In response to the Newark Kids Count report which linked third grade reading levels to academic success, Mary made a decision that would forever change the lives of 4,300 Newark public and charter school children.

In April, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), Mary proudly announced that every third grader would each receive free box sets of the Magic Tree House. Each of the Magic Tree House box sets contains the first 28 titles in the series.

Mary and her husband Will personally delivered the first boxed sets to various Newark-area schools, which the students received on their last day of school!

Additionally, third grade teachers in Newark will also receive a box set for their classroom, totaling more than 120,000 books. These whimsical books will be purchased and distributed through First Book’s Marketplace, an online bookstore offering high-quality children’s books to eligible community programs and schools.

Mary was just as excited to meet some of these third graders as they were to meet her. She exclusively told MommyPoppins NJ that every time she “encountered third-graders receiving their sets of books, they’d try to hug me. Others kids would pile on; so that again and again, I experienced huge group hugs!”

Mary particularly remembers “one little boy who hugged me a long time with his eyes closed, smiling from ear to ear. It doesn’t get better than that. Ever.”

In the book series, two children named Jack and Annie, use a tree house to travel on magical adventures and missions, meeting heroic and entertaining characters along the way.

“It’s vitally important to make every effort to teach children to read,” said Mary Pope Osborne. “But I believe we must go beyond the reading mechanics and help children acquire a love of reading. To do that, we have to give them books. By not providing children with books, we are suppressing not only their dreams, their hope for the future, but their inherent dignity.”

Mary, author of more than 100 children’s book, currently resides in Connecticut, and was introduced to Newark by long-time friend and NJPAC President and CEO John Schreiber.

And—there is more good news for NJ kids! Those who’d love to see the Magic Tree House come alive will be pleased to hear in October, the NJPAC will present the premiere of Magic Tree House: A Night in New Orleans, a musical featuring composed by Allen Toussaint and based on Magic Tree House #42: A Good Night for Ghosts. Co-written by Will Osborne and Murray Horwitz, the musical which will tour Newark schools, celebrates the life of Louis Armstrong and introduces children across the country to jazz.

Mary Pope Osborne is no stranger to kindness. She has donated thousands of Magic Tree House books to students in Title I and other underserved schools across the country via a number of organizations, including First Book, Donorschoose.org, and more.


Photo credit: Amanda Brown