Here's what kids have to say to
Mary Pope Osborne, author of
the Magic Tree House series:
WOW! You have an imagination like no other.
âAdam W.
I love your books. If you stop writing books, it will be like losing a best friend.
âBen M.
I think you are the real Morgan le Fay. There is always magic in your books.
âErica Y.
One day I was really bored and I didn't want to read â¦Â I looked in your book. I read a sentence, and it was interesting. So I read some more, until the book was done. It was so good I read more and more. Then I had read all of your books, and now I hope you write lots more.
âDanai K.
I always read [your books] over and over â¦Â 1 time, 2 times, 3 times, 4 times â¦Â
âYuan C.
You are my best author in the world. I love your books. I read all the time. I read everywhere. My mom is like freaking out.
âEllen C.
I hope you make these books for all yours and mine's life.
âRiki H.
Teachers and librarians love
Magic Tree House
®
books, too!
Thank you for opening faraway places and times to my class through your books. They have given me the chance to bring in additional books, materials, and videos to share with the class.
âJ. Cameron
It excites me to see how involved [my fourth-grade reading class] is in your books â¦Â I would do anything to get my students more involved, and this has done it.
âC. Rutz
I discovered your books last year â¦Â WOW! Our students have gone crazy over them. I can't order enough copies! â¦Â Thanks for contributing so much to children's literature!
âC. Kendziora
I first came across your Magic Tree House series when my son brought one home â¦Â I have since introduced this great series to my class. They have absolutely fallen in love with these books! â¦Â My students are now asking me for more independent reading time to read them. Your stories have inspired even my most struggling readers.
âM. Payne
I love how I can go beyond the [Magic Tree House] books and use them as springboards for other learning.
âR. Gale
We have enjoyed your books all year long. We check your Web site to find new information. We pull our map down to find the areas where the adventures take place. My class always chimes in at key parts of the story. It feels good to hear my students ask for a book and cheer when a new book comes out.
âJ. Korinek
Our students have “Magic Tree House fever.” I can't keep your books on the library shelf.
âJ. Rafferty
Your books truly invite children into the pleasure of reading. Thanks for such terrific work.
âS. Smith
The children in the fourth grade even hide the [Magic Tree House] books in the library so that they will be able to find them when they are ready to check them out.
âK. Mortensen
My Magic Tree House books are never on the bookshelf because they are always being read by my students. Thank you for creating such a wonderful series.
âK. Mahoney
Dear Readers,
A while ago, I began researching the Arctic because so many of you wanted Jack and Annie to go there. When I came across a certain astonishing fact, I got very excited about writing the story. The fact was this:
Even though polar bears can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, they can walk on ice that is too thin to hold a person!
How do they do this? They lie flat on the ice and
perfectly
balance their weight so that the ice won't crack. Then they move forward by pulling with their claws, all the while maintaining their perfect balance.
As you'll see, this particular fact, combined with my imagination, helped me plot the story.
So if you were to ask me where I get the inspiration for my Magic Tree House books, I'd have to say: readers, research, and my imagination.
And
I get further inspiration from my editor, Mallory Loehr, who has worked on all the books with me. She and I have fun meetings in which we go over and over the ideas for each book.
I hope you enjoy reading
Polar Bears Past Bedtime
as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it. And I hope it will inspire you to try researching and writing your
own
book.
All best,
Text copyright © 1998 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Illustrations copyright © 1998 by Sal Murdocca.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Osborne, Mary Pope. Polar bears past bedtime / by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.
p. cm. â (Magic Tree House ; #12) “A Stepping Stone book.”
SUMMARY:
Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to the Arctic, where a polar bear leads them onto very thin ice.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89469-5
[1. Polar bearâFiction. 2. Arctic regionsâFiction. 3. MagicâFiction.
4. Tree housesâFiction.]
I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series ; #12. PZ7.O81167Po 1997 [E]âdc21 97-15624
Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland
v3.0.30
For Mallory Loehr
with gratitude for taking the journey
twelve times.
     Â
Cover
     Â
Title Page
     Â
Dear Readers
     Â
Copyright
     Â
Dedication
 Â
2. The Howling
 Â
3. Mush!
 Â
4. Snow House
 Â
5. You're It!
 Â
6. Flying Bears
 Â
7. Spirit Lights
 Â
8. Riddle Solved
     Â
More Facts
     Â
Special Preview of Magic Tree House #13: Vacation Under the Volcano
Whoo
. The strange sound came from outside the open window.
Jack opened his eyes in the dark.
The sound came again.
Whoo.
Jack sat up and turned on his light. He put on his glasses. Then he grabbed the flashlight from his table and shone it out the window.
A white snowy owl was sitting on a tree branch.
“
Whoo,
” the owl said again. Its large yellow eyes looked right into Jack's.
What does he want?
Jack wondered.
Is he a sign, like the rabbit and the gazelle?