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Jack and Annie are ