Monday with a Mad Genius

Magic Tree House "Merlin Missions" #10

by Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illustrator)

Jack and Annie are on a mission to save Merlin from his sorrows! The brother-and-sister team travel back in the magic tree house to the period known as the Renaissance. This time, Jack and Annie will need more than a research book and a magic wand. They'll need help from one of the greatest minds of all time. What will they learn from Leonardo da Vinci?

Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid?

Magic Tree Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books
Merlin More challenging adventures for the experienced reader
Super A longer and more dangerous adventure
Fact Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Chapter Books, Adventure, Middle Grade

110 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2007

About the author

Mary Pope Osborne is an American author of children's books and audiobook narrator. She is best known as the author of the Magic Tree House series, which as of 2017 sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, including for Osborne's charitable efforts at promoting children's literacy. One of four children, Osborne moved around in her childhood before attending the University of North Carolina. Following college, Osborne traveled before moving to New York City. She somewhat spontaneously began to write, and her first book was published in 1982. She went on to write a variety of other children's and young adult books before starting the Magic Tree House series in 1992. Osborne's sister Natalie Pope Boyce has written several compendium books to the Magic Tree House series, sometimes with Osborne's husband Will Osborne.

Reviews

[Charissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this! It's one of my favorites! Anne and Jack went back to Italy and helped Leonardo Da Vinci to learn the secrets of happiness. We learned more about Leonardo Da Vinci, his most famous artwork, Mona Lisa and his ambition to be able to fly like the birds in the sky. In the end, Jack and Annie fulfilled Leonardo's dream, to be able to fly. With the help of the wand, they grew wings like Icarus and Daedalus from the Greek mythology and flew.

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Für Anne und Philipp geht es diesmal für einen Tag nach Florenz ins 15. Jahrhundert. Hier dürfen sie Leonardo da Vinci einen Tag lang begleiten und erleben ein einzigartiges Abenteuer.

Dieses Buch ist der 36. Band der "Das magische Baumhaus"- Reihe. Obwohl es so etwas wie einen roten Faden gibt, kann man die Bücher aber meiner Meinung nach auch als Einzelbände sehr gut lesen, da Anne und Philipp in jedem Band ein neues Abenteuer erleben, das mit dem vorherigen nichts zu tun hat.

Mir hat dieser Band der Reihe sehr gut gefallen. Er eignet sich zum Vorlesen wie auch zum Selberlesen für junge Leser und ist sicherlich für Mädchen und für Jungen gleichermaßen gut geeignet.

Das Abenteuer, das Anne und Philipp hier erleben, ist nicht nur aufregend, sondern auch informativ.

Mir hat es Spaß gemacht, dieses Kinderbuch zu lesen!

[Melainebooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quelle belle lecture ! A la recherche du bonheur, les enfants restent une journée avec le plus grand des génies : Léonard de Vinci et c'est un véritable bonheur de le découvrir avec ses interrogations, ses doutes, ses remises en questions et son génie indéniable.

[Lindsey Gandhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully fun book about Leonardo da Vinci!!

[Daniel Knopf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my Roman Empire

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another one of my book club books. We read it because one of my friends liked it and we decided to read it. Leonardo De Vince was is it. In the book they said that

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

[Romanianbookgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mein Lieblingsbuch als Kind. Ich liebte die Geschichten von Mary Pope Osborne, das magische Baumhaus Nr. 36 hat mir jedoch am besten gefallen. Die Verbindung zu Leonardo da Vinci war grossartig. Sehr empfehlenswertes Buch. Würde es jeder Zeit wieder lesen.

[Shaurya(aka Aryan) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack and Annie help everyone...I love them.

[Carrie]

Another great adventure in learning with Jack and Annie. I had no idea that Da Vinci wrote backwards so that he wouldn't get ink on his hands from being left-handed. That is such a simple but brilliant thing. I can not imagine a much cooler place than where Leonardo Da Vinci kept his journals and experiments. He did so many thing so ahead of his time. I also had no idea that he painted the Mona Lisa for more than 3 years. Each time I read one of these adventures, it spurs my curiousity and I explore more books because of it.

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

One more book to go

This was good too like what😭

Magic tree house as a YA would go SO HARD

I’m so gen z

Teddy and Kathleen. When I heard Kathleen’s name it awoke 9 year old bailey. Teddy was in the last book I just read but hearing both their names together omg

I like how this book portrayed such true stuff about Leonardo da Vinci and I feel like the way he was written in this is exactly like how we was in real life

[Karine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ the 37 to 40 books are Merlin Missions, Annie and Jack must find secrets to happiness. I enjoyed reading these missions and this is a hard time where I am looking for what makes me happy. These books and lessons could not have come at a better time. 🙂

[Roxelle Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this! Middle grade book anyone could finish in just one sitting. It taught many things to the reader.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

my favorite part is when leonardo the mad genius made a machine called the great bird and flew on it but it didn't work so jack and annie had to help him up because he was all scratched

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

More like the (wholesome) magic tree house and the meaning of life, am I right? I see you, Mary pope Osborne. Ow ow.

