Polar Bears Past Bedtime

Read Polar Bears Past Bedtime Online

Authors: Mary Pope Osborne

Tags: #Ages 5 and up

BOOK: Polar Bears Past Bedtime
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Mary Pope Osborne, author of
the Magic Tree House series:

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—K. Mahoney

Dear Readers,

A while ago, I began researching the Arctic because so many of you wanted Jack and Annie to go there. When I came across a certain astonishing fact, I got very excited about writing the story. The fact was this:
Even though polar bears can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, they can walk on ice that is too thin to hold a person!
How do they do this? They lie flat on the ice and
perfectly
balance their weight so that the ice won't crack. Then they move forward by pulling with their claws, all the while maintaining their perfect balance.

As you'll see, this particular fact, combined with my imagination, helped me plot the story.

So if you were to ask me where I get the inspiration for my Magic Tree House books, I'd have to say: readers, research, and my imagination.
And
I get further inspiration from my editor, Mallory Loehr, who has worked on all the books with me. She and I have fun meetings in which we go over and over the ideas for each book.

I hope you enjoy reading
Polar Bears Past Bedtime
as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it. And I hope it will inspire you to try researching and writing your
own
book.

All best,

Text copyright © 1998 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Illustrations copyright © 1998 by Sal Murdocca.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

www.randomhouse.com/kids

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Osborne, Mary Pope. Polar bears past bedtime / by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.
p. cm. — (Magic Tree House ; #12) “A Stepping Stone book.”
SUMMARY:
Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to the Arctic, where a polar bear leads them onto very thin ice.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89469-5
[1. Polar bear—Fiction. 2. Arctic regions—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.
4. Tree houses—Fiction.]
I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series ; #12. PZ7.O81167Po 1997 [E]—dc21 97-15624

Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland

v3.0.30

For Mallory Loehr
with gratitude for taking the journey
twelve times.

      
Cover

      
Title Page

      
Dear Readers

      
Copyright

      
Dedication

  
1. Are You Serious?

  
2. The Howling

  
3. Mush!

  
4. Snow House

  
5. You're It!

  
6. Flying Bears

  
7. Spirit Lights

  
8. Riddle Solved

  
9. Oh, No, One More!

10. Master Librarians

      
More Facts

      
Special Preview of Magic Tree House #13: Vacation Under the Volcano

Whoo
. The strange sound came from outside the open window.

Jack opened his eyes in the dark.

The sound came again.
Whoo.

Jack sat up and turned on his light. He put on his glasses. Then he grabbed the flashlight from his table and shone it out the window.

A white snowy owl was sitting on a tree branch.


Whoo,
” the owl said again. Its large yellow eyes looked right into Jack's.

What does he want?
Jack wondered.
Is he a sign, like the rabbit and the gazelle?

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