Pirates Past Noon

Magic Tree House #4

by Mary Pope Osborne

Jack and Annie are in deep trouble when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to the days of desert islands, secret maps, hidden gold and ruthless pirates!

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Pirates

67 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 1994

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

[Jesse (JesseTheReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You love the impossible, Annie. And you love knowledge, Jack. What better combination is there?"

This is one of the more important books in the series considering all that gets revealed. I feel like so many of my questions were answered. I have noticed the books starting to fall into a similar story structure, but I don't mind it because of all the setting and character change ups.

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

Im vierten Band dieser Kinderbuchreihe gelangen Philipp und seine Schwester Anne mit dem magischen Baumhaus an einen traumhaften Strand. Doch schon taucht ein Schiff am Horizont auf. An Bord sind Piraten auf Schatzsuche!
❤️ Ich mag diese Reihe! Auch dieser Band ist spannend, informativ und unterhaltsam. Zudem wird hier endlich gelüftet, wer die mysteriöse "M" ist, die auch in den früheren Bänden schon auftauchte.
Die Lösung gefällt mir und macht mich neugierig auf die Fortsetzung!

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book from my youth which I still treasure to this day. The plot is actually quite strong for such a short book. The characters and the setting can also make any child dream of being a pirate for a day. Fun short story, easy recommendation.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie and Jack are on another adventure!

This was another fun installment in the Magic Tree House series. It's a perfect addition to the series for any younger reader that may enjoy pirates. I was pleasantly surprised about the intensity of this one considering that Jack and Annie almost get stuck on the island. Readers finally get more answers about the mysterious "M." The reveal actually had me a little shocked! I wasn't expecting "M" to be that specific person and it adds to the thrill of the series as a whole. These aren't necessarily the best written children's chapter books that I've encountered, but they're fun and I understand why they have so much appeal for younger readers.

[Daddy's Place for the thoughts of his Princess, Gabriella of the School and House and Friends · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about a pirate who want’s treasure. In the book the pirate looked into Jack’s book bag to look for gold and there was nothing in it. So the pirate took Jack and Annie because he thought they were hiding gold from him. What I liked about this book is when the two kids, Annie and Jack, try to escape from the bad guy’s ship. They saved themselves instead of being rescued.

I thought the librarian at the end of the book was cool and looked very pretty, like princess. She has a special crown on top of her head that takes her to her magical library and she wears a long pretty dress. In the end the pirate opened the treasure box right away and he was surprised and got mad. Then Annie and Jack took him to the wrong treasure chest, by accident. The only thing in the treasure chest was plain old dust.

(She gave it 5 stars because she remembered so much about it.)

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book for my kindergartener's bedtime. This story we got to know who the M belongs to. I thought it might be the author's name but it wasn't!

It's been raining all morning and siblings Jack & Annie has been itching to go to the magic tree house! Past noon they couldn't wait anymore so they got out their rain gears and made a run for the tree house.

A book was left opened in the tree house. The picture has a beautiful sunny beach with sparkling water compared to their current dark clouds and rain outside. Annie didn't think twice before making a wish to go there. When they got there, Annie took off her raincoat, climbed quickly down the ladder, and wade into the warm ocean water. Jack hurried after. While in the water, knee deep, Jack saw a ship coming closer. Upon closer inspection, Jack noticed that the ship was a Pirate of the Caribbean ship!

The pirate caught them and forced them to help him find his gold otherwise they will not be able to survive.

Another great adventure!

I borrowed this ebook from Cloud Library App.

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister read this series to my nephews when they were growing up and that is how I discovered it. I am a teacher, and now have managed to collect most of this series and the companion books. I really love them for teaching history to young students. Jack and Annie are great characters. I highly recommend!


Reread for fall 2024 with new students. I have the research guide as well. These are fun and a good way for kids that want to read chapter books to get in some science and history.

My students adore this series!!

[Pallavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3.0***

Even though I am okish with this series, my Kid is immensely enjoying. So I guess I will go ahead with the series till he is bored.

