History Literature / TheMagicTreehouse

''The Magic Treehouse'' is a successful series of children's books written by Mary Pope Osbourne that is currently running [[LongRunner after the first installment of the series (pictured to the right) was published in 1992]]. There are over fifty books in the series so far, not counting the research guides that go along with them.

There's also a [[UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} Japanese]] adaptation with Main/{{manga}} illustrations. They all contain paper dolls of Jack and Annie with outfits corresponding to the stories. The first 28 volumes were published into 14 Japanese volumes, two stories to a book. After that, each book was published individually. There was also an anime movie by Creator/AjiaDo based on the book series that was released in 2011.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Annie runs into this at least twice (''Hour Of The Olympics'' and ''Stage Fright On A Summer's Night'') concerning the roles of women.

** ''Abe Lincoln at Last!'' plays with this a lot. Todd tells Jack and Annie that he'll take them to President Lincoln...who also happens to be his dad. Later, when the two wish to talk to Lincoln all by his lonesome, they get dragged to the past where they meet a boy named Sam...aka ''younger Abe Lincoln''.

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Jack in the movie after seeing Mount Vesuvius erupted and nearly losing his sister from it, goes through a lot of angst and self-confidence issues.

* BittersweetEnding: ''Tonight on the Titanic''. ForegoneConclusion, obviously, but Jack and Annie manage to save two children.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The first Special Edition book, ''Danger in the Darkest Hour'', takes place during World War II where they must save Kathleen during the Blitz.

** In ''Earthquake in the Early Morning'', Jack read that many of the books that were being transferred were all going to burn... unfortunately, the librarian didn't listen to him...

* GenkiGirl: Annie.

* {{Invisibility}}: The supposed ghosts in ''Haunted Castle on Hallow's Eve'' are actually [[spoiler:three kids and their dog trapped in their state because the Raven King stole the Diamond of Destiny they were supposed to guard.]]

* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have To Be Spiders?]]: Annie can go through just about anything... but has a paralyzing fear of spiders. Shown prominently in ''Summer of the Sea Serpent.'' In ''Afternoon on the Amazon'', Jack complains about this, saying that he doesn't understand how she can be freaked out about visiting a jungle full of bugs after being fine with meeting dinosaurs, pirates, ninjas and ghosts.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Jack and Annie frequently go barefoot during their adventures, most notably during ''Dolphins at Daybreak'', ''High Tide in Hawaii'', ''Summer of the Sea Serpent'', ''Dark Day in the Deep Sea'', and ''Soccer on Sunday''.

* MisplacedVegetation: A mango is a major plot point in ''Afternoon on the Amazon''. Mangos are native to India and Myanmar, and shouldn't be growing anywhere near South America. That said, mangos were introduced to South America in the 18th Century, and it's unclear what date the treehouse landed in.

* MisplacedVegetation: A mango is a major plot point in ''Afternoon on the Amazon''. Mangos are native to India and Myanmar, and shouldn't be growing anywhere near South America.

There's also a [[UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} Japanese]] adaptation with Main/{{manga}} [[ContemptibleCover illustrations]]. They all contain paper dolls of Jack and Annie with outfits corresponding to the stories. The first 28 volumes were published into 14 Japanese volumes, two stories to a book. After that, each book was published individually. There was also an anime movie by Creator/AjiaDo based on the book series that was released in 2011.

* ExtyYearsFromNow: ''Midnight on the Moon'' takes place 40 years in the future (the book was made in 1996, so it takes place in 2036).

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: ''Afternoon in the Amazon'', ''Tigers at Twilight'', and ''Good Morning, Gorillas'' had friendly monkeys and apes respectively.

* HeroicDolphin: After Annie saves one from being eaten by pirates it pops up to save Jack, leading him to Annie and ultimately saving the day.

* MisplacedVegetation: A mango is a major plot point in ''Afternoon on the Amazon''. Mangos are native to south Asia.

** A mild example in ''Dinosaurs Before Dark'' and TheMovie. Jack and Annie encounter a ''Pteranodon'' at the end of the Late Cretaceous alongside ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'', when ''Pteranodon'' should have been extinct at that time.

