Free Magic Tree House Content Guide for Parents
Magic Tree House Content Guide for Parents. This is an Early Reader (First Chapter Book) New York Times Bestselling Series. It’s recommended for children ages 6-9. Here, you will find a complete content guide for books 1-39. Please understand that I am not bashing this book series; I’m merely presenting the content to help you determine if it’s suitable for your young readers. However, due to certain content, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this series.
My guide is not a literary work or an analysis of the work. Rather, I’m just a mama sitting down over coffee and sharing bookish thoughts on children’s literature. Busy mamas don’t always have the time to preread EVERY book—I want to help!
Please note the review contains content warnings which are not meant to shame you for enjoying certain books. It doesn’t mean you should avoid it or that you should feel personally judged by the warnings. It’s a heads up for the mama who doesn’t have time to pre-read every book before sharing it with their precious children. We all have different family values and kids of varying ages. Sometimes I will include warnings that may not apply to your family. Please continue to have discernment with book selections for your family. You are the gate keeper of your home and I am so blessed that you consider me worthy to review this book for you.
Life is too short, time is too precious and there are too many beautiful stories to read books that do not align with your family values.
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Download the Full Magic Tree House Content Guide for Parents in the pink box below (includes books 1-39)
Read below to determine if this series is a good fit for you and your reader.
Magic Tree House Content Guide for Parents: Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne
Age Range: 6-9
Genre: Historical Fiction, Early Chapter Book, Fantasy, chapter books
#1 Dinosaurs Before Dark (1992)
From the Publisher: “A mysterious tree house whisks Jack and Annie to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home before they become a dinosaur’s dinner.”
Jack and Annie discover a tree house filled with books. When Jack finds a dinosaur book, he wishes they could visit that time. Suddenly, they are magically whisked away to the Cretaceous period, where they encounter trouble with dinosaurs. To return home, they wish themselves back while gazing at a book about Pennsylvania. The siblings agree to keep their tree house adventure a secret from their parents.
Setting: Time of the Dinosaurs
⚠️ References evolution (millions of years) multiple times. Annie and Jack keep the Magic Tree House a secret from their parents.
#2 The Knight at Dawn (1993)
From the Publisher: “A castle with a secret passage! That’s what Jack and Annie find when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to the Middle Ages for another wild adventure.
Jack awakens the following morning to find that the treehouse was not just a dream—it’s all in his notebook. Jack and Annie slip out while their parents are still asleep. When Annie opens a book featuring a castle, they are magically transported to the Middle Ages. The children sneak into the castle but are mistaken for thieves. Guards seize them and drag them away to chain them in the dungeon, mentioning a hanging set for the next day. Annie pulls out a flashlight, pretending it’s a magic wand, which frightens the guards. They manage to escape through a partridge and fall into a moat. A knight then encounters them on the bank, and together they ride back to the treehouse.
Setting: Middle Ages
⚠️ Jack and Annie sneak out the door before their parents are awake. Brief mention of barrels of wine. Peril: Jack and Annie are mistaken as thieves in the castle and men take them to the dungeon to chain them. There is a mention of a hanging.
#3 Mummies in the Morning (1993)
From the Publisher: “Jack and Annie don’t need another mummy. But that’s what they get when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to ancient Egypt.
Jack and Annie are transported to Ancient Egypt, where they enter a pyramid. Inside, they help an Egyptian ghost queen find the Book of the Dead, which she needs to pass through the underworld filled with poisonous snakes, lakes of fire, monsters, and demons. Once they complete their mission, the children see a mirage of a ghost ship sailing away with the queen on her journey to the afterlife.
Setting: Ancient Egypt
⚠️ An Egyptian queen ghost needs help passing to the next life. She must find the Book of the Dead to “tell her the magic spells” to “get through the underworld.” The queen must pass through poisonous snakes, lakes of fire, monsters, and demons. On the way out of the pyramid, Annie and Jack see a mirage of a ghost ship sail off. They state that the queen has made it to the next life.
#4 Pirates Past Noon (1994)
From the Publisher: “Jack and Annie are in for a high-seas adventure when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to the days of deserted islands, secret maps—and ruthless pirates!”
