Stage Fright on a Summer Night

Here's what kids have to say to
Mary Pope Osborne, author of
the Magic Tree House series:

WOW! You have an imagination like no other.
—Adam W.

I love your books. If you stop writing books, it will be like losing a best friend.
—Ben M.

I think you are the real Morgan le Fay. There is always magic in your books.
—Erica Y.

One day I was really bored and I didn't want to read … I looked in your book. I read a sentence, and it was interesting. So I read some more, until the book was done. It was so good I read more and more. Then I had read all of your books, and now I hope you write lots more.
—Danai K.

I always read [your books] over and over … 1 time, 2 times, 3 times, 4 times … 
—Yuan C.

You are my best author in the world. I love your books. I read all the time. I read everywhere. My mom is like freaking out.
—Ellen C.

I hope you make these books for all yours and mine's life.
—Riki H.

Teachers and librarians love
Magic Tree House
^®
books, too!

Thank you for opening faraway places and times to my class through your books. They have given me the chance to bring in additional books, materials, and videos to share with the class.
—J. Cameron

It excites me to see how involved [my fourth-grade reading class] is in your books … I would do anything to get my students more involved, and this has done it.
—C. Rutz

I discovered your books last year … WOW! Our students have gone crazy over them. I can't order enough copies! … Thanks for contributing so much to children's literature!
—C. Kendziora

I first came across your Magic Tree House series when my son brought one home … I have since introduced this great series to my class. They have absolutely fallen in love with these books! … My students are now asking me for more independent reading time to read them. Your stories have inspired even my most struggling readers.
—M. Payne

I love how I can go beyond the [Magic Tree House] books and use them as springboards for other learning.
—R. Gale

We have enjoyed your books all year long. We check your Web site to find new information. We pull our map down to find the areas where the adventures take place. My class always chimes in at key parts of the story. It feels good to hear my students ask for a book and cheer when a new book comes out.
—J. Korinek

Our students have “Magic Tree House fever.” I can't keep your books on the library shelf.
—J. Rafferty

Your books truly invite children into the pleasure of reading. Thanks for such terrific work.
—S. Smith

The children in the fourth grade even hide the [Magic Tree House] books in the library so that they will be able to find them when they are ready to check them out.
—K. Mortensen

My Magic Tree House books are never on the bookshelf because they are always being read by my students. Thank you for creating such a wonderful series.
—K. Mahoney

Dear Readers,

I wrote this book because I've always loved the theater. When I was growing up, I performed in many plays. I even married an actor and playwright! My husband, Will, and I both love plays by Shakespeare. So for the past two summers, we've enjoyed visiting friends in England who put on plays by Shakespeare on the grounds of a castle. We also like to visit the replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London.

My main research for
Stage Fright on a Summer Night
, though, comes from my memories of being onstage. Imagine waiting in the wings, heart pounding, palms sweating, knees shaking … Then you're on!

It's one of the most frightening and fun experiences you can think of. So I hope you'll be a little frightened and have a lot of fun when you share this adventure with Jack and Annie.

All my best,

Text copyright © 2002 by Mary Pope Osborne.
Illustrations copyright © 2002 by Sal Murdocca.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

www.randomhouse.com/magictreehouse

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Osborne, Mary Pope.
Stage fright on a summer night / by Mary Pope Osborne;
[Sal Murdocca, illustrator].
p. cm.—(Magic tree house; #25)
SUMMARY
: Jack and Annie travel in their magic tree house to Elizabethan London, where they become actors in a production of
A Midsummer Night's Dream
and try to rescue a tame bear.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89482-4
[1. Time travel—Fiction. 2. Theater—England—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction. 4. Tree houses—Fiction. 5. England—Fiction.] I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. PZ7.O81167 Ss 2002 [Fic]—dc21 2001048231

Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland

RANDOM HOUSE
and colophon are registered trademarks and
A STEPPING STONE BOOK
and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
MAGIC TREE HOUSE
is a registered trademark of Mary Pope Osborne; used under license.

v3.0

For James Simmons

      
Cover

      
Dear Readers

      
Title Page

      
Copyright

      
Dedication

      
Prologue

  
1. Special Magic

  
2. London Bridge

  
3. The Bear Garden

  
4. A Midsummer Night's Dream

  
5. Stage Fright

  
6. Onstage!

  
7. In the Forest, in the Night

  
8. The Most Important Person

  
9. Sweet Sorrow

10. Our Will?

      
More Facts

      
Special Preview of
Magic Tree House #26:
Good Morning, Gorillas

One summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods.

Eight-year-old Jack and his seven-year-old sister, Annie, climbed into the tree house. They found that it was filled with books.

Jack and Annie soon discovered that the tree house was magic. It could take them to the places in the books. All they had to do was point to a picture and wish to go there. While they are gone, no time at all passes in Frog Creek.

Along the way, Jack and Annie discovered that the tree house belongs to Morgan le Fay. Morgan is a magical librarian of Camelot, the long-ago kingdom of King Arthur. She travels through time and space, gathering books.

In Magic Tree House Books #5–8, Jack and Annie help free Morgan from a spell. In Books #9–12, they solve four ancient riddles and become Master Librarians.

In Magic Tree House Books #13–16, Jack and Annie have to save four ancient stories from being lost forever. In Magic Tree House Books #17–20, Jack and Annie free a mysterious little dog from a magic spell. In Magic Tree House Books #21–24, Jack and Annie help save Camelot. In Magic Tree House Books #25–28, Jack and Annie search for special kinds of magic.