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Magic Tree House #12
Polar Bears Past Bedtime
The Magic Tree House transportss Jack and Annie to the freezing Arctic. There, they must solve the final riddle to become master librarians. But it's not going to be easy--especially when they have cracking ice, a seal hunter, and a prodigious polar bear to deal with. Will they be able to solve the riddle before they get iced themselves?
71 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
514 people are currently reading
3513 people want to read
About the author
Mary Pope Osborne
582 books2,700 followersMary 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. One of four children, Osborne 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 Osborne.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 454 reviews
September 2, 2020
The story explains the life at the Arctic. It gives facts about how the clothes are made, what the people there eat, the different animals like the white bears and the survival through winter. The children have a wonderful educational time.
June 22, 2024
Another good installment in the series. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my favorite but I’m excited for Jack and Annie to take on another story arc since they are now master librarians.
January 31, 2026
Listened to this audiobook with my first grader while we were crocheting.
This story followed siblings Jack and Annie. Jack heard an owl so he called for his sister to his room. They both make a trip to Frog Creek by their house in their pajamas. Up the Magic Tree House, Morgan la Fay was waiting for them. She gave them another riddle to solve. This time, the Magic Tree House took them to the tundra where it's icy and cold. The seal hunter came to their rescue with warm clothes made of seal skin. Readers learned about how important seals are for human survival in that cold climate. There Jack and Annie explore the igloo and they played with the polar bear babies. They got stuck in the thin ice but they followed the lead of the polar bear mom and got out safely. They solved the riddle and went home. They now earned their title as Masters Librarian.
Another great action and adventure story!
We listened to this audiobook via Cloud Library app.
This story followed siblings Jack and Annie. Jack heard an owl so he called for his sister to his room. They both make a trip to Frog Creek by their house in their pajamas. Up the Magic Tree House, Morgan la Fay was waiting for them. She gave them another riddle to solve. This time, the Magic Tree House took them to the tundra where it's icy and cold. The seal hunter came to their rescue with warm clothes made of seal skin. Readers learned about how important seals are for human survival in that cold climate. There Jack and Annie explore the igloo and they played with the polar bear babies. They got stuck in the thin ice but they followed the lead of the polar bear mom and got out safely. They solved the riddle and went home. They now earned their title as Masters Librarian.
Another great action and adventure story!
We listened to this audiobook via Cloud Library app.
March 13, 2019
I am honestly blown away by this book. The magic tree house takes Annie and Jack to the arctic where they learn some very quick facts about Inuit culture (in the broadest possible terms), but that's not what impressed me so much (obviously). Throughout the story, Jack models really great research skills. They go on their journey with a book about the arctic and Jack consults it or their Inuit guide whenever they have questions. He constantly takes notes, and whenever something seems strange or magical he tries to find a logical, scientific explanation. I also happened to pick the book where they become Master Librarians, which really tickles me. Mary Pope Osborne clearly values reading, writing, and research skills, and these books are such a tremendous, rich way to inspire young people to take up those values.
I will definitely continue to recommend these books to kids. More excitingly, I will have added gusto when I talk them up to parents because now I know all the dynamite awesome things Mary Pope Osborne is low key promoting!
Another in a long line of books to attempt to read all the children's series my library has on the shelves.
I will definitely continue to recommend these books to kids. More excitingly, I will have added gusto when I talk them up to parents because now I know all the dynamite awesome things Mary Pope Osborne is low key promoting!
Another in a long line of books to attempt to read all the children's series my library has on the shelves.
January 4, 2020
Great fun read.
May 8, 2025
This entry in the series felt a little too silly. Not as much suspense or intrigue as the other books. Although, it was still very wholesome which made it enjoyable still.
March 8, 2020
Because I read this book in Spanish, I feel that is is only fitting to write a review in Spanish.
. . .
Muy bueno.
. . .
Thank you.
Translation: Very good.
I should probably give more context, shouldn't I?
