Time of the Turtle King

Mary Pope Osborne's Time of the Turtle King is a Magic Tree House adventure for 6 year olds with a volcano, a helicopter and a very old tortoise.

What happens

Early one Tuesday, Annie spots an albatross circling the house. That means the tree house is back. Inside there's a rhyme from Morgan and two blank badges.

The tree house lands in a palm tree on a beach in the Galápagos Islands. When Jack and Annie clip the badges on, words appear. WORLD TURTLE EXPERT! Suddenly they know everything about tortoises, and every grown-up who sees the badges treats them like real experts.

Annie loves it. Jack isn't so sure. He doesn't sound like himself, and he keeps telling Annie facts she already knows (she's wearing a badge too, Jack).

There's so much lovely animal detail. Pink iguanas, sea lions lying on their backs, flamingos, birds with blue feet. At the Giant Tortoise Center there are eggs the size of tennis balls with tiny hatchlings crawling between them. Who knew a baby that small could grow to weigh more than five hundred pounds?

Then two soldiers arrive with a helicopter. Lava from the Blue Hill volcano is flowing towards the last tortoises on its slopes, and the World Turtle Experts are needed.

It's exciting for this age, with smoke, burning grass and a river of lava creeping down the hill. The real heart of it is quieter though. Morgan's rhyme tells them to be honest and gentle and to talk heart to heart, and that ends up mattering far more than any expert fact.

Jack comes close to tears more than once, and Annie tells him it's okay to cry. That's a lovely thing for a young reader to hear.

At the back there's a short note explaining that the story is based on a real eruption on Isabela Island, when giant tortoises were airlifted to safety. Your reader might like knowing it really happened.

Your reader doesn't need to have read any other Magic Tree House books first. The story's opening explains the tree house and Morgan.

What to read next

If your reader wants more sea creatures with their magic, try Dolphins at Daybreak. Morgan sends Jack and Annie to a coral reef with an ocean guide and a riddle to solve.