Dark Day in the Deep Sea

idea where the story should take place or what sort of adventure should happen. Once I started my research, though, I discovered some exciting facts about ocean exploration in the 1800s. The ships that set sail were not seeking to discover new lands but rather to discover the depth, the life, and the structure of the world beneath the ocean. Many writers caught the romantic fever of writing about such voyages. The most famous of these stories was
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne.
    The ship I decided to base my fictional story on was HMS
Challenger
, an English vessel that sailed nearly 70,000 miles between 1872 and 1876. During that time, the British scientists aboard the ship found more than 4,000 new living species of sea life! As well as gathering a huge number of plants and animals, their explorations gave the world a new understanding of the landscape of the deep sea, including how deep it is and that it has mountains and ridges just like the land above water.
    When shell collecting was very popular in the 1800s, the most sought-after shell was the chambered nautilus. I learned in my research that during the actual voyage of HMS
Challenger
, a living chambered nautilus was captured in the South Pacific. When it was placed in a tub, the creature inside the shell swam around, ejecting water out of its funnel. I imagined this was the creature that Henry had so loved.
    The character of Henry was inspired by a realscientist who sailed aboard the
Challenger
named Henry Moseley. He was a young man in his twenties when the voyage began. He loved natural history and became one of the greatest natural scientists of his time. The chief scientist on the
Challenger
was Charles Wyville Thomson, a brilliant Scottish professor.
    All the scientists aboard the ship were courageous explorers who gave birth to a new area of study called oceanography, which is a branch of knowledge concerning the earth’s oceans and seas. Today oceanographers all over the world study climate change, global warming, water pollution, and related concerns. They are working hard to protect the precious life under the sea.

Mary Pope Osborne is the award-winning author of many novels, picture books, story collections, and nonfiction books. Her bestselling Magic Tree House series has been translated into many languages around the world. Highly recommended by parents and educators everywhere, the series introduces young readers to different cultures and times in history, as well as to the world’s legacy of ancient myth and storytelling. Mary Pope Osborne is married to Will Osborne, a co-author of many of the Magic Tree House Research Guides and librettist and lyricist for
Magic Tree House: The Musical
, a theatrical adaptation of the series. They live in northwestern Connecticut with their Norfolk terriers, Joey and Mr. Bezo. You can visit Mary, Will, and even Joey and Mr. Bezo on the Web at www.marypopeosborne.com .

Sal Murdocca is best known for his amazing work on the Magic Tree House series. He has written and/or illustrated over two hundred children’s books, including
Dancing Granny
by Elizabeth Winthrop,
Double Trouble in Walla Walla
by Andrew Clements, and
Big Numbers
by Edward Packard. He has taught writing and illustration at the Parsons School of Design in New York. He is the librettist for a children’s opera and has recently completed his second short film. Sal Murdocca is an avid runner, hiker, and bicyclist. He has often bicycle-toured in Europe and has had many one-man shows of his paintings from these trips. He lives and works with his wife, Nancy, in New City, New York.

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Magic Tree House #40
(A Merlin Mission)

Eve of the Emperor Penguin

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    Excerpt copyright © 2008 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

J ack was raking leaves on a chilly November afternoon. Geese honked overhead.
    “Smile,” said Annie.
    Annie was pointing her camera at him. “No pictures now,” he said.
    “Come on,” said Annie. “Smile!”
    Jack gave her a goofy smile.
    “A
real
one,” said Annie. “I’m taking pictures for our family project at school.”
    Jack crossed his eyes and made his smile even goofier.
    “Okay. Be that way,” said Annie. “I’m going into the woods.”
    “Good,” said Jack. “Go.”
    “Maybe the tree house is back,” said Annie.
    “You always say that when you want me to stop what I’m