Magic Tree House

After graduating from college, Osborne and her roommate went traveling. She spent time in Crete and traveled through Iraq, Iran, India, Afghanistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Pakistan. The trip ended when Osborne experienced sepsis in Nepal and was hospitalized for several weeks, during which she read The Lord of the Rings. Osborne's writing career began "one day, out of the blue" Her work includes young adult novels, picture books, retellings of mythology and fairy tales, biographies, mysteries, a six-part series of the Odyssey, a book of American Tall Tales, and a book for young readers about major world religions. The idea for the series came when Penguin Random House asked Osborne to start writing a series of children's books. She knew from the beginning that she wanted to include time travel, and has used space at shared office space, The Writer's Room. She has modeled her writing after Hemingway by trying to be simple and direct and is "noted for writing clear, lively, well-paced prose in both her stories and her informational books." == Main characters ==

When Osborne started writing the series, she wrote Jack as a main character and added Annie as a typical annoying younger sister. After writing her in, Osborne eventually decided to make her a main character. He tends to be cautious. According to the original illustrations by Sal Murdocca, Jack has brown hair, wears red glasses, and is taller than Annie. Annie Annie is the younger sister, who is known for her bravery, impulsive decisions, and caring for the people and animals around her. According to the original illustrations by Sal Murdocca, Annie has medium-length blonde hair, often worn in double braids, and bangs, and is shorter than Jack. == Legacy ==

Mary Pope Osborne's books have been featured in several Best Books of the Year Lists, including School Library Journal, Parents’ Magazine, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and Bank Street College of Education. and the 2010 Heidelberger Leander Award. She has also received awards from the Carolina Alumni Association, the Virginia Library Association Osborne served two separate terms as president of the Authors Guild and also chaired its Children's Book Committee. The film grossed 5.7 million dollars; Osborne donated all proceeds into her educational works. She was profiled on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams for her continued efforts to give children books while on a Magic Tree House-themed tour bus. ==Adaptations==

Magic Tree House Children's Theatre The Magic Tree House brand has expanded into other forms. A musical adaptation, Magic Tree House: The Musical, was created by Will Osborne and Randy Court based on Christmas in Camelot and premiered in September 2007. Osborne hoped that it would have appeal to both kids and adults, like The Lion King or Mary Poppins. and had a cast album. A planetarium show, Magic Tree House: Space Mission, also created by Will Osborne, is produced and presented at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 2011, Will Osborne collaborated with New Orleans composer Allen Toussaint and ''Ain't Misbehavin' co-creator Murray Horwitz to write A Night in New Orleans, a musical adaptation of A Good Night for Ghosts'' about the life of Louis Armstrong which features an ensemble cast and live jazz band. It premiered in 2012 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and was shown free to Newark 4th grade students. Magic Tree House Kids Shows are theatrical adaptations of select titles in the Magic Tree House series designed specifically for kids' performances. To date, children's shows have been created by husband and wife playwright and composer team Randy Courts and Jenny Laird in collaboration with Will Osborne based on Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Pirates Past Noon, A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time, and was released there on January 7, 2012. == List of Magic Tree House books ==

According to its official website, Magic Tree House books are for beginning chapter book readers. Main series Merlin Missions subseries Magic Tree House: Merlin Missions Books 1-27 were written for more advanced readers ages 7–10. They were first released in 2000 by Scholastic and Random House. 44 have been published. The first two Fact Trackers were published in August 2000 as companions for the first two stories. In 2008, book #39, Dark Day in the Deep Sea, and its fact tracker, #17, Sea Monsters, were the first story and fact tracker to be published simultaneously. Other Magic Tree House books ==References==