A popular, prolific author for children and young adults, Mary Pope Osborne is considered a versatile writer who has contributed successfully to many of the genres encompassed by juvenile literature. Directing her books to an audience that ranges from preschool through high school, she has written picture books, realistic fiction, historical fiction, young-adult novels, nonfiction, and retellings, and has edited collections of stories, poetry, and songs. Osborne is also the creator of several series and related volumes. Osborne is perhaps best known for writing the “Magic Tree House” books, a best-selling, multi-volume collection of time-travel fantasies for primary graders. In these works, in which brother and sister Jack and Annie enter an enchanted tree house and have adventures in the past, present, and future, Osborne blends exciting plots with historical and scientific facts while emphasizing the power of books and reading. The author also has created two additional series to accompany her “Magic Tree House” volumes. The first of these, the “Merlin Missions” series, features stories about Jack and Annie that are inspired by myths and legends and are twice as long as their counterparts in the original series. With her husband. Will, and her sister, Natalie Pope Boyce, Osborne created the “Magic Tree House Fact Tracker” series, a collection of informational books that serve as companion volumes to several of the fictional titles in the main series. In addition, Osborne is the author of three volumes in the “My America” series, historical fiction in diary form about a young