Alright. I'm currently in Advanced Spanish and I tried to read Grimpow, a fantasy novel in Spanish but I was unable to as it was above my reading level and fantastically written, as fantasy books tend to be (making it hard as a language learner to unerstand all of the beautiful writing.) My mother was going through our old books to donate and came across many books in Spanish for grades K-2 that I figured would be a good start. This is part 1 of reading those books.
It was a thrilling read, but I don't quite know how to judge it because I am far from the intended audience. It lacked character development, but do kindergartners enjoying their first pleasure read really care about that? No.
So in conclusion, it was good. A nice, forty-five minute, 71 page, very-large-font read. Highly recommend. :)
. . .
Muy bueno.
. . .
Thank you.
Translation: Very good.
I should probably give more context, shouldn't I?
Alright. I'm currently in Advanced Spanish and I tried to read Grimpow, a fantasy novel in Spanish but I was unable to as it was above my reading level and fantastically written, as fantasy books tend to be (making it hard as a language learner to unerstand all of the beautiful writing.) My mother was going through our old books to donate and came across many books in Spanish for grades K-2 that I figured would be a good start. This is part 1 of reading those books.
It was a thrilling read, but I don't quite know how to judge it because I am far from the intended audience. It lacked character development, but do kindergartners enjoying their first pleasure read really care about that? No.
So in conclusion, it was good. A nice, forty-five minute, 71 page, very-large-font read. Highly recommend. :)
December 5, 2017
I read this book to my students. We read one chapter a day and the students really enjoyed the story. I thought reading Polar Bears was fitting for winter.
"The Magic Tree House transportss Jack and Annie to the freezing Arctic. There, they must solve the final riddle to become master librarians. But it's not going to be easy--especially when they have cracking ice, a seal hunter, and a prodigious polar bear to deal with. Will they be able to solve the riddle before they get iced themselves?"
"The Magic Tree House transportss Jack and Annie to the freezing Arctic. There, they must solve the final riddle to become master librarians. But it's not going to be easy--especially when they have cracking ice, a seal hunter, and a prodigious polar bear to deal with. Will they be able to solve the riddle before they get iced themselves?"
March 21, 2021
In this book another person helps them and not all of the books have this, although this isn't the only book like this. It's more than just a person, it's a polar bear, which is an animal. So far that isn't a thing, but just maybe she (Mary Pope Osborne) might start putting more animals in the books.
3 STARS⭐⭐⭐
3 STARS⭐⭐⭐
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2021
In a harrowing tale of "win some, lose some", the Croatian edition got a hardcover upgrade, but the translation and grammar suffered an intense downgrade.
August 9, 2015
Did I enjoy this book: This is the first “chapter book” that we read to our nearly 3-year-old son. We read it over the course of three nights (bedtime story), and he loves it! Polar Bears Past Bedtime is the twelfth of the Magic Tree House series, so the beginning of the story was a little confusing because we didn’t have any background knowledge about the series, but that didn’t detract from the story.
My young one was excited to follow the story of Annie and Jack through their arctic adventures. There was enough mystery and plot to keep him interested despite the fact that there’s only one page of pictures per chapter. The chapters have just enough content without being too long and a few cliff-hangers to urge young readers to keep reading.
As a parent, I enjoyed the fact that Polar Bears Past Bedtime interjects interesting facts about the arctic into the story. Not only was my child having fun reading about an adventure, he was also learning about husky dogs, polar bears, and the native seal hunters of the arctic. This is a neat way to increase knowledge and vocabulary in a fun and kind of sneaky way. Learning is always easier to do (and more effective) when it’s fun!
Would I recommend it: This is a good book for parents to read to kids with a good attention span. It would also be good for young readers (say, 2nd grade level) who are looking to read chapter books on their own.
As reviewed by Sara at Every Free Chance Books.
http://everyfreechance.com/2015/02/st...
My young one was excited to follow the story of Annie and Jack through their arctic adventures. There was enough mystery and plot to keep him interested despite the fact that there’s only one page of pictures per chapter. The chapters have just enough content without being too long and a few cliff-hangers to urge young readers to keep reading.
