Dinosaurs Before Dark

Dinosaurs Before Dark was initially published in 1992 and has since grown into a children’s novel series that includes a musical adaptation, nonfiction companion books, graphic novel adaptations, and free classroom guides. Before writing the Magic Tree House series, Osbourne first published Run, Run As Fast As You Can (1982), a semi-autobiographical novel about a young girl after her brother’s death. However, she was then asked to write a children’s series and was inspired when walking through the woods to center it around a tree house. Initially, Osborne was asked to do four books for the series, but that number kept growing (Raynor, Madeline. “Magic Tree House Author Mary Pope Osborne on the Books’ 25th Anniversary.” Entertainment Weekly, 10 Aug. 2022). The heroes of the Magic Tree House series, Jack and Annie, also feature in Osborne’s Merlin Missions series—Osborne published the first novel in the series, Christmas in Camelot in 1995. Osborne has also published stand-alone novels, including Adaline Falling Star.

Osborne has cited Ernest Hemingway (A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises) as an inspiration for the way that she writes children’s books. She applies his short and direct style to help children understand her books, making them focused and to the point. She also draws on her love of traveling, which is evident by Jack and Annie’s excitement around the tree house and the adventures they take in each of the series’ books. In interviews, Osborne has noted that she works on the series for 12 hours a day, every day of the week, typically publishing two new installments each year (La Gorce, Tammy. “Taking Young Readers on a Magical History Tour.” New York Times, 13 Apr 2008). Osbourne has also served as president of the Authors Guild and has received the 1992 Diamond State Reading Association, the 2005 Ludington Memorial Award from the Educational Paperback Association, and the 2010 Heidelberger Leander Award.

The Magic Tree House series also prompted a series of nonfiction companion books (once called Magic Tree House Research Guides and later as Magic Tree House Fact Trackers) to provide additional information about the people, places, and times Jack and Annie experience and encounter. For example, the first, Dinosaurs (2000), was published to go along with Dinosaurs Before Dark. Since then, the Magic Tree House Fact Checkers books have included subjects ranging from Leonardo da Vinci to Irish folklore. Additionally, as a celebration of the book’s 20th anniversary, Osborne created a series of resources called Mary Pope Osbourne’s Classroom Adventures Program, which assists teachers in the classroom. Osborne cites the reason for the program’s existence as wanting to give back to the teachers who have taught her so much. Research from Susan B. Neuman, a New York University professor, has demonstrated how useful the Magic Tree House series is for children within an educational environment (“Gift of Time.” MTH Classroom Adventures). Neuman found that the books enhance children’s excitement about reading and desire to learn and that schools can easily integrate the books throughout their curriculum, including in science, social studies, language arts, and other key subject areas. Osbourne has also spearheaded a grant program in which teachers at Title 1 schools can receive copies of Magic Tree House books (“Gift of Books.” MTH Classroom Adventures).

Since its initial publication, the Magic Tree House series has also been adapted into a musical, a planetarium show, and the Magic Tree House Kids Show, a set of theatrical adaptations of certain books in the series. In Japan, it was turned into an animated film in 2012.