (1998)
16. Hour of the Olympics / Olympic Challenge! (1998)
17. Tonight on the Titanic (1999)
18. Buffalo Before Breakfast (1999)
19. Tigers at Twilight (1999)
20. Dingoes at Dinnertime (2000)
21. Civil War on Sunday (2000)
22. Revolutionary War on Wednesday (2000)
23. Twister on Tuesday (2001)
24. Earthquake in the Early Morning (2001)
25. Stage Fright on a Summer Night (2002)
26. Good Morning, Gorillas (2002)
27. Thanksgiving on Thursday (2002)
28. High Tide in Hawaii (2003)
29. A Big Day for Baseball (2017)
30. Hurricane Heroes in Texas (2018)
31. Warriors in Winter (2019)
32. To the Future, Ben Franklin! (2019)
33. Narwhal on a Sunny Night (2020)
34. Late Lunch with Llamas (2020)
35. Camp Time in California (2021)
36. Sunlight on the Snow Leopard (2022)
37. Rhinos at Recess (2023)
38. Time of the Turtle King (2023)
39. Windy Night with Wild Horses (2024)
40. Sea Otter Sunrise (2025)

Magic Tree House Merlin Missions Books in Publication Order

1. Christmas in Camelot (2001)
2. Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (2003)
3. Summer of the Sea Serpent (2004)
4. Winter of the Ice Wizard (2004)
5. Carnival at Candlelight (2004)
6. Season of the Sandstorms (2005)
7. Night of the New Magicians (2006)
8. Blizzard of the Blue Moon (2006)
9. Dragon of the Red Dawn (2007)
10. Monday with a Mad Genius (2007)
11. Dark Day in the Deep Sea (2008)
12. Eve of the Emperor Penguin (2008)
13. Moonlight on the Magic Flute (2009)
14. A Good Night for Ghosts (2009)
15. Leprechaun in Late Winter (2010)
16. A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time (2010)
17. A Crazy Day with Cobras (2010)
18. Dogs in the Dead of Night (2011)
19. Abe Lincoln At Last! (2011)
20. A Perfect Time for Pandas (2012)
21. Stallion by Starlight (2013)
22. Hurry Up, Houdini! (2013)
23. High Time for Heroes (2014)
24. Soccer on Sunday (2014)
25. Shadow of the Shark (2015)
26. Balto of the Blue Dawn (2016)
27. Night of the Ninth Dragon (2016)

Magic Tree House Super Edition Books in Publication Order

1. Danger in the Darkest Hour / World at War, 1944 (2015)

Spider Kane Books in Publication Order

1. Spider Kane and the Mystery Under the May-Apple (1992)
2. Spider Kane and the Mystery at Jumbo Nightcrawler’s (1993)

My America: Virginia’s Civil War Diary Books in Publication Order

1. My Brother’s Keeper (2000)
2. After the Rain (2002)
3. A Time to Dance (2003)

Tales From The Odyssey Books in Publication Order

1. The One-Eyed Giant (2002)
2. The Land of the Dead (2002)
3. Sirens and Sea Monsters (2003)
4. The Gray-Eyed Goddess (2003)
5. Return to Ithaca (2004)
6. The Final Battle (2004)

Standalone Novels Books in Publication Order

1. Run, Run, As Fast As You Can (1982)
2. Love Always, Blue (1983)
3. Best Wishes, Joe Brady (1984)
4. Last One Home (1986)
5. The Deadly Power of Medusa (1988)
6. Moonhorse (1988)
7. Jason and the Argonauts (1988)
   (With Will Osborne)
8. Molly and the Prince (1994)
9. Haunted Waters (1994)
10. Rocking Horse Christmas (1997)
11. Adaline Falling Star (2000)
12. Kate and the Beanstalk (2000)
13. The Brave Little Seamstress (2002)
14. New York’s Bravest (2002)

Short Story Collections Books in Publication Order

1. American Tall Tales (1991)

Picture Books in Publication Order

1. Mo to the Rescue (1985)
2. Pandora’s Box (1987)
3. A Visit to Sleep’s House (1989)
4. Mo and His Friends (1989)
5. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
6. The Life of Jesus in Masterpieces of Art (1998)
7. Sleeping Bobby (2005)
8. Pompeii: Lost & Found (2006)

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Books in Publication Order

1. Dinosaurs (2000)
2. Knights and Castles (2000)
3. Mummies and Pyramids (2001)
4. Pirates (2001)
5. Rain Forests (2001)
6. Space (2002)
7. Titanic (2002)
8. Twisters and Other Terrible Storms (2003)
9. Dolphins and Sharks (2003)
10. Ancient Greece and the Olympics (2004)
11. American Revolution (2004)
12. Sabertooths and the Ice Age (2005)
13. Pilgrims (2005)
14. Ancient Rome and Pompeii (2006)
15. Tsunamis and Other Natural Disasters (2007)
16. Polar Bears and the Arctic (2007)
17. Sea Monsters (2008)
18. Penguins and Antarctica (2008)
19. Leonardo da Vinci (2009)
20. Ghosts (2009)
21. Leprechauns and Irish Folklore (2010)
22. Kids in Hard Times (2010)
23. Snakes and Other Reptiles (2011)
24. Dog Heroes (2011)
25. Abraham Lincoln (2011)
26. Pandas and Other Endangered Species (2012)
27. Horse Heroes (2013)
28. Magic Tricks from the Tree House (2013)
29. Heroes for All Times (2013)
30. Soccer (2014)
31. Ninjas and Samurai (2014)
32. China (2014)
33. Sharks and Other Predators (2015)
34. Vikings (2015)
35. Dogsledding and Extreme Sports (2016)
36. Dragons and Mythical Creatures (2016)
37. World War II (2017)
38. Baseball (2017)
39. Wild West (2018)
40. Texas (2018)
41. Warriors (2019)
42. Benjamin Franklin (2019)
43. Narwhals and Other Whales (2020)
44. Llamas and the Andes (2020)

