“I’m one of those very lucky people who absolutely loves what they do for a living. There is no career better suited to my eccentricities, strengths, and passions than that of a children’s book author.”

All About Mary Pope Osborne Grew up in the military By the age of 15, she had lived in Oklahoma, Austria, Florida, and four different Army posts in Virginia and North Carolina. She had a twin brother, younger brother, and older sister Dad retired in a small town in NC where she nearly went crazy with boredom. She craved the adventure and changing scenery of military life.

Found Adventure at… at the local community theater. “When I stepped from the sunny street into that musty- smelling, dark little theater, all things seemed possible”

College Studied drama at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Began studying mythology and religion during her junior year Began to learn as much as possible about other cultures

After college… Mary Pope Osborne traveled around the world (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal) Nearly lost their lives in an earthquake in Afghanistan and then a riot in Kabul Got blood poisoning in Kathmandu and ended up in the hospital for two weeks where she did a lot of reading.

Meeting Mr. Osborne At a play in Washington, D.C. Mary Pope Osborne fell in love with her husband, Will, an actor and musician.

One day out of the blue… Mary Pope Osborne began writing a story about an eleven year old girl in the South. “The girl was a lot like me, and many of the incidents in the story were similar to happenings in my childhood.” Became the young adult novel Run, Run as Fast as You Can

“Now twenty years and more than fifty books later, I feel I’m one of the most fortunate people on earth. I’ve been an elegant spider detective who plays jazz clarinet, and a small girl traveling on the back of a moonhorse. I’ve journeyed through Greek mythology, Norse mythology, medieval stories, and American tall tales. I’ve “met” George Washington and Ben Franklin, and without even leaving my home, I’ve traveled around the globe, learning about religions of the world. Most recently, I’ve taken journeys through space in The Magic Tree House, visiting the times of dinosaurs, knights, mummies, pirates, and ninjas traveling to the rain forest, the Ice Age, the moon, a coral reef, the Wild West, Africa, and the Arctic. The Magic Tree House has also whisked me to schools all over the country, and the contact I now have with children has brought overwhelming joy into my life. I love the letters I get from them and I love reading countless Magic Tree House stories that they’ve written. I feel as if these kids and I are exploring the creative process together, using our imaginations plus our reading and writing skills to take us wherever we want to go. This, I tell my small fellow authors, is true magic.”

Mary Pope Osborne works with her husband Will and her sister Natalie on the nonfiction companion series, Magic Tree House Research Guides.

Sources Mary Pope Osborne ources&id=