Jack and Annie are transported to an island, where they spot a ship flying a pirate flag. The pirates, unable to read, capture the children, demanding their help to decipher a treasure map and locate the treasure. Jack successfully reads the map and guides the pirates to the digging site on the island. As the weather worsens, a parrot caws, urging them to escape. Jack and Annie manage to return to the treehouse just in time. Inside, the parrot rests on the window and magically transforms into a woman named Morgan le Fay, who is the sister of King Arthur. Morgan is an enchantress and the librarian of Camelot. Annie’s belief in magic allows her to see the treehouse, while Jack’s love for books makes the wish work to travel into the books.
Setting: Caribbean (Pirates of the Caribbean)
⚠️ References weapons such as knives and pistols. Magical references such as omen, witch, enchantress, and spells. Annie’s belief in magic made her see the invisible treehouse, and Jack’s love of books made the wish work to travel into the books.
____________________
The next four books start a new journey. Morgan is under a spell and the kids have to find 4 things to break the spell.
#5 Night of the Ninjas (1995)
From the Publisher: “Have you ever met a real live ninja? Jack and Annie do when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to ancient Japan, where they find themselves in the cave of a ninja master. Will they learn the secrets of the ninja? Or will the evil samurai warriors get them first?”
The treehouse had been missing for weeks, but it’s back, and Jack and Annie find themselves transported to Ancient Japan. They are quickly spotted by ninjas, who capture them and take them across icy waters to a hidden cave. The children need assistance to solve Morgan’s riddle, but first, they must prove loyal to the ninjas. Jack and Annie must return to the treehouse. They are advised to use nature, be nature, and follow nature, which helps them avoid the Samurai. Eventually, Jack and Annie make it back, and the ninja Masters reward them with the answer to the riddle along with the moonstone.
Setting: Ancient Japan (14-17th century)
⚠️ Statements such as use nature, be nature, follow nature. Use the term “ghosts” as an adjective.
#6 Afternoon on the Amazon (1995)
From the Publisher: “Vampire bats and killer ants? That’s what Jack and Annie are about to run into when the Magic Tree House whisks them away to the Amazon River. It’s not long before they get hopelessly lost. Will they be able to find their way back to the tree house? Or are Jack and Annie stuck forever in the rain forest?”
Jack and Annie must decipher a riddle in the Amazon rainforest, accompanied by a mouse named Peanut. They find themselves in the rainforest canopy, making their way down while encountering a swarm of flesh-eating ants, monkeys tossing fruit, snakes, crocodiles, and piranhas. They end up in a canoe on the Amazon River without paddles. They return to the treehouse, anxious about the vampire bats that suck blood. However, they can’t locate the Pennsylvania book. They realize that the monkey, who had been throwing fruit, held the key to their riddle, leading them back home.
Setting: Amazon Rainforest
⚠️ None to note except magical references and mild suspense.
#7 Sunset of the Sabertooth (1996)
From the Publisher: “The Ice Age is very cool…for two kids in bathing suits! Jack and Annie nearly freeze when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to the time of cave people and woolly mammoths. But nothing can stop them from having another wild adventure—not even a saber-toothed tiger!”
Jack and Annie arrive during the Ice Age. They explore caves with animal paintings and fall into an animal trap. The sorcerer pulls them out with a rope and gives them a flute made from a mammoth bone. The sorcerer whispers in the mammoth’s ear and they ride it back to the treehouse meeting a sabertooth tiger along the way.
Setting: Ice Age
⚠️ Reference to early modern humans called Cro-Magnon and evolution (25,000 years). Cavemen may have been led by a sorcerer or a Master of the Animals. The people believed the paintings would give them power over the animals. Annie and Jack meet the sorcerer who saves them.
#8 Midnight on the Moon (1996)
From the Publisher: “Three …two…one…BLAST OFF! The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie off to the moon—and the future. Their mission? To find the last “M” thing that will free Morgan from the spell. Can they do it before the air in their oxygen tank runs out? Will the mysterious moon man help them? And why is Peanut the mouse acting so strange?”
Jack and Annie travel to a moon base in the future. They put on spacesuits and get into some trouble exploring the moon. A man in a space suit comes to their aid, providing them with a constellation of a mouse to help solve the riddle. They return to the base just in time before running out of air.
Setting: A moon base in 2031
⚠️ Annie thinks the moon man who helped them is an alien.
Scroll up to the pink box to continue reading my content guide for books 1-39
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