As a parent, I enjoyed the fact that Polar Bears Past Bedtime interjects interesting facts about the arctic into the story. Not only was my child having fun reading about an adventure, he was also learning about husky dogs, polar bears, and the native seal hunters of the arctic. This is a neat way to increase knowledge and vocabulary in a fun and kind of sneaky way. Learning is always easier to do (and more effective) when it’s fun!
Would I recommend it: This is a good book for parents to read to kids with a good attention span. It would also be good for young readers (say, 2nd grade level) who are looking to read chapter books on their own.
As reviewed by Sara at Every Free Chance Books.
http://everyfreechance.com/2015/02/st...
January 10, 2019
The nostalgia!!
December 29, 2019
Un libro que se lee prácticamente de un tirón y que no está mal para pasar el rato. Al estar dedicado a un público infantil, la historia no tiene demasiada complejidad, aunque tampoco es que sea una chorrada.
Los protagonistas son Jack y Annie, dos niños que deben ir al Ártico para resolver una serie de enigmas que les asignan. El problema es que a ellos esto no los pilla por sorpresa y yo sí que me perdí un poco con el asunto, aunque ya aclaro que es culpa mía porque éste es el cuento número 12 de una saga muy larga y yo no he leído los anteriores. Creo recordar que el libro me lo dieron hace unos años y ni sabía que formaba parte de una saga hasta que lo vi en Goodreads. En todo caso, una vez pasadas las primeras páginas, entendí más o menos qué estaba pasando exactamente y me pude centrar en ver si Jack y Annie lograban su objetivo.
Más que contar una historia, creo que el objetivo de la autora es enseñar. Las personas que leamos el cuento siendo adultas no nos sorprenderemos con muchos datos que se dan y que están relacionados con el Ártico, pero es probable que los niños sí que los vean más interesantes. Por ejemplo: yo sé lo que son las auroras boreales y los iglús, pero para un niño puede ser algo totalmente nuevo. Las explicaciones son sencillas y, como el libro tiene ilustraciones, algunas vienen acompañadas de una representación gráfica. Además, al estar bien encajadas dentro de lo que es la aventura que Jack y Annie viven, no resultan forzadas y se nota que esa información tiene un sentido.
El cuento es entretenido y se lee en un abrir y cerrar de ojos. No es que sea extraordinario, pero solo tiene 73 páginas y encima el tamaño de la letra es grande, así que no dudéis en darle una oportunidad si tenéis ocasión.
Los protagonistas son Jack y Annie, dos niños que deben ir al Ártico para resolver una serie de enigmas que les asignan. El problema es que a ellos esto no los pilla por sorpresa y yo sí que me perdí un poco con el asunto, aunque ya aclaro que es culpa mía porque éste es el cuento número 12 de una saga muy larga y yo no he leído los anteriores. Creo recordar que el libro me lo dieron hace unos años y ni sabía que formaba parte de una saga hasta que lo vi en Goodreads. En todo caso, una vez pasadas las primeras páginas, entendí más o menos qué estaba pasando exactamente y me pude centrar en ver si Jack y Annie lograban su objetivo.
Más que contar una historia, creo que el objetivo de la autora es enseñar. Las personas que leamos el cuento siendo adultas no nos sorprenderemos con muchos datos que se dan y que están relacionados con el Ártico, pero es probable que los niños sí que los vean más interesantes. Por ejemplo: yo sé lo que son las auroras boreales y los iglús, pero para un niño puede ser algo totalmente nuevo. Las explicaciones son sencillas y, como el libro tiene ilustraciones, algunas vienen acompañadas de una representación gráfica. Además, al estar bien encajadas dentro de lo que es la aventura que Jack y Annie viven, no resultan forzadas y se nota que esa información tiene un sentido.
El cuento es entretenido y se lee en un abrir y cerrar de ojos. No es que sea extraordinario, pero solo tiene 73 páginas y encima el tamaño de la letra es grande, así que no dudéis en darle una oportunidad si tenéis ocasión.
June 29, 2012
As I always say, my 8 year old niece brought me the first 2 of these books to read. She loves them and she wanted me to read them too so we can talk about them. I find them fun and informative for kids about different time periods and different things around the world.
