Dark Day in the Deep Sea

Teachers and librarians love
Magic Tree House ® books, too!
    Thank you for opening faraway places and times to my class through your books. They have given me the chance to bring in additional books, materials, and videos to share with the class.
—J. Cameron
    It excites me to see how involved [my fourth-grade reading class] is in your books. . . . I would do anything to get my students more involved, and this has done it.
—C. Rutz
    I discovered your books last year. . . . WOW! Our students have gone crazy over them. I can’t order enough copies! . . . Thanks for contributing so much to children’s literature!
—C. Kendziora
    I first came across your Magic Tree House series when my son brought one home. . . . I have since introduced this great series to my class. They have absolutely fallen in love with these books! . . . My students are now asking me for more independent reading time to read them. Your stories have inspired even my most struggling readers.
—M. Payne
    I love how I can go beyond the [Magic Tree House] books and use them as springboards for other learning.
—R. Gale
    We have enjoyed your books all year long. We check your Web site to find new information. We pull our map down to find the areas where the adventures take place. My class always chimes in at key parts of the story. It feels good to hear my students ask for a book and cheer when a new book comes out.
—J. Korinek
    Our students have “Magic Tree House fever.” I can’t keep your books on the library shelf.
—J. Rafferty
    Your books truly invite children into the pleasure of reading. Thanks for such terrific work.
—S. Smith
    The children in the fourth grade even hide the [Magic Tree House] books in the library so that they will be able to find them when they are ready to check them out.
—K. Mortensen
    My Magic Tree House books are never on the bookshelf because they are always being read by my students. Thank you for creating such a wonderful series.
—K. Mahoney



For three years of my childhood, my family lived right on the ocean. Our windows were always covered with sea spray from the waves splashing on the rocks beneath the house. You might think I spent every summer playing in the water. But sadly, I was afraid of the ocean. I was convinced that sea creatures would grab me, sting me, swish against me, bite me, or drown me. (Sometimes having too much imagination can be a problem!)
    I did try very hard to overcome my fear. Many times I waded in cautiously—wearing my sneakers!—one step at a time. I wish I could tell you that one day I got up the courage and just dove in and was never afraid again. But alas, I never managed to get in past my knees.
    Only as a grown-up did I realize that the creatures of the sea were probably more afraid of me than I was of them. Since learning this, I have not been afraid—in fact, I’ve gone snorkeling in the waters of the Caribbean and have swum with dolphins off the coast of Mexico. My fear of ocean life has been replaced with great wonder and respect. I hope by the time you finish this book, you’ll feel the same.

This is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
    Text copyright © 2008 by Mary Pope Osborne
Illustrations copyright © 2008 by Sal Murdocca
    All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
    Random House and colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc. Magic Tree House is a registered trademark of Mary Pope Osborne; used under license.
    Visit us on the Web!
www.magictreehouse.com
www.randomhouse.com/kids
    Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers
    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Osborne, Mary Pope.
Dark day in the deep sea / by Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by Sal Murdocca. — 1st ed.
   p.  cm. — (Magic tree