Jack and Annie are on to another adventure with Pirates, Sea and Buried Treasure. Also this will reveal the Mysterious M. Liked the plot as always, not too complex and interesting.

Happy Reading!!!

[Shadyside Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be my favorite in the series so far! Maybe I’m just a sucker for pirates but this one was funny and entertaining! PLUS we get a HUGE reveal about the Tree House! Definitely an iconic moment in the series.

[Rick Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of a sudden it's all Magic Treehouse all the time in our household. The Kiddo came home with two more Magic Treehouse books from his school library. This series has definitely caught his attention, which is great.

Kiddo is six, and in first grade. I've been reading these books out loud to him. He borrows the ones that interest him from the library, so we have not been reading the series in order.

This book is the fourth in the series, and it represents an ending point for the initial ongoing plot. In this story, the main characters Jack and Annie meet the owner of the mysterious Magic Treehouse and learn some of its secrets.

And there are also pirates. Including a real villain. Other books we've read in the series so far either had no clear-cut villain, or the villains were nameless menaces. This book features Cap'n Bones, a pirate eager for gold, and in need of the kids' help because he can't read the treasure map he acquired.

This book features a lot of action, and some very real peril for the kids. It's exciting and fast-paced, but I felt like Cap'n Bones could have been fleshed out a bit more as a character. (fleshed! bones! Okay, sorry. I'll stop now.)

The pirate adventure also gets cut short a bit due to the need to develop the ongoing meta-plot in the final chapters. The story ends on something of an infodump, which, as fun and creative as it is (and it is both of those things) is still a big chunk of explanation rather than, well, swashbuckling adventure.

I am glad that the series got to continue from here, and the Kiddo is definitely looking forward to more. I believe we're scheduled to visit the Amazon jungle in the next book (in our order, anyway).

[Celia]

I won't lie, this book had my heart beating pretty fast wondering if Jack and Annie were going to make it out alive

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

During the ROOB competition I read through a bunch of the earliest Magic Tree House books. In Pirates Past Noon Jack and Annie go back in time to learn how to be pirates and to discover the identity of the mysterious M.

The earliest books are very short compared the newest ones. They are also short on plot. The gist here is that the siblings are still trying to learn who owns the tree house and how it works the way it does. In the middle of all of this are pirates who are out to get treasure.

If this were a later book there would be more information about piracy, letters of mark, the different nations involved in the Caribbean and so forth. As it stands, the pirates are merely caricatures and a means of putting the children in danger to move the plot.

[Charity (Booktrovert Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

BLOG ⟫ INSTAGRAM ⟫

*phew* once again, that was a close one. This time Annie and Jack go to a tropical island that just so happens to have pirates coming to it. For what? Treasure of course! They were captured and thank goodness that Annie and Jack can read. They were able to read the map to save their butts.

What I find funny is that Annie wasn't really scared of dinosaurs, knights, or mummies. She runs towards them. But pirates? YIKES! Annie was running for the hills.

Well, what an arrrsome read. Lame I know, but I had to throw that in there.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When attempting to try to stop reading for the night Jack said, "If you stop here, I'm going to have a problem!" So, I guess this deserves four stars:)

[Laura Robinson (naptimereaders) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grabbed this from the library! Didn’t read in order- oops! So we will go back and start with book 1. Thankfully my son is young enough and prob didn’t catch on.

Has words in it like “stupid” and a little bit more magic than I’d like- but my son did enjoy this book & wants to read more.

[Blake]

“Pirates Past Noon,” was the fourth book in the Magic Treehouse series. It was a chapter book written by Mary Pope Osborne. It starts off like all of the other books when Jack and Annie went out to the Frog Creek woods and got into the treehouse. Since it was raining out, Annie grabbed the book with the beach and wished they could go there. When they got there, they are captured by pirates and held hostage until they showed the pirates where the treasure was. The pirates thought Jack knew where it was because of the gold medallion around his neck. They believed it came from Cap’n Kidd’s treasure. On the way to find the treasure, Jack and Annie escaped back to the treehouse to go home. As they got to the treehouse Jack realized that he forgot the book onshore and the pirates were catching up to them. Jack hurried back to grab the book and they arrived home safely.