I decided on book 5 to start reading them aloud for my dogs enjoyment too. (I know, you may think I am crazy - but they like them. Well one gets rather scared sometimes, but the other loves to listen).
This book isn't really that different from the rest other than there is a different location, different information the kids learn while there, and different animals and a different person they meet. However, I still think these books are great for kids. They can help kids learn to love reading by tagging along with Jack and Annie on a different adventure in each book! They also LEARN stuff along the way which is another thing that makes these books great for kids. I like the way that the author started in books 4-8 and now the different theme in books 9-12 that involves an overarching story-line that keeps kids interested enough to read the next one or next few to find out what happens. This can only be a a good thing because it keeps the kids interested in reading and keeps them learning new information in such a fun way!
I would recommend this book & this series to anyone who has children in their lives. I think these books are especially good for children who like to learn different things in an adventurous way. They may even help kids who do not like to read learn to love the written word. They could help kids improve their reading skills too along with their knowledge.
SPOILERS BELOW
In reviewing a book, the part I enjoy most is making notes on what I liked best and sometimes even least from a story. I like to make notes on things that occurred during the story, so that when I come back later (could be in a day, a week, a month, a year or even many years later), I can see what notes I made about a story and it helps refresh me on it. If I read my notes later, I am often able to remember the majority of the story.
This story was just as interesting, fun and fact filled as the rest have been so far. I love how in this one there is an owl who wakes up Jack and he decides to go and ask his sister Annie what it is saying. I love the author's tendency to keep up with some re-occurring things in each book; one being that Annie can talk to animals and knows what they are saying. In this book, the owl was sent by Morgan to let Jack and Annie know she was waiting for them at the Magic Tree house. The owl was telling them to hurry, so they scampered off in their pajamas to find out what Morgan had in store for them.
I really enjoy reading about the different places Jack and Annie get to go in these books and the Arctic was just as enjoyable as the rest so far. I liked that Morgan had their 4th riddle ready for them and when Jack was worried about being in pajamas she assured him she was sending someone to help them. The hunter with his dogsled and seal skin suits for Jack and Annie was a nice addition to this story. I really thought it was cute that Jack and Annie got to play with the Polar Bear cubs and had so much fun during this trip. Their trips have usually seemed to be filled with more urgency and more danger, and this one seemed to have a lighter tone which was nice for a change.
However, fear not! There was some danger in this one too when Jack and Annie ended up on thin ice with the Polar Bear cubs. It was great planning with the writing that Jack had been looking at the Polar Bear masks before he had to chase off to find Annie. If he had not been looking at them, he would not have shoved them in his backpack in a hurry before he left. It turned out that once the mother Polar Bear came looking for her cubs and Jack and Annie put on the masks. The mother Polar Bear did not get mad and attack them, she just wanted to save her cubs from the cracking ice. I liked the information added in that a Polar Bear can weigh over 1,000 pounds but can move across thin and cracking ice without falling through by lying down and evenly distributing its weight. This is how it rescued its cubs in this story. It was great that Jack and Annie had the book with them to learn this, so they could try the same thing and were able to return to safety as well!
I liked the addition of the information on the northern lights and the way of the Arctic people thanking the animal spirits and learning from the animals. It is the little facts in these books that I enjoy so much about them. It is such a great way for teaching children how to be appreciative and knowledgeable about different cultures.
I did not even get the answer to the riddle in this story until RIGHT before it was revealed. I was too interested in following along while reading it out loud to my dogs. What a great riddle. I was surprised when they made it back to the Tree House though that there was even a 5th riddle added in using the first letter of each of their previous riddle answers and then unscrambling to find a word. This again is a great addition to the writing by Mary Pope Osborne.
In the end, I was happy the kids learned something, had fun, and solved the riddles. I am glad that Jack and Annie completed their missions and now have become Master Librarians like Morgan. I can't wait to take these back to the library and get some more to continue reading in this series. I will have plenty to talk to my niece about on our vacation which starts next week! I can't wait to find out what Jack and Annie have to do next. I am wondering if there will be another over-arching story that takes place through more than one story like in 5-8 or 9-12. I am sure there will be something up Osborne's sleeve.
