Annie wakes Jack up at midnight to go to the tree house. She says that the moon makes it bright enough to see. Moonlight is shining through the window and they can see the three M things resting on the M on the floor. They need just one more M thing to free Morgan from her spell.

Midnight on the Moon, Magic Tree House #8 by Mary Pope Osborne

Inside the Magic Tree House, resting on top of the shimmering letter M are the three M things: a moonstone from the time of the ninjas, a mango from the Amazon rain forest, and a mammoth bone from the Ice Age. They just need to find one for M thing to free Morgan from her spell.

Peanut, the little mouse is joining them on this adventure, but it’s so dark and shadowy at midnight in the tree house that they almost can’t see the book to know where they are going to go. The words are bigger on the cover of the book Hello, Moon!. They know that they can’t actually go to the moon because there isn’t air and they would boil to death during the day and freeze at night. Then Jack sees a picture of a dome-shaped structure – a space station and says “I wish we could go there”.

The tree house lands inside a space station built in 2031. They have traveled to the future on the moon! Looking out the windows it is a rocky, gray land filled with giant craters and tall mountains, the sun is shining and the sky looks ink-black. They find bulky white space suits, air tanks, helmets, gloves and boots that fit over their clothes.

They find that they can jump like rabbits out on the surface of the moon because of the moon’s low gravity. Then they find a moon buggy that Annie is sure she can drive and traveling out on the moon they come upon the American flag placed by the first men on the moon in July 1969.

Out the window they see a moon man coming towards them and decide they better get back to their tree house. The moon buggy gets stuck and they have to get out and travel on foot. Soon they are almost out of air. The moon man comes and draws them a clue. When they connect the dots they discover the answer to the spell and Morgan will now be able to return.

When they return to Frog Creek and look up to the moon they realize just how very far they were away from home and are glad to be back in Pennsylvania.

Midnight on the Moon and Space- FACT TRACKER


Note: All Magic Tree House books are from my personal library.

Other books about the moon: I Took the Moon for a Walk, If You Decide To Go To The Moon and The Moon Inside.

Children's Books

List of Dr. Seuss Books
Don Freeman's Books
List of Magic Tree House Books
Chronicles of Narnia Books
A Series of Unfortunate Events Books