The Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne is one of the most beloved series in children’s literature. These classic stories, illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca, have captivated children since the first book was published in the early 1990s, and are still going strong today.
There are currently more than 50 books about the magical tree house, and some new ones were published last year. And now, Mary Pope Osborne has announced that her world-famous series is embarking on a whole new adventure as a graphic novel collection.
But with so many books to choose from and several fragmented stories within the series, it can be difficult to determine which books are right for which young readers.
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In this article, I’ll cover everything you need to know about the recommended reading levels and age ranges for Magical Treehouse books, from the original series to new incarnations. but before we get down to business, let me explain what these amazing adventure stories are all about…
an introduction to the magic tree house books
In case you’re not familiar with the magical treehouse, here’s a quick overview of the series.
The adventures begin when a brother and sister named Jack and Annie Smith discover a magical treehouse filled with fascinating books. each book has the power to take the brothers on an incredible new journey through time and space.
Classic magical treehouse stories began with the 1992 release of “Dinosaurs Before Dark,” which sets the stage for Jack and Annie’s treehouse discovery and sees the pair embark on their first adventure, traveling millions of years back in time to the prehistoric era.
There are 33 other books in the original series, which initially spanned over a decade. Then, in the early 2000s, author Mary Pope Osborne decided to take the series in a new direction with her spin-off series, The Magic Tree House: Merlin Missions. she later revised the original series after an interval of several years, adding several other books to the collection.
The Merlin Quest Books still feature the same exciting adventures as the classic series, but in these stories, Jack and Annie start receiving quests from a powerful ancient wizard named Merlin the Wizard. They also team up with another kid duo, Kathleen and Teddy, who often join them on their missions and help them out of sticky situations.
The original series and the Merlin Missions stories are the two fictional branches of the Magic Treehouse books, but there is also an additional non-fiction collection. In 2000, Mary Pope Osborne joined forces with Ella’s husband Will Osborne and Ella’s sister Natalie Pope Boyce to write the companion titles ‘The Magic Tree House Fact Trackers’. each book is packed with facts and information related to one of the fictional books from the two main series that I mentioned earlier.
So far, there are 43 fact-tracking books, with the most recent published in July 2020 and a new one to be released in early 2022.
reading ages and recommendations for magic tree house fiction books
There are so many magical tree house books to choose from, but not all are suitable for the same age range or ability.
Below, I’ll list the two fiction series separately and explain the recommended reading levels for each.
There are four main reading level systems in the United States, and each uses a different framework to rate both books and readers, taking into account things like vocabulary, grammar, and sentence length.
the four frameworks are lexile, fountas & pinnell/guided, developmental reading assessment (dra), and accelerated reading (ar). To make things easier, I’ll list the score for each (where available) and also include the book’s recommended age range in years.
the original magic tree house series
Original books are generally suitable for children ages six to ten who can read independently. That said, every child is different, and reading ability and age don’t always correlate in the same way. For example, some children are already quite advanced in their reading at age five and may well be ready to embark on their first magical adventure in the treehouse.
On the other hand, kids who struggle with reading may want to wait until they’re a little older to try these books.
Stories from the original series are generally shorter than later releases and are written for a younger audience. they are printed in relatively large text and are an excellent first introduction to the world of chapter books.
Book 1: Dinosaurs Before Dark, 1992Recommended Age Group: 6-9ar: 2.6fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 510l
book 2: the dawn knight, 1993recommended age: 6-9ar: 2.9fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 500l
book 3: mummies in the morning, 1993recommended age: 6-9ar: 2.7fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 500l
book 4: pirates past noon, 1994recommended age group: 6-9ar: 2.8fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 490l
book 5: night of the ninjas, 1995recommended age: 6-9ar: 2.7fountas & ; pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 490l
book 6: late in the amazon, 1995recommended age: 6-9ar: 2.6fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 510l
book 7: twilight of saber teeth, 1996recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.0fountas & ; pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 520l
book 8: midnight on the moon, 1996recommended age: 6-9ar: 2.8fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 490l
book 9: dolphins at dawn, 1997recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.1fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 540l
book 10: ghost town at sunset, 1997recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.0fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 510l
See Also: 10 books about Ukraine, from nonfiction to novels : NPR
book 11: lions at feeding time, 1998recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.0fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 550l
book 12: polar bears beyond bedtime, 1998recommended age group: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 570l
book 13: vacation under the volcano, 1998recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 410l
book 14: day of the dragon king, 1998recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 380l
book 15: viking ships at dawn, 1998recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 570l
book 16: time for the olympics, 1998recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 380l
book 17: tonight on the titanic, 1999recommended age group: 6-9ar: 3.1fountas & ; pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 550l
book 18: buffalo before breakfast, 1999recommended age group: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 560l
book 19: tigers at dusk, 1999recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.0fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 510l
book 20: dingoes at dinnertime, 2000recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.2fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 570l
book 21: civil war on sunday 2000recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.4fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 580l
book 22: revolutionary war on wednesday 2000recommended age group: 6-9ar: 3.5fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 450l
book 23: twister tuesday, 2001recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.2fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 570l
book 24: early morning earthquake, 2001recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 590l
book 25: stage fright on a summer night, 2002recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & ; pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 560l
book 26: good morning gorillas, 2002recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 510l
book 27: thanksgiving thursday 2002recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.3fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 590l
book 28: hawaii high tide, 2003recommended age group: 6-9ar: 3.4fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 570l
book 29: a great day for baseball, 2017recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.4fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 30lexile: 400l
book 30: 2018 texas hurricane heroesrecommended age group: 6-9ar: 3.4fountas & ; pinnell/guided: ndra: 30lexile: 470l
book 31: warriors in winter, 2019recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.4fountas & pinnell/guided: n/mdra: 24lexile: 410l
book 32: into the future, ben franklin! 2019recommended age: 6-9ar: 3.4fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 30lexile: 420l
book 33: narwhal on a sunny night, 2020recommended age: 6-10ar: 3.4fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 30-34lexile: 440l
book 34: late lunch with llamas, 2020recommended age: 6-10ar: 3.4fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 30-34lexile: 410l
the magic tree house: merlin’s quest books
The 27 books in the Merlin Missions spin-off series are substantially longer than the previous classic stories; in fact, many of them are twice as long. they also have smaller print, more words on each page, more challenging vocabulary, and a higher reading level.