** A mild example in ''Dinosaurs Before Dark'' and TheMovie. Jack and Annie encounter a ''Pteranodon'' at the end of the Late Cretaceous alongside ''TyrannosaurusRex'', when ''Pteranodon'' should have been extinct at that time.

* TyrannosaurusRex: The main threat of ''Dinosaurs Before Dark''.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Morgan le Fay, of all fictional characters. In the original Myth/KingArthur legend, she was a wicked and malevolent sorceress who sought to destroy Arthur. Here, she is a sweet, kind and benevolent woman who helps Jack and Annie through their adventures.

* AdaptationAmalgamation: The movie essentially combines the first two arcs of the series, with the plot being kicked off by Morgan being turned into a mouse.

* AlliterativeTitle: Used for most book titles (''Lions at Lunchtime'', ''Tigers at Twilight'', ''Dolphins Before Daybreak'', etc).

* PteroSoarer: Annie befriends a ''Pteranodon'', whom she names Henry, in ''Dinosaurs Before Dark''. Henry is more accurate than most examples, aside from living in the wrong time period and habitat as well as being too large and strong enough to carry two human children.

* CatsAreMean: ''Sunset of the Sabertooth''.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The HUMONGOUS Sea Serpent in ''Summer of the Sea Serpent''.

** The saber-toothed cat in ''Sunset of the Sabertooth'' is presumably a ''Machairodus'' (it lives in Europe and had a fairly long tail). The story takes place in the Pleistocene, and ''Machairodus'' died out in the late Miocene.

* AnachronismStew: A mild example in ''Dinosaurs Before Dark'' and TheMovie. Jack and Annie encounter a ''Pteranodon'' at the end of the Late Cretaceous alongside ''TyrannosaurusRex'', when ''Pteranodon'' should have been extinct at that time.

** Morgan assumes the form of animals in most of the first four books - a pteranodon in #1, a cat in #3 and a parrot in #4. She subsequently [[BalefulPolymorph spends four books as a white mouse due to a prank pulled by Merlin]], which also happens in TheMovie.

** Subverted in ''Stage Fright On A Summer's Night''. The dancing bear's actually one of the nicer characters.
** Averted in ''Polar Bears Past Bedtime'' with a mother polar bear and her adorable cubs.
** And briefly discussed in ''Haunted Castle on Hallow's Eve''.

* MisplacedWildlife:
** ''Dinosaurs Before Dark'' showed a ''Pteranodon'' living inland, instead of near the ocean. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as said ''Pteranodon'' was actually Morgan watching over the kids. The film version, however, has no excuse.
** ''Sunset of the Sabertooth'' had a ''Smilodon'' living in Europe; ''Smilodon'' was a strictly American genus. Granted, it wasn't exactly identified (being called a "saber-toothed tiger") and could be some other genus native to that region, though the illustrations portray it as a ''Smilodon''.

* StockDinosaurs: ''Pteranodon'', ''Triceratops'', ''Anatosaurus''/''Edmontosaurus'', and ''Tyrannosaurus'' are featured in ''Dinosaurs Before Dark''. They return in TheMovie, which also adds in ''Ankylosaurus'' and ''Ornithomimus''. However, they avert this with ''Brodavis'', ''Borealosuchus'', ''Alamosaurus'', and ''Alphadon''.

The books are about two kids from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, siblings/[[KidHero kid heroes]] Jack and Annie. In the inaugural incarnation of the series, Morgan le Fay orders the kids to go on missions through time and all around the world to solve ancient riddles, save ancient stories, and become Master Librarians. This is possible through their tree house, which allows them to perform TimeTravel (or [[PortalBook go into the book's contents]], it's not really made clear which).

The books are about two kids from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, siblings/[[KidHero kid heroes]] Jack and Annie. In the inaugural incarnation of the series, Morgan le Fay orders the kids to go on missions through time and all around the world to solve ancient riddles, save ancient stories, and become Master Librarians. This is possible through their tree house, which allows them to perform TimeTravel.