I decided on book 5 to start reading them aloud for my dogs enjoyment too. (I know, you may think I am crazy - but they like them. Well one gets rather scared sometimes, but the other loves to listen).
This book isn't really that different from the rest other than there is a different location, different information the kids learn while there, and different animals and a different person they meet. However, I still think these books are great for kids. They can help kids learn to love reading by tagging along with Jack and Annie on a different adventure in each book! They also LEARN stuff along the way which is another thing that makes these books great for kids. I like the way that the author started in books 4-8 and now the different theme in books 9-12 that involves an overarching story-line that keeps kids interested enough to read the next one or next few to find out what happens. This can only be a a good thing because it keeps the kids interested in reading and keeps them learning new information in such a fun way!
I would recommend this book & this series to anyone who has children in their lives. I think these books are especially good for children who like to learn different things in an adventurous way. They may even help kids who do not like to read learn to love the written word. They could help kids improve their reading skills too along with their knowledge.
SPOILERS BELOW
In reviewing a book, the part I enjoy most is making notes on what I liked best and sometimes even least from a story. I like to make notes on things that occurred during the story, so that when I come back later (could be in a day, a week, a month, a year or even many years later), I can see what notes I made about a story and it helps refresh me on it. If I read my notes later, I am often able to remember the majority of the story.
This story was just as interesting, fun and fact filled as the rest have been so far. I love how in this one there is an owl who wakes up Jack and he decides to go and ask his sister Annie what it is saying. I love the author's tendency to keep up with some re-occurring things in each book; one being that Annie can talk to animals and knows what they are saying. In this book, the owl was sent by Morgan to let Jack and Annie know she was waiting for them at the Magic Tree house. The owl was telling them to hurry, so they scampered off in their pajamas to find out what Morgan had in store for them.
I really enjoy reading about the different places Jack and Annie get to go in these books and the Arctic was just as enjoyable as the rest so far. I liked that Morgan had their 4th riddle ready for them and when Jack was worried about being in pajamas she assured him she was sending someone to help them. The hunter with his dogsled and seal skin suits for Jack and Annie was a nice addition to this story. I really thought it was cute that Jack and Annie got to play with the Polar Bear cubs and had so much fun during this trip. Their trips have usually seemed to be filled with more urgency and more danger, and this one seemed to have a lighter tone which was nice for a change.
However, fear not! There was some danger in this one too when Jack and Annie ended up on thin ice with the Polar Bear cubs. It was great planning with the writing that Jack had been looking at the Polar Bear masks before he had to chase off to find Annie. If he had not been looking at them, he would not have shoved them in his backpack in a hurry before he left. It turned out that once the mother Polar Bear came looking for her cubs and Jack and Annie put on the masks. The mother Polar Bear did not get mad and attack them, she just wanted to save her cubs from the cracking ice. I liked the information added in that a Polar Bear can weigh over 1,000 pounds but can move across thin and cracking ice without falling through by lying down and evenly distributing its weight. This is how it rescued its cubs in this story. It was great that Jack and Annie had the book with them to learn this, so they could try the same thing and were able to return to safety as well!
I liked the addition of the information on the northern lights and the way of the Arctic people thanking the animal spirits and learning from the animals. It is the little facts in these books that I enjoy so much about them. It is such a great way for teaching children how to be appreciative and knowledgeable about different cultures.
I did not even get the answer to the riddle in this story until RIGHT before it was revealed. I was too interested in following along while reading it out loud to my dogs. What a great riddle. I was surprised when they made it back to the Tree House though that there was even a 5th riddle added in using the first letter of each of their previous riddle answers and then unscrambling to find a word. This again is a great addition to the writing by Mary Pope Osborne.
