Jack and Annie have been climbing into that tree house since 1992, and the series has grown big enough that buying the next book is genuinely confusing. The numbering restarts once, the spin-off has its own count, and the covers have been redesigned more than once.

Here is the whole thing in order, plus the one piece of context that clears up most of the confusion.

The short answer

Start with Dinosaurs Before Dark and read by number. If your reader finishes book 28 and wants more, keep going straight into book 29 — the story does not require the Merlin Missions in between.

Do you have to read them in order?

Mostly, no. Each book is a self-contained trip: the tree house spins, Jack and Annie land somewhere, they solve the problem, they come home. An eight-year-old who picks up book 17 will not be lost.

But the books are grouped into four-book missions, and those do build. Books 5 through 8 are one quest, books 9 through 12 are another, and so on. Reading a group in order is more satisfying than reading it scattered. If your reader is hooked, order is worth it. If they are grabbing whatever the library has, do not worry about it.

The part that confuses everyone: Merlin Missions

This is the question parents actually have, and most lists skip it.

The original series ran from book 1 to book 28. After that, the story continued in longer, harder books that were first published as Magic Tree House numbers 29 through 55 — then later repackaged as their own series, Merlin Missions #1 to #27. So the same book can be Magic Tree House #29 on an older cover and Merlin Mission #1 on a newer one.

Then, in 2017, the main series started up again — at number 29. That is why a current Magic Tree House #29 (A Big Day for Baseball) is a completely different book from an older Magic Tree House #29.

Practically: check whether the cover says "Merlin Mission." If it does, it belongs to the middle stretch. If it does not, use the numbering below.

Magic Tree House books 1–28: the original run

These are the shorter, easier ones — roughly 70 pages, good for a reader moving into chapter books around age 6 to 9.

  1. Dinosaurs Before Dark
  2. The Knight at Dawn
  3. Mummies in the Morning
  4. Pirates Past Noon
  5. Night of the Ninjas
  6. Afternoon on the Amazon
  7. Sunset of the Sabertooth
  8. Midnight on the Moon
  9. Dolphins at Daybreak
  10. Ghost Town at Sundown
  11. Lions at Lunchtime
  12. Polar Bears Past Bedtime
  13. Vacation Under the Volcano
  14. Day of the Dragon King
  15. Viking Ships at Sunrise
  16. Hour of the Olympics
  17. Tonight on the Titanic
  18. Buffalo Before Breakfast
  19. Tigers at Twilight
  20. Dingoes at Dinnertime
  21. Civil War on Sunday
  22. Revolutionary War on Wednesday
  23. Twister on Tuesday
  24. Earthquake in the Early Morning
  25. Stage Fright on a Summer Night
  26. Good Morning, Gorillas
  27. Thanksgiving on Thursday
  28. High Tide in Hawaii

Magic Tree House books 29–40: the newer run

Same format and roughly the same reading level, written much later. A reader who loved the first 28 can go straight into these.

  1. A Big Day for Baseball
  2. Hurricane Heroes in Texas
  3. Warriors in Winter
  4. To the Future, Ben Franklin!
  5. Narwhal on a Sunny Night
  6. Late Lunch with Llamas
  7. Camp Time in California
  8. Sunlight on the Snow Leopard
  9. Rhinos at Recess
  10. Time of the Turtle King
  11. Windy Night with Wild Horses
  12. Sea Otter Sunrise

Where to start

For a brand-new reader, book 1. It is the shortest, the setup is explained, and the dinosaur hook does a lot of work.

For a reader who has already seen the Magic Tree House movie or read one at school, start wherever their interest is — the ninja book, the Titanic book, the moon book — and circle back. Getting them to finish one is worth more than getting them to start at the beginning.

Keep browsing

Every book above has a page in our catalog with current pricing and availability. If your reader is ready for something longer, our best middle grade series guide picks up where this one leaves off.