Magic Tree House Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

1. Games and Puzzles from the Tree House (2010)
   (With Natalie Pope Boyce)
2. My Magic Tree House Journal (2014)
3. Magic Tree House Survival Guide (2014)
4. Animal Games and Puzzles (2015)
5. Magic Tree House Incredible Fact Book (2016)

Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

1. The Story of Christopher Columbus (1987)
2. George Washington (1991)
3. One World, Many Religions (1996)
4. Happy Birthday America (2003)
5. Memories and Life Lessons from the Magic Tree House (2022)

Dear America Books in Publication Order

1. Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763 (1998)
2. My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York 1941 (2000)

Graphic Novels Books
with Jenny Laird

1. Dinosaurs Before Dark (2021)
   (With Jenny Laird)
2. Dinosaurs Before Dark Graphic Novel ) (2021)
3. The Knight at Dawn (2021)
   (With Jenny Laird)
4. Mummies in the Morning (2022)
   (With Jenny Laird)
5. Pirates Past Noon (2022)
   (With Jenny Laird)
6. Night of the Ninjas Graphic Novel (Magic Tree House (2023)
   (With Jenny Laird)
7. Afternoon on the Amazon Graphic Novel (2024)
   (With Jenny Laird)
8. Sunset of the Sabertooth Graphic Novel (2024)
   (With Jenny Laird)
9. Midnight on the Moon Graphic Novel (2025)
   (With Jenny Laird)

About Mary Pope Osborne

Mary Pope Osborne is one of the most important writers in modern children’s publishing, but her career is broader and more varied than the enormous success of Magic Tree House can sometimes make it seem. She is best known, of course, as the creator of Jack and Annie, the siblings who travel through time in one of the most durable chapter-book series ever written. Yet her bibliography stretches well beyond that single phenomenon, into picture books, mythology retellings, historical fiction, fantasy, and books written for a range of ages. What ties it all together is a very clear gift: she knows how to make wonder feel immediate.

Her official biography emphasizes that she “was born into adventure,” and that phrase is not just promotional shorthand. Because her father was in the army, Osborne moved constantly as a child, living in many different places and attending multiple schools before adulthood. That restless early life helps explain why travel, discovery, and unfamiliar worlds feel so natural in her fiction. Even when she is writing for very young readers, her books carry the excitement of stepping beyond the ordinary and finding that the world is much larger than it first appeared.

Before Magic Tree House transformed her career, Osborne had already built a significant body of children’s literature. She wrote picture books, retold myths and legends, and published fantasy and historical works that showed both range and confidence. That earlier career matters because Magic Tree House did not come from nowhere. It grew out of a writer already deeply interested in storytelling as a way of crossing boundaries: between times, cultures, landscapes, and kinds of knowledge. Her fascination with myth, religion, history, and adventure was there before Jack and Annie ever climbed into the tree house.

The great breakthrough, though, was Dinosaurs Before Dark in 1992. With that book, Osborne found a form almost perfectly suited to her strengths. The series gave beginning readers short chapters, clear prose, and fast-moving adventures, but it also gave them something more lasting: the feeling that reading itself could be a portal. Jack and Annie do not simply visit exciting places. They move through history, legend, and geography in a way that makes curiosity feel active and rewarding. That is one reason the books lasted so powerfully. They did not merely entertain children. They made children want to know more.

Her bibliography is best understood in several connected layers. The first is the main Magic Tree House line, which remains the center of her reputation. Around that grew the Merlin Missions, companion Fact Trackers, and other related formats that widened the world for readers at different stages. The second layer is her earlier and parallel work outside the tree house, including retellings such as American Tall Tales and the Tales from the Odyssey books, along with other fiction and historical titles. Seen together, those books show that Osborne has always been interested in introducing young readers to the breadth of human story, not just one recurring fictional setup.

Her style is often praised for being simple, but that simplicity is carefully made. Osborne writes with unusual clarity and pace, and that is one of the reasons her books work so well for children just becoming independent readers. She understands that ease is not the same as thinness. A book can be accessible and still carry atmosphere, movement, emotion, and genuine imaginative reach. That may be her strongest technical gift as a writer.

Another important part of her career is literacy advocacy. Osborne has long been associated not only with children’s books as products, but with reading as a life-changing act. That feels consistent with everything else in her work. Her fiction is full of doors opening, worlds widening, and knowledge becoming adventure. It makes sense that her public life would reflect the same belief.

The best way to understand Mary Pope Osborne’s bibliography, then, is as the work of a writer who made learning and wonder feel inseparable. Magic Tree House may be the towering center of her legacy, but the larger shelf shows something just as impressive: a children’s author who has spent decades inviting readers to step into history, myth, mystery, and imagination with the confidence that curiosity itself is a kind of magic.