🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Mary Pope Osborne
Published originally in 1988 this was part of a collaboration with Will Osborne; her long time partner. They would combine talents in the years to come creating their educational books and texts for children, many working as offshoots of the Magic Tree House series. Using various illustrations as well, they would become a great way of teaching children in a fun and inventive manner. Telling the story of Medusa it recounts the myth in an easily accessible and fun style, so children of all ages can read it simply and quickly. Following Perseus, it charts his journey as he’s sent down to vanquish the evil Medusa, a woman with snakes for hair who was cursed due to her own vanity.
All Book Series by Mary Pope Osborne
Dinosaurs Before Dark / Valley of the Dinosaurs
Series opener · book 1 of 40 · published 1992
Vacation Under the Volcano / Racing with Gladiators
Book 12 of 40 · published 1998
Day of the Dragon King / Palace of the Dragon King
Book 14 of 40 · published 1998
Night of the Ninth Dragon
Latest in the series · book 27 of 27 · published 2016
Danger in the Darkest Hour / World at War, 1944
Single-title series · published 2015
Spider Kane and the Mystery Under the May-Apple
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 1992
Spider Kane and the Mystery at Jumbo Nightcrawler's
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 1993
Jason and the Argonauts
Book 7 of 14 · published 1988 Co-authored · Will Osborne
Games and Puzzles from the Tree House
Series opener · book 1 of 5 · published 2010 Co-authored · Natalie Pope Boyce
Magic Tree House Incredible Fact Book
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 2016
Memories and Life Lessons from the Magic Tree House
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 2022
When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864
Series opener · book 1 of 44 · published 1996 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620
Book 2 of 44 · published 1996 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
Winter Of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary Of Abigail Jane Stewart
Book 3 of 44 · published 1996 Anthology · Kristiana Gregory
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865
Book 4 of 44 · published 1997 Anthology · Joyce Hansen
A Picture Of Freedom
Book 5 of 44 · published 1997 Anthology · Patricia McKissack
Early Sunday Morning: the Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, Hawaii, 1941
Book 6 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903
Book 7 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi
Book 8 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Jim Murphy
Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763
Book 9 of 44 · published 1998
A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence
Book 10 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Sherry Garland
Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic 1912
Book 12 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Ellen Emerson White
The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory 1868
Book 13 of 44 · published 1999 Anthology · Kristiana Gregory
My Heart is on the Ground
Book 14 of 44 · published 1999 Anthology · Ann Rinaldi
The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl
Book 15 of 44 · published 1999 Anthology · Ann Turner
A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin
Book 16 of 44 · published 1999 Anthology · Karen Hesse
Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North
Book 17 of 44 · published 2000 Anthology · Patricia McKissack
A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896
Book 18 of 44 · published 2000 Anthology · Susan Campbell Bartoletti
My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York 1941
Book 19 of 44 · published 2000
One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York 1938
Book 20 of 44 · published 2000 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana 1932
Book 21 of 44 · published 2001 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
Valley of the Moon: The Diary of María Rosalía de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta Valley, California, 1846,
Book 22 of 44 · published 2001 Anthology · Sherry Garland
Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory 1849
Book 23 of 44 · published 2001 Anthology · Kristiana Gregory
My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska 1881
Book 24 of 44 · published 2001 Anthology · Jim Murphy
When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer
Book 25 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Beth Seidel Levine
My Secret War : The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck
Book 26 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
A Time for Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C. 1917
Book 27 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Book 28 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Ellen Emerson White
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind, 1932
Book 29 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas 1935
Book 30 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Katelan Janke
So Far From Home: the Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847
Book 31 of 44 · published 2003 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
Love Thy Neighbor: The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson
Book 32 of 44 · published 2003 Anthology · Ann Turner
Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, An English Girl in Minnesota
Book 33 of 44 · published 2003 Anthology · Marion Dane Bauer
All the Stars in the Sky
Book 34 of 44 · published 2003 Anthology · Megan McDonald
Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl, New York Colony 1763
Book 35 of 44 · published 2004 Anthology · Patricia McKissack
Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City 1909
Book 36 of 44 · published 2004 Anthology · Deborah Hopkinson
I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691
Book 37 of 44 · published 2004 Anthology · Lisa Rowe Fraustino
The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941
Book 38 of 44 · published 2010 Anthology · Kirby Larson
With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954
Book 41 of 44 · published 2011 Anthology · Andrea Davis Pinkney
Behind the Masks: The Diary of Angeline Reddy, Bodie, California, 1880
Book 42 of 44 · published 2012 Anthology · Susan Patron
Down the Rabbit Hole, Chicago, Illinois, 1871: The Diary of Pringle Rose
Book 43 of 44 · published 2013 Anthology · Susan Campbell Bartoletti
A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906
Latest in the series · book 44 of 44 · published 2013 Anthology · Judy Blundell
Dinosaurs Before Dark
Series opener · book 1 of 9 · published 2021 Co-authored · Jenny Laird
Night of the Ninjas Graphic Novel
Book 6 of 9 · published 2023 Co-authored · Jenny Laird
Afternoon on the Amazon Graphic Novel
Book 7 of 9 · published 2024 Co-authored · Jenny Laird
Sunset of the Sabertooth Graphic Novel
Book 8 of 9 · published 2024 Co-authored · Jenny Laird
Midnight on the Moon Graphic Novel
Latest in the series · book 9 of 9 · published 2025 Co-authored · Jenny Laird
When I Was Your Age: Original Stories about Growing Up
Book 6 of 9 · published 1996
Fourteen Days: An Unauthorized Gathering
Latest in the series · book 9 of 9 · published 2024
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mary Pope Osborne?
Published originally in 1988 this was part of a collaboration with Will Osborne; her long time partner. They would combine talents in the years to come creating their educational books and texts for children, many working as offshoots of the Magic Tree House series. Using various illustrations as well, they would become a great way of teaching children in a fun and inventive manner.
Which Mary Pope Osborne series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Magic Tree House series, the earliest of Mary Pope Osborne's multi-book series: it opens with Dinosaurs Before Dark / Valley of the Dinosaurs (1992) and runs to 40 books across 1992–2025, ending with Sea Otter Sunrise (2025). Mary Pope Osborne's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Mary Pope Osborne written?
Mary Pope Osborne has 218 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1982 and 2025. 172 of them belong to 9 named series — the largest being the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker series with 44 books — and 46 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Mary Pope Osborne's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Mary Pope Osborne's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Magic Tree House (1992–2025, 40 books), Spider Kane (1992–1993, 2 books) and Magic Tree House Fact Tracker (2000–2020, 44 books), plus 5 more.
How are Mary Pope Osborne's books organised into series?
This guide splits Mary Pope Osborne's 218 books into 9 named series and 46 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Magic Tree House Fact Tracker (44 books, 2000–2020); Magic Tree House (40 books, 1992–2025); Magic Tree House Merlin Missions (27 books, 2001–2016); Tales From The Odyssey (6 books, 2002–2004); Magic Tree House Non-Fiction (5 books, 2010–2016), plus 4 further series.