PARENTING TIPS
PREGNANCY
BABY CARE
TODDLERS
TEENS
HEALTH CARE
ACTIVITIES & CRAFTS
If your beginning reader ages 6 to 9 loves The Magic Tree House chapter books and they’ve finished the entire series, they’re probably wondering what books to read next. Not to worry. I’ve made a list of books like the Magic Tree House books. (Read alikes!)
What are the Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne about?
The Magic Tree House books are about a brother and sister who find a tree house filled with books. When the siblings wish to go somewhere, they wish on the book about the place and are magically transported to another time period. These are fun historical adventures with a bit of fantasy, too written by Mary Pope Osborne and illustrated by Sal Murdocca.
Here are the books in the Magic Tree House series:
-Dinosaurs Before Dark (#1)
-The Knight at Dawn (#2)
-Mummies in the Morning (#3)
-Pirates Past Noon (#4)
-Night of the Ninjas (#5)
-Afternoon on the Amazon (#6)
-Sunset of the Sabertooth (#7)
-Midnight on the Moon (#8)
-Dolphins at Daybreak (#9)
-Ghost Town at Sundown (#10)
-Lions at Lunchtime (#11)
-Polar Bears Past Bedtime (#12)
-Vacation Under the Volcano (#13)
-Day of the Dragon King (#14)
-Viking Ships at Sunrise (#15)
-Hour of the Olympics (#16)
-Tonight on the Titanic (#17)
-Buffalo Before Breakfast (#18)
-Tigers at Twilight (#19)
-Dingoes at Dinnertime (#20)
-Civil War on Sunday (#21)
-Revolutionary War on Wednesday (#22)
-Twister on Tuesday (#23)
-Earthquake in the Early Morning (#24)
-Stage Fright on a Summer Night (#25)
-Good Morning, Gorillas (#26)
-Thanksgiving on Thursday (#27)
-High Tide in Hawaii (#28)
Magic Tree House Books
Order the Magic Tree House books in a boxed set and get started reading!
We also love the audiobooks narrated by the author, Mary Pope Osborne.
What are the Magic Tree House Merlin Missions?
The Merlin Missions are books for more experienced readers. Merlin sends Jack and Annie on new missions starting with Christmas in Camelot. Read this series after the Magic Tree House.
Here are all the titles in the Merlin Missions series.
Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (#2), Summer of the Sea Serpent (#3), Winter of the Ice Wizard (#4), Carnival at Candlelight (#5), Season of the Sandstorm (#6), Night of the New Magicians (#7), Blizzard of the Blue Moon (#8), Dragon of the Red Dawn (#9), Monday with a Mad Genius (#10), Dark Day in the Deep Sea (#11), Eve of the Emperor Penguin (#12), Moonlight on the Magic Flute (#13), A Good Night for Ghosts (#14), Leprechaun in Late Winter (#15), A Ghost Tale for Christmas (#16), A Crazy Day with Cobras (#17), Dogs in the Dead of Night (#18), Abe Lincoln at Last (#19), A Perfect Time for Pandas (#20), Stallion by Starlight (#21), Hurry Up, Houdini! (#22), High Time for Heroes (#23), Soccer on Sunday (#24), and Shadow of the Shark (#25).
Where are the Fact Trackers?
Natalie Pope Boyce writes informational books with fact trackers to pair with the fictional books. So for the first book called Dionsaurs Before Dark, read the true facts about dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Fact Tracker.
These nonfiction books support readers with factual information about each book’s subject, whether it’s mummies, pirates, or knights.
What are Books Like Magic Tree House Books?
The Magic Tree House books combine fantasy, sibling cooperation, history, and mystery in compelling, well-written stories. The books on this read-alike book list also include some of those elements– and are at about the same reading level.
Chapter Books Like Magic Tree House
In the times of castles and kingdoms, Drake learns he is a dragon master (and that dragons are real!) He must train with the other kids to master his dragon, an earth dragon. This is an adventurous fantasy chapter book that will interest almost any child as it has just the right amount of conflict, adventure, and excitement.
The Last Firehawk: The Ember Stone by Katrina Charman, illustrated by Jeremy Norton
Tag is in training to become an Owl of Valor. One day while playing tag with his squirrel friend, Skyla, Tag finds a golden egg who hatches into a Firehawk, the last one alive. Tag and friends must keep the Firehawk, Blaze, safe. Then they’ll quest to find the magical stone that may save their land from the Vulture and his army of tiger bats. This easy chapter book introduces kids to epic fantasy stories with the theme of good vs. evil.
A to Z Mysteries by Rob Roy
This addictive mystery series will keep your kids reading for hours and days and months. My kids read them all more than once – we highly recommend this series!
This is a funny 20-book series about Wiglaf, who attends a fairly terrible school for dragon slayers, has a pet pig who speaks pig Latin (HA), and is friends with Eric, who is Erica, a princess longing for adventure. The hapless and greedy director sends his students to kill the dragons and steal its gold. In order to kill the dragons, the students must find figure out the dragon’s weakness which, in the first book, is bad knock-knock jokes that make the dragon explode!
My oldest daughter read most of this series of books about kids who are transported to another world — one where there are magic and magical creatures. But how will they get home? The traveling to other worlds reminds me of the magic Tree House books!
