Mary Pope Osborne books in order
American children's writer
- Born
- 1949
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 135
- Series
- 1
Mary Pope Osborne has published 8 novels, 24 novellas, 3 short story collections, 1 non-fiction book, 83 children's books, 1 poetry collection and 15 other books, beginning with Best Loved Folktales of the World (1982). The series is Magic Tree House (40 books, starting with Dinosaurs Before Dark). The best-known is Dinosaurs Before Dark (1992). The latest is Time of the Turtle King (2023).
Updated September 2026
Magic Tree House books in order (40)Series page
Reading order: 1 Dinosaurs Before Dark (1992) · 2 The Knight at Dawn (1999) · 3 Mummies in the Morning (1993) · 4 Pirates Past Noon (1999) · 5 Night of the Ninjas (1995) · 6 Afternoon on the Amazon (1995) · 7 Sunset of the Sabertooth (1996) · 8 Midnight on the Moon (1996) · 9 Dolphins at Daybreak (1997) · 10 Ghost Town at Sundown (1997) · … all 40 below
- 1.
Dinosaurs Before Dark (1992)
- 2.
The Knight at Dawn (1999)
- 3.
Mummies in the Morning (1993)
- 4.
Pirates Past Noon (1999)
- 5.
Night of the Ninjas (1995)
- 6.
Afternoon on the Amazon (1995)
- 7.
Sunset of the Sabertooth (1996)
- 8.
Midnight on the Moon (1996)
- 9.
Dolphins at Daybreak (1997)
- 10.
Ghost Town at Sundown (1997)
- 11.
Lions at Lunchtime (1998)
- 12.
Polar Bears Past Bedtime (1998)
- 13.
Vacation Under the Volcano (1998)
- 14.
Day of the Dragon King (1998)
- 15.
Viking Ships At Sunrise (1998)
- 16.
Hour of the Olympics (1986)
- 17.
Tonight on the Titanic (2003)
- 18.
Buffalo Before Breakfast (2003)
- 19.
Tigers at Twilight (1999)
- 20.
Dingoes at Dinnertime (2000)
- 21.
Civil War on Sunday (2006)
- 22.
Revolutionary War on Wednesday (2000)
- 23.
Twister on Tuesday (2001)
- 24.
Earthquake in the Early Morning (2001)
- 25.
Stage Fright on a Summer Night (2002)
- 26.
Good Morning, Gorillas (2002)
- 27.
Thanksgiving on Thursday (2002)
- 28.
High Tide in Hawaii (2003)
- 29.
A Big Day for Baseball (Magic Tree House (R)) (2017)
- 30.
Hurricane Heroes in Texas (2018)
- 31.
Warriors in Winter (Magic Tree House (R)) (2019)
- 32.
To the Future, Ben Franklin! (2019)
- 33.
Narwhal on a Sunny Night (2020)
- 34.
Late Lunch with Llamas (2020)
- 35.
Camp Time in California (2021)
- 36.
Sunlight on the Snow Leopard (2022)
- 37.
Rhinos at Recess (2023)
- 38.
Time of the Turtle King (2023)
- 39.
Windy Night with Wild Horses (2024)
- 40.
Sea Otter Sunrise (2025)
Where to start with Mary Pope Osborne
Start here
Dinosaurs Before Dark
Mary Pope Osborne's most-read book and the first of the 40 Magic Tree House books.
Shortest way in
Dragon of the Red Dawn
One of the most-read, at about 108 pages.
Newest
Time of the Turtle King
Published 2023.