In the end, I was happy the kids learned something, had fun, and solved the riddles. I am glad that Jack and Annie completed their missions and now have become Master Librarians like Morgan. I can't wait to take these back to the library and get some more to continue reading in this series. I will have plenty to talk to my niece about on our vacation which starts next week! I can't wait to find out what Jack and Annie have to do next. I am wondering if there will be another over-arching story that takes place through more than one story like in 5-8 or 9-12. I am sure there will be something up Osborne's sleeve.
Read
January 13, 2021Read to Elliott
January 8, 2023
I read this after lunch. It was good because they made friends with two baby polar bears and they saw the Northern Lights. This is the last Magic Treehouse book I have, so I begged my mom to go to the library when I finished this so I could get more, and she took me before dinner.
Read
January 9, 2026very unrealistic depiction of mama polar bears...she definitely would've killed jack and annie
September 17, 2025
Sometimes you gotta revisit your roots
March 15, 2012
Since I couldn't think of any witty opener to this review I will simply: *INSERT ICE-BREAKER HERE*
Jack & Annie are at it again! They are on a mission in the Arctic to solve the 4th riddle so they can become Master Librarians and help Morgan even more. Can they take the freeze? Do polar bears fly? Along the way they will meet polar bears, Siberian huskies and a seal hunter. ---(My favorite picture was the one with the Snowy Owl)----
Until the next adventure!
Jack & Annie are at it again! They are on a mission in the Arctic to solve the 4th riddle so they can become Master Librarians and help Morgan even more. Can they take the freeze? Do polar bears fly? Along the way they will meet polar bears, Siberian huskies and a seal hunter. ---(My favorite picture was the one with the Snowy Owl)----
Until the next adventure!
September 7, 2019
I liked all of the parts. I thought the glowing in the sky was interesting.
July 19, 2020
The Magic Tree House series became an instant hit for my 8-year-old son. I learned very quickly why the series quickly became a classic. Osbourne's stories draw the reader in and make them feel a part of the adventure and escape the world for a little while. The mystery really appeals to me and I find myself wanting to stay up past bedtime reading with him to find out what happens next. Reading this series every night with my son has become a huge tradition to him. He gets very upset if we miss reading a night. The Magic Tree House series is clean, suitable for any age, and fun for adults as well.
(Because the series is so large and stories short I will not be doing reviews on each book unless there is something specific to address.)
(Because the series is so large and stories short I will not be doing reviews on each book unless there is something specific to address.)
May 7, 2019
The kids did the audio version of this, narrated by Mary Osborne today. Her voice has the right combination of soothing yet still engaging. An odd choice to explore the tundra and igloos and Inuit culture while we are in the throes of soon- to-be summer heat down here in Louisiana.
The mysticism was a bit much, what with the spirit of honoring the polar bear, but it was a nod to the folklore of the culture that I can appreciate.
The mysticism was a bit much, what with the spirit of honoring the polar bear, but it was a nod to the folklore of the culture that I can appreciate.
September 9, 2019
Read at the request of my boys. I get the feeling I'm missing background information, such as why Morgan le Fay is a librarian sending the children in a quest. And why they have to solve a riddle in the Arctic that is so ridiculous no one could solve it or guess the meaning unless a very specific combination of events occurred. The sole redeeming feature was that there were two or three facts to learn about the Arctic!
February 1, 2019
Carli’s review: I noticed that the Arctic had no trees. One thing I pictured was that the seal hunter, his dog sled, and his dogs. I wonder why the library cards were made out of wood? My favorite part was when they played with the cute baby polar bears and saw the Northern Lights.
December 29, 2017
cuuute
March 3, 2021
I like to learn.
February 1, 2022
I like how they were polar bears in there journey.But I don’t like how they went near a very dangerous animal called the :POLAR BEAR!!!So I gave the book 4 stars.
February 26, 2022
I learned a lot of new things from this one!!
January 8, 2023
RATED AND REVIEWED BY M, my 7-year-old: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(I also read this as a kid.)
(I also read this as a kid.)
September 22, 2023
I really liked the visual imagery of the Arctic, as well as the emphasis on Indigenous people thanking the animals for what they provide.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 454 reviews