Key Hunters and the Mysterious Moonstone (Key Hunters #1) by Eric Luper
In this first book, two friends discover a letter from their favorite librarian saying she’s trapped in a book. They decide to go into a book to rescue her. They arrive in 19th century England to help a detective find a stolen gem. Here the story starts racing along with perfect pacing and entertainment value. If you like this story, there are already five more books in the series to keep you reading.
The Philly Fake Ballpark Mysteries by David A. Kelly, illustrated by Mark Meyers
Not only is this a well-written mystery, but I also love how the author included so much history within the story. It’s one of my top picks for early chapter books.
Mrs. Frogbottom’s Field Trips I Want My Mummy by Nancy Krulik
Welcome to 4th grade with a teacher whose magic map transports the entire class worldwide. Mrs. Frogbottom takes the class to Egypt — and our narrator, Tony, does not like it one bit, not the black cat following them, not that his friend Sofia disappears, and not that Aiden wanders into a tomb where the friends get trapped! Camels, too much sand, pyramids, tombs, and an actual mummy make this terrified student very glad to return home.
Secret Spy Society The Case of the Missing Cheetah by Veronica Mang
Three friends find out that their teacher is a spy…and when she catches them watching her, they get to meet her historically famous spy friends from different time periods. The girls help them spy on a neighbor who maybe kidnapped Josephine Baker’s pet cheetah. Afterward, the girls decide to emulate their new spy friends and make a spy club of their own.
Zebra at the Zoo: Mysteries on Zoo Lane by Patricia Reilly Giff, illustrated by Abby Carter
Relatable and lovely, this beginning chapter book is about making mistakes, fixing them, saving animals, and kindness. Alex is having a tough day. Before school, he snuck into the zoo and gets caught. At school, he doesn’t get his favorite animal, the red panda, for his animal report — instead, he gets the wolf. Even worse, his cat Oreo is missing! When he stops to help his friend Callie who is crying, his kindness solves both their problems.
Undersea Mystery Club Problem at the Playground by Courtney Carbone, illustrated by Melanie Demmer
Not only is this beginning chapter book a creative, entertaining mystery story with adorable full-color illustrations but it shows the power of problem-solving, listening, and working together. Violet and her best friend, the always-hungry narwhal named Wally, need to find out who is sabotaging the playground. Helpful back matter provides information and photos about decorator crabs, narwhals, and civil engineers.
The Fabled Stables Willa the Wisp by Jonathan Auxier, illustrated by Olga Demidova
Auggie, the only human, lives on an island of mythical creatures but he’s lonely. When a new stall magically appears, Auggie enters and meets a Wisp who is hunted by ruthless magical poachers. It’s a darling start to a new series perfect for fantasy-loving readers.
Super Detectives Simon and Chester by Cale Atkinson
A new, funny beginning graphic novel! Nic and his ghost friend Simon are bored so they dress up and pretend to be detectives. The friends advertise but no one shows up — except a mysterious pug who doesn’t belong to them. Who is the pug? The detectives ask around and follow clues — and it’s hilarious!
The sibling’s parents buy a camper that turns out to be magical and transports them to locations around the United States where the two experience the local culture with adventures and excitement. In this first book, Finn and Molly go to Colorado. Yes, it sounds like the Magic Tree House books but with a camper and in the present day. However, it makes up for that with its settings that will build a child’s knowledge of U.S. geography and culture.
The Magical Animal Adoption Agency Clover’s Luck by Kallie George, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
Clover discovers and volunteers to work at the magical animal adoption agency in a deep part of the woods. But after just one day, Mr. Jams leaves Clover alone. That’s when Clover faces a wicked witch and an irritating princess while trying to take care of the animals. Fans of the Magic Tree House books will like the kids in charge storyline.
Ranger in Time #1: Rescue on the Oregon Trailby Kate Messner, illustrated by Kelley McMorris
Ranger, a golden retriever trained for search-and-rescue, travels back to the Oregon Trail to help a family in need. It’s a simple story that introduces the ups and downs of traveling on the Oregon Trail, first in a historical fiction series for beginning readers. Traveling through time is similar to the Magic Tree House books!
Friends and detectives, Jerry and Maya, go undercover in a jewelry store to figure out which of the three employees is stealing diamonds from the owner. It’s puzzling since all the employees are searched before they can leave the store. How are the diamonds going missing, and who is taking them?
Whatever After: Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski
Once upon a time, a regular girl and her brother accidentally went into a fairy tale. And messed it all up. (Whoops.) We love all the books in this series so far. The author cleverly reminds us of familiar fairy tales and the perils when you mess with the plot… These kept both my kids reading and reading.
Of Giants and Ice by Shelby Bach
When Rory finds out that her new after-school club at Ever After School is a fairy tale for fairy tale characters. In fact, her first day she fights a real dragon! We learn that all the kids will be assigned their own character in a familiar tale – and the chance to prove themselves. It’s also the beginning of acceptance for Rory – finding friends for the first time and learning about herself. Love it!
Hamster Princess Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon
This is a HILARIOUS remix of Sleeping Beauty. In this (much better) retelling, the princess realizes she can’t die until she’s 18 so therefore, she must be INVINCIBLE!! So far we have loved every story in this series and I think fans of the Magic Tree House books will, too.
Ava and Rosie reluctantly move to the zoo for the summer with their brother, writer mom, and teacher dad. They become worried about missing pronghorns and suspicious trucks just outside the fences. With the help of their brother Ethan, the siblings must figure out what’s happening and how to keep the animals safe. Throughout the book, you’ll find pages with activities like puzzles and mazes as well as information about the animals at the zoo.