[Unicorn Wishes · Rating 4 out of 5]

IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!

[Shauna Masura · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the 38th episode of the Magic Tree House series, Jack and Annie travel to Florence, Italy during the Renaissance period to learn the secrets of happiness from Leonardo DaVinci. After the embarrassing, accidental destruction of one of his frescoes, Leonardo threatens to pack up and move away, and recounts his previous statement that fame brings him happiness. Jack and Annie summon the powers of their magic wand to show Leonardo that true happiness is actually found in curiosity. Implausibility aside, The Magic Tree House books are a helpful tool for introducing new readers to elements of history, geography, and culture. Realistically sketched illustrations offer picture clues for new readers, and dialogue introduces new vocabulary with clarity. Children will appreciate Monday with a Mad Genius for its sense of adventure, and because it depicts its young protagonist as smarter than and superior to adults. Jack and Annie are young children, singularly capable of performing important tasks that can change the course of history. They fly through time in a Magic Tree House when their parents think they are walking to school. They are even portrayed as smarter than Leonardo DaVinci throughout this story- shooting down his scientific postulations with their modern, 2nd/3rd grade knowledge. All in all, Monday With a Mad Genius is a simple, transitional chapter book that engages young readers while imparting historical information.

[Melissa Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had been a while since my daughters and I read a Magic Tree House book. My eldest daughter and I have been reading more intense books but my younger daughter was really missing Jack and Annie. So we picked up where we left off- book number 38.
Even after hearing more mature books, both of my daughters still really reading Magic Tree House. This one was about Leonardo da Vinici- a name with which they were familiar but knew nothing about. It didn't take me long to realize that I knew very little about Leonardo da Vinici myself.
As per usual, Mary Pope Osborne educated and entertained us. My children got to see the world through the eye's of Jack and Annie and I got to feel as though I was seeing the world through the eyes of a child again.

[midnightfaerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 6 yr old is becoming a voracious reader and his teacher recommended this series so I picked up a few from the library. My son loves it. Magic and fun and adventure rolled into a chapter book that's easy to read, yet challenging enough that he's not bored. Many of these are educational as well, focusing on a particular point in history such as a president's reign, or a location, like Ireland in this one, which goes really well with his geography and history lessons. He's loving it, and already has said these are the books he wants to read for the challenge. Overall a great step into chapter books for the advanced reader.

[Alicia Samson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Monday with a Mad Genius", Jack and Annie traveled to Italy during the Renaissance. Jack and Annie traveled 500 years back in time to spend a day helping Leonardo da Vinci in the hope of learning another secret of happiness. They had trouble finding Leonardo at first, but Annie used the Wand of Dianthus to locate him. They found him and Leonardo agreed to let them shadow him for the day. "Monday with a Mad Genius" is a short and easy read, I would recommend this book to children and adults, because "Monday with a Mad Genius" is a short and easy read.

[Sam Kuntz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monday with a Mad Genius is about Leonardo Da Vinci. Jack and Annie are sent to stop Leonardo from giving up all hope of doing anything. Leonardo decides to make Jack and Annie apprentices. Leonardo is a bit of a drama queen so it is hard to work with him at first. This book is short so I do not have as much to say so I will let you read it yourself. - Sam Kuntz

[TheBookWorm🐛 🐛 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really cool I like it because of the interesting facts in it

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the magic treehouse series, not only in Merlin Missions, Jack and Annie found a magic treehouse. They soon discovered that in the magic treehouse there were lots of books and when they point to a picture in the book and make a wish to go there the magic treehouse just magically transports them there! They soon learned that the treehouse belongs to Morgan Le Fay from Camelot. Jack and Annie have helped Morgan with a humongous amount of missions in all places and time periods with the help of the magic treehouse. However in Merlin Missions it is not however Morgan that sends them on these missions. It is Merlin, a fantastic magician. During Merlin Missions, Jack and Annie make two friends named Teddy and Kathleen. They soon completed four missions that showed they could properly handle magic. On those missions, they were given a book of ten magic rhymes to use on four missions. Each rhyme can only be used once. Since they succeeded in those four missions they were given the Wand of Dianthus. A magic wand that could create magic.

In this book Jack and Annie are heading to school when they see the magic treehouse is back! They climb into the treehouse just as the bell rings for school. That means school is in ten minutes. They have a lot of time because when they are gone on a mission no time at all passes in where they live. In the treehouse, they see their friends, Teddy and Kathleen. They say they won’t be coming with them on this mission too. Teddy and Kathleen also say that on this mission Jack and Annie are finding a secret of happiness for Merlin to cheer him up. Then their friends used magic to disappear back to Camelot. Jack and Annie soon discovered that to find this secret of happiness they had to help Leonardo Da Vinci for a full day. They were left with a book of Leonardo, a note, and the Wand of Dianthus to create magic with. Since they wanted to help Merlin they pointed at the cover of the Leonardo Da Vinci book and made a wish. The magic treehouse took them to where their mission was taking place. Soon they got out of the treehouse and decided to start their mission. Jack and Annie decided to ask someone where Leonardo was since he was very famous. A girl selling flowers said that he headed towards the old bridge. Jack and Annie headed towards that bridge. They still haven’t spotted Leonardo. They asked an old woman. She said Leonardo went to the bakery. Jack and Annie hurried to the bakery. Leonardo was not there. The baker said he went to the cheese shop. Jack and Annie headed straight to the cheese shop. Leonardo was not there either. Jack and Annie are supposed to help Leonardo all day long, not find Leonardo all day long. If they keep finding Leonardo all day long they can’t complete their mission, and cheer Merlin up! Will they ever find Leonardo, and figure out a secret of happiness to help Merlin cheer up and be happy again?