So, while the original series is suitable for proficient readers ages six and up, the Merlin Missions books are designed for children ages seven to ten. kids who struggle with reading may want to wait until they’re even older to tackle this series, and instead work on the original chapter books first. once they’ve mastered them, they should be ready to move on to this big kid series.
book 1: christmas in camelot, 2001recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.7fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 480l
Book 2: Haunted Castle on Halloween, 2003Recommended Age Group: 7-10ar: 3.6 fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 460l
See Also: Julia Quinn – Book Series In Order
book 3: summer of the sea serpent, 2004recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.8fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 550l
book 4: winter of the ice wizard, 2004recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.8fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 530l
book 5: carnival by candlelight, 2005recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.9 fountains & pinnell/guided: ndra: 30lexile: 590l
book 6: sandstorm season, 2005recommended age group: 7-10ar: 3.9fountas & ; pinnell/guided: ndra: 30lexile: 580l
book 7: the night of the new magicians, 2006recommended age: 7-10ar: 4.0fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 30lexile: 530l
book 8: blue moon blizzard, 2006recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.9fountas & ; pinnell/guided: ndra: 24lexile: 570l
book 9: red dawn dragon, 2007recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.9fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 580l
book 10: monday with a mad genie, 2007recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.8fountas & ; pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 590l
book 11: dark day in the depths of the sea, 2008recommended age group: 7-10ar: 3.8 fountains & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 520l
book 12: the eve of the emperor penguin, 2008recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.7fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 530l
book 13: moonlight on the magic flute, 2009recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.7 fountains & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 500l
book 14: a good night for ghosts, 2009recommended age: 7-10ar: 3,6fountas & ; pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 490l
book 15: elf in late winter, 2009recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.6fountas & ; pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 500l
book 16: a ghost story for christmas, 2010recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.6sources & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 520l
book 17: a crazy day with cobras, 2011recommended age: 7-10ar: 4.0fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 570l
book 18: dogs in the dead of night, 2011recommended age group: 7-10ar: 4.0 fountains & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 530l
book 19: finally abe lincoln! 2011recommended age group: 7-10ar: 3.5fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 470l
book 20: a perfect time for pandas, 2012recommended age group: 7-10ar: 3.8fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 28lexile: 500l
book 21: starlight stallion, 2013recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.8 fountains & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 500l
book 22: hurry up, houdini! 2013recommended age group: 7-10ar: 3.7fountas & pinnell/guided: mdra: 24lexile: 520l
book 23: hour of heroes, 2014recommended age group: 7-10ar: 4.1fountas & ; pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 560l
book 24: soccer on sunday 2014recommended age group: 7-10ar: 4.1fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 570l
book 25: shadow of the shark, 2015recommended age: 7-10ar: 4.2fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 30lexile: 550l
book 26: balto of the blue dawn, 2016recommended age: 7-10ar: 3.9fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 580l
book 27: the night of the ninth dragon, 2016recommended age: 7-10ar: 4.0fountas & pinnell/guided: ndra: 28-30lexile: 590l
conclusion
So there you have it, the recommended reading levels and age range of readers for each fiction book in the two Magical Tree House series.
if your kids have already enjoyed these titles and still can’t get enough of jack and annie’s amazing adventures, check out the magic tree house survival guide, an instruction manual packed with tips and tricks from the kids themselves. brothers . It also contains nail-biting real-life survival stories and everything a child needs to know to escape frightening situations like fires, earthquakes, and even shark attacks. The latest edition also contains a new bonus chapter on how to survive a pandemic!
does your child love the magic tree house books? Or maybe you loved reading them yourself as a kid? Either way, I’d love to hear about everyone’s favorite books in the series and why you love them, so leave me a comment in the box below!