Blizzard of the Blue Moon: A Merlin Mission

you got lost.”
    “Not me,
you,”
said Jack. “You’re the one who got lost.”
    “No,
you,”
said Annie.
    “You,”
said Jack.
    “Youyouyouyouyou!” said Annie.
    Jack laughed. “Whatever,” he said. “Let’s go have some of Dad’s hot chocolate.”
    The snow began to fall harder. As the cold wind rattled the bare trees of the Frog Creek woods, Jack and Annie hurried home.

The Great Depression: Today, older New Yorkers remember the Great Depression as one of the most difficult times in the city’s history. Lasting from 1929 to about 1939, the Depression was a time when all of America, as well as much of Europe, suffered terrible economic problems that caused many people to lose their jobs.
    Subways: Today, millions of people ride the New York subways every day. There are over 400 miles of tracks. Riders no longer drop coins or tokens into a slot in the turnstiles, though. They now slide a MetroCard through an electronic card reader.
    Central Park: Today, more than 250,000 people might visit Central Park on a warm weekend and picnic, jog, skate, bicycle, listen to music, or walk dogs. Designed over 150 years ago, Central Park was the first major park created entirely for public use. Its designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, believed that nature could lift the spirits of city dwellers and bring together people from all walks of life.
    Belvedere Castle: Today, Belvedere Castle in Central Park serves as a nature observatory. If you live in New York City, you have often heard on TV or radio: “The temperature in Central Park is … “ That information is coming from the weather instruments that are still housed in the castle.
    John D. Rockefeller: Today, America remembers John D. Rockefeller as once being the richest man in the country. After founding the Standard Oil Company, he focused on giving away half of his fortune. Through the generosity of his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., a small museum in Fort Tryon Park in the northern partof the city was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That museum is known as the Cloisters.
    The Cloisters: Today, the Cloisters is filled with approximately 5,000 works of medieval art, including many works from Rockefeller’s own medieval art collection, such as the famous Unicorn Tapestries.
    Unicorns: Today, unicorns appear in old stories from countries all over the world, most notably China, India, and medieval Europe. There is no proof that unicorns ever actually existed, though. The only land animal with a single horn is a rhinoceros.

I have illustrated all the Magic Tree House books, but illustrating
Blizzard of the Blue Moon
has been the most enjoyable so far.
    My research for this project brought back many fond memories because as a student I often visited many of the places mentioned in the story, especially in Central Park, where I loved to sketch.
    Since I still live close to New York City, I came to the city several times and followed the same route that Jack and Annie took from Central Park to the Cloisters.
    Many of the places in the story are not verydifferent than they were in 1938, and I was able to sketch and photograph them. The taxis and the subway trains have changed, but I was able to find pictures of these in books.

Here’s a special preview of
Magic Tree House #37
(A Merlin Mission)

Dragon of the Red Dawn

    Available now!
    Excerpt copyright © 2007 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children's Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

T
ap, tap, tap.
    Jack was dreaming that a white bird was pecking at his window.
Tap … tap.
A red bird appeared and pecked with the white bird.
Tap … tap.
    “Jack, wake up!” said Annie.
    Jack opened his eyes.
    “They’re here!” said Annie.
    “Who? The birds?” said Jack.
    “No! Teddy and Kathleen!” Annie rushed to the window and waved outside. “They’re tossing pebbles at our windows.”
    “Teddy and Kathleen!” Jack jumped out of bed and joined Annie at the window.
    The two young enchanters of Camelot were standing in Jack and Annie’s front yard. They were dressed in long, dark cloaks. They smiled and waved up at Jack and Annie.
    “Merlin must have sent them!” said Jack.
    Teddy made a walking motion with his fingers and pointed toward the Frog Creek woods.
    Annie nodded eagerly. “They want us to meet them at the tree house!” she said to Jack. “Hurry and get dressed! Before Mom and Dad wake up!”
    Annie started out of Jack’s room.