Mary Pope Osborne

Mary Pope Osborne (at times along with her sister or husband) is the author of the ever popular Magic Tree House books. Brother and sister Jack and Annie, from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania travel around the world, or back in history, in a magic tree house. They've had many adventures with pirates, vikings, soldiers, dinosaurs, penguins, ghosts, fairies, mummies, etc. The list goes on and on. Alex began reading the series when he was in kindergarten, and we quickly became big fans. He has read almost every book in the series. Allison has read nearly half of the 43 books (soon to be 44) in the series.

Last spring we became aware of many other of Osborne's books which I highly recommend. They have become excellent resources on our homeschooling journey. For instance, there are 22 Research Guides that correlate with the Tree House books, providing fun facts behind the fiction. The Research Guides provide information about the times, places, and cultures Jack and Annie visit on their Magic Tree House adventures.

But, our most favorite of her books have been Osborne's retellings of classic tales. She has retold the Odyssey in five books that are definitely worth the read. She has collections of Greek Myths, Norse Myths, Mermaid Tales, and American Tall Tales, of which all have become a huge hit during our school day. (This year I have discovered we can renew books from our library up to 20 times!) She has retold the story of Christ with masterpieces of art. And, of course, she has done an excellent job retelling Bible stories which is worth reading to your child more than once!