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Mary Pope Osborne

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Mary Pope Osborne is a childrens book author known for her popular kids book series The Magic Tree House.

Where did Mary Pope Osborne grow up?

She was born on May 20, 1949 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. She didn't stay in one place, though, as her father was in the military and moved a lot. She grew up in different places such as Virginia, Oklahoma, Florida, and even Austria. Her dad finally retired and she ended up in North Carolina.

In North Carolina, Mary found that she loved the theater. She loved the adventure and imagination and liked to act and work on plays. She went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study drama and also studied about religion.

After college Mary went on all sorts of adventures and tried various occupations. One day she started writing and ended up getting published. She'd finally found what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

About the Magic Tree House Series

The Magic Tree House series is one of the most popular kids book series ever written. It tells the story of two regular kids, Jack (8 years old) and his sister Annie (7 years old) who find a tree house in the woods. This tree house is magic and can transport them to various places and various times in history. It turns out that King Arthur from Camelot needs help and his head librarian, Morgan le Fay, gives Jack and Annie quests and mysteries to solve. They end up going to many different places and times throughout history on their adventures.

The series currently has well over 40 books and continues to grow. In book #29 the series changed a bit, where Merlin the Magician assigns the children quests and the books are called the "Merlin Missions".

There are also Magic Tree House Research guides. These books are non-fiction and give more information on the subject covered in different books. For example there is a research guide for the first book, Dinosaurs Before Dark, that covers information on dinosaurs.

Fun Facts about Mary Pope Osborne

She was president of the Authors Guild for four years.
Her husband, Will Osborne, has helped to write a Magic Tree House musical.
She has three dogs.
Mary has a twin brother as well as an older sister and younger brother.
She once worked as a Russian travel consultant.
She met her husband at a play about Jesse James. He was playing the lead role in the musical.
Mary has written over 100 books!

List of books by Mary Pope Osborne

Mary has written a large number of books. Here we will list the Magic Tree House series books: