The Magic Tree House — Hurricane Heroes in Texas

I’ve discovered a charming children’s chapter book series that turns history into an exciting adventure. Readers follow young Jack and Annie as they are transported through time with their magical, book-filled tree house to explore history, science, and cultures, and help others on exciting and historical quests.

In Book No. 30, “Hurricane Heroes in Texas,” the brother-and-sister duo finds themselves dropped in one of my favorite places in the world, Galveston Island, as the Great Storm of 1900 rolls ashore.

Jack and Annie find themselves not only helping a young woman and her baby but also called upon to play a much larger heroic part in the historic storm, the worst natural disaster in American history.

With a riddle crafted by their advisor, librarian Morgan le Fay, to teach them their purpose on the island, Jack and Annie find themselves not only helping a young woman and her baby but also called upon to play a much larger heroic part in the historic storm, the worst natural disaster in American history.

The series by Mary Pope Osborne, launched in 1992, continues with more than 130 books, including the original Magic Tree House adventures, as well as “Merlin’s Missions,” a more challenging set of exploits assigned by the wizard Merlin, and a series of graphic novels. The books have sold more than 134 million copies and are translated into 33 languages. They’re perfect for readers ages 6 through 9.