The two main characters in the book are Jack and Annie. Jack is more intelligent of the two and is always looking out for his little sister, Annie. Annie is more adventurous and is always getting into trouble and/or chasing things. The two always solve the problems they need to together with great teamwork.

The book begins in Jack and Annie’s house in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. Then, goes off to the treehouse and eventually to the beach. The time period takes place in present time, but they go back in time when Annie wishes to go to the beach. This happened to be when pirates were around. They are on a boat at sea for most of the time and at the end they are back on the beach where the treehouse and treasure are.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a book about the history of pirates and treasure. I would also recommend this book to elementary school kids who like this series. This book is short and easy to read. I rate this a four out of five, because it is more interesting than the other Magic Treehouse books.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read as German audio play.

We are still enjoying these stories. There is just enough intrigue to keep things interesting, but it's not too complicated, so it's perfect for my 5 year old. You also find out who the "mysterious M person" is in this book! I like that the author doesn't shy away from using more complicated/advanced vocabulary. Occasionally, I'll ask my son if he knows what such-and-such means. If he says no, I'll tell him. Most of the vocabulary you can figure out through the context, though.

First read April 2015

[Colby Prince · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite character was Morgan le fay because she had powers to make the tree house magic. I only gave it four stars because I think it's too long. My favorite part was when Jack and Annie found the treasure chest.

[Alxandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book that I read to learn Spanish as an adult.

This book is at my comprehensible reading level which made it an absolute delight. I was able to learn several new words through context as there is ample repetition.

The plot was simple with a couple of twist and turns which kept it from being boring, but I doubt that I would enjoy this book much if it was much below my comprehensible reading level.

I may read a few more of this series, but the plot simplicity makes me hesitant.

[Ericka Clou · Rating 3 out of 5]

The true story of the Magic Tree House is revealed in this one. I think I'm good to go with the series now. I won't be reading or buying any more unless my daughter falls in love with the first 4 and demands them or something. My son isn't impressed either but he's already 8 and he's a pretty strong reader.

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

☆4.75/5☆

this might be my favorite one!

[Jordan Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

**3.25 stars**

To be honest I’m scared of birds and that’s why I didn’t love this

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fourth installment of The Magic Treehouse series, Jack and Annie time-travel to a deserted island in the Caribbean during the time of pirates (I'm guessing somewhere between 1800-1850 though it is never specified). Using a treasure map, the kids hunt for buried pirate booty. The pirates are depicted more realistically (filthy, uneducated, greedy, and dangerous) than in other books for young children, though it's still age-appropriate.

The kids discover who owns the magical treehouse and its library. I would have liked a better explanation as to why the magic works for Jack and Annie, but no one else besides the owner.

Like the other books in this chapter book series, educational facts are woven into the story. Occasional black-and-white drawings support both the story and the learning aspect of the book.

[Elizabeth Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book read as lackluster because its predecessor was so stellar. The individual plot wasn’t half as good, also super frustrating that they don’t check what the book is about before wishing to go there! Struggled to enjoy the book because I was just so frustrated with them. HOWEVER, super stoked that we’ve finally met Morgan as she is the overarching plot point and I remember her very well from when I read these books as a kid. Excited to see more of her.

(G rating)

[Book2Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely book from the Magic Tree House series. This adventure takes them to an island where Pirates use them to find a treasure--Captain Kidd's treasure.

As always, a little education subtly slipped in and lots of fun to read. Learning for children is best when they are having fun and don't feel the heaviness of "having" to read and learn.

[Alice4170 🌙 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ⭐️

[Mari Johnston]

I love reading these to Elliott!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is my favorite one so far. I’m curious to see where things go from here.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids really liked all their chapters and the pictures lol

[Morgan Styles · Rating 5 out of 5]

That’s me!!!! In the book!!! I had no idea!