[Anna Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic Treehouse is a series of fantasy books in which two kids, Jack and Annie, are transported to different countries and time periods through their treehouse. They are sent with some sort of mission, or goal to accomplish. In Monday with a Mad Genius, the kids are sent to Florence, Italy to be Leonardo da Vinci's "helper" for a whole day. This is a WOW book for me because I loved the way the author made Leonardo da Vinci come to life as a storybook character, while also maintaining historical accuracy by including many details about his life and work. I think this book could be used in a classroom as young as 3rd grade; however, there are more opportunities for scientific, historical, or even artistic integration with older grades who are more able to comprehend the work of da Vinci.

This book discusses the "secret to happiness". At the beginning of the book, da Vinci tells the children that he has found the secret to happiness, and that it is fame. I think this would be a good time to stop and talk with the class. Is fame really the secret to happiness? This could be a good discussion topic, that allows for thinking critically about the book as well as opportunities for children to incorporate their own life experiences and knowledge into their arguments. At the end of the book, as a result of the children's help, da Vinci changes his mind, saying that the secret to happiness is "curiosity". I love this message for kids, as curiosity is something that should be encouraged in the classroom. After reading the book, the kids could do a journal entry about one thing they are curious about. Science could be integrated by also asking the children to ask how they could research or investigate their curiosities.

The kids in the book have an experience with da Vinci's flying machine. da Vinci is very passionate about his flying machine, but has never (and did never) figure out how to make it work. A classroom activity could be an engineering experiment, where the kids are put into partners or groups and are given materials such as straws, paper, styrofoam, cardboard, etc. Their objective could be to create their own "flying machine", and the activity could conclude with a class competition to see which flying machine could fly the farthest.

[Annie Flanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic Treehouse #38 ---- Merlin Missions #10 - Monday with a Mad Genius

This was a really good book. It's the book where Jack and Annie need to find the second secret of happiness for Merlin.

The world of Leonardo da Vinci is the setting for this book. Jack and Annie spend the day with Leonardo. They follow him around from one place to the next. There is a fresco that Leonardo has been painting where the paint at first was not drying at all - then when he and his assistants tried to heat the fresco - the paint melted and ran. The fresco was ruined.

At one point Mona Lisa comes for a sitting. That was totally spectacular.

What I especially liked was that at the end of the book - after Jack and Annie go back to their time - there is a section which talks more about the world of Leonardo. This is followed by a section with puzzles. And finally - a preview of the next book in the series - Dark Day in the Deep Sea.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack and Annie are on another quest for Morgan le Fey. They are on a quest to find the answer to life's meaning of happiness for Merlin. They are sent back to the Renaissance age to spend a day with Leonardo de Vinci in Florence, Italy. They help Leonardo find the answer to happiness and learn many things from Leonardo in return.

I enjoyed reading about Leonardo, he has always fascinated me. I've read many books about him, but I still learned a few things in this book that I hadn't before. My son loved the flying scene. He wants blue and green wings to fly around the world. My wish for him is that he will see much of the world as he grows.

[David Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Osborne’s Merlin missions books —for older readers than her Magic Tree House series— introduce children to different cultures and history through adventurous narratives, while also instilling good values.

Monday with a Mad Genius is no exception. At once a great introduction to the Renaissance as well as a commentary on the importance of perseverance and on the meaning of happiness, this little story takes on a lot, and really pulls it off.

I’m always pleasantly surprised by the depth and quality of the books in this series. Highly recommended!

[Anna-Leigh Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re-read this book recently for a literacy course. I wanted to use it in my course for a mini book talk about how the book could be beneficial for a classroom library or lesson plan. If you are an educator, this book is fantastic for cross curriculum lesson planning. I love the story, but I feel like it could use something more. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it needs but I feel like it lacks something. That being said, I totally reccomend this book for your library and for just a fun read about a crazy inventor and artist!

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun adventure, this time with Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #38: Monday with a Mad Genius is the fact tracker

[Cherish Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4☆ Would recommend)
I started this series after reading the original Magic Treehouse series. I like how this series includes not just Morgan, but Merlin, Teddy, & Kathleen, too. I like how how Jack & Annie get to participate in these books a little more than the original series by using the rhymes. I also like how these books are longer. It is more story to enjoy. I really enjoyed this book. Would recommend.