Standalone novels in order
Best Wishes Joe Brady (1984)
Time to Dance (2002)
Novellas in order
Last One Home (1985)
Spider Kane and the Mystery Under the May-Apple (1992)
Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (2003)
Season of the Sandstorms (2005)
Blizzard of the Blue Moon (2006)
Christmas in Camelot (2006)
Dragon of the Red Dawn (2007)
Monday with a Mad Genius (2007)
Dark Day in the Deep Sea (2008)
Eve of the Emperor Penguin (2008)
Magic Tree House 3 (2008)
A Good Night for Ghosts (2009)
A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time (2010)
Soccer on Sunday (2014)
Magic Tree House Deluxe Edition (2020)
Short story collections in order
American Tall Tales (1991)
Mermaid Tales from Around the World (1993)
The Land of the Dead (2002)
Non-fiction in order
The Magic School Bus in a Sticky Situation (1997)
Children's books in order
Twins (1972)
Plants in Winter (1973)
Run, Run as Fast as You Can (1982)
Love Always, Blue (1983)
Hungry, Hungry Sharks (1986)
Laugh Book, the (1986)
Favorite Greek Myths (1988)
The Deadly Power of Medusa (1988)
Miss Mary Mack and Other Children's Street Rhymes (1990)
The Eentsy, Weentsy Spider (1991)
Who Put the Pepper in the Pot? (1991)
You Can't Smell a Flower With Your Ear! (1994)
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds (1995)
Dolphins at Daybreak Magic Tree House #9 (1997)
Standing in the Light (1998)
Fun on the Run (1999)
Rain Forests (1999)
Adaline Falling Star (2000)
Dinosaurs (2000)
Favorite Norse Myths (2000)
Kate and the Beanstalk (2000)
Knights and Castles (2000)
My Brother's Keeper (2000)
My Secret War (2000)
After the Rain (2001)
Mummies and Pyramids (Magic Tree House Research Guide) (2001)
Space (Magic Tree House Rsrch Gdes(R)) (2002)
Titanic (2002)
Tales from the Odyssey (2003)
Twisters and Other Terrible Storms (2003)
American Revolution (2004)
Lost in the Snow (2004)
Summer of the Sea Serpent (2004)
Tales from the Odyssey: The Final Battle - Book #6 (2004)
Carnival at Candlelight (2005)
Pompei (2006)
The Mysteries of Spider Kane (2006)
Polar Bears and the Arctic (Magic Tree House Research Guide) (2007)
Sea Monsters (2008)
Leonardo Da Vinci (2009)
Moonlight on the Magic Flute (2009)
Pilgrims (2009)
Leprechaun in Late Winter (2010)
Rags and Riches (2010)
A Crazy Day with Cobras (2011)
Abe Lincoln at Last! (2011)
Dog Heroes (2011)
Dogs in the Dead of Night (2011)
A Perfect Time For Pandas (2012)
Hurry Up, Houdini (Magic Tree House #50) (2012)
Magic Tricks from the Tree House (2013)
Stallion by Starlight (2013)
High Time for Heroes (2014)
Ninjas and Samurai (2014)
Soccer (2014)
Danger in the Darkest Hour (2015)
Shadow of the Shark (Magic Tree House #53) (2015)
Balto of the Blue Dawn (2016)
Dragons and Mythical Creatures (2016)
Night of the Ninth Dragon (2016)
Magic Tree House Merlin Missions Collection (2017)
Texas (2018)
Poetry in order
A New Treasury of Children's Poetry (1984)
Other books in order
Best Loved Folktales of the World (1982)
Large as Life Animals in Beautiful Life-Size Paintings (1990)
The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive (1997)
Favorite Medieval Tales (1998)
Magic Tree House Visits America (1998)
Magic Tree House (1999)
Magic Tree House Complete Set (Magic Tree House, 1 to 28) (2002)
Magic Treehouse Col #4 (2002)
Magic Tree House By Mary Pope Osborne 47 Paperback Book Set Includes Treehouse Books #1-47 (2014)
Sunset of the Sabertooth Graphic Novel (2024)
MTH Fact Tracker Graphic Novel (2025)
About Mary Pope Osborne
Mary Pope Osborne is an American author of children's books and audiobook narrator. She is best known as the author of the Magic Tree House series, which as of 2017 sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, including for Osborne's charitable efforts at promoting children's literacy. She had 3 other siblings, and moved around in her childhood before attending the University of North Carolina. Following college, Osborne traveled before moving to New York City. She somewhat spontaneously began to write, and her first book was published in 1982. She went on to write a variety of other children's and young adult books before starting the Magic Tree House series in 1992. Osborne's sister Natalie Pope Boyce has written several compendium books to the Magic Tree House series, sometimes with Osborne's husband Will.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Mary Pope Osborne FAQ
- How many books has Mary Pope Osborne written?
- Mary Pope Osborne has published 8 novels, 24 novellas, 3 short story collections, 1 non-fiction book, 83 children's books, 1 poetry collection and 15 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Mary Pope Osborne's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start Magic Tree House with Dinosaurs Before Dark. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is Mary Pope Osborne's latest book?
- Time of the Turtle King (2023).
- What is Mary Pope Osborne's most famous book?
- Dinosaurs Before Dark (1992) is Mary Pope Osborne's most widely read book.
- Are Mary Pope Osborne's books connected?
- 40 books belong to 1 series (Magic Tree House); the other 95 books stand alone.
Authors like Mary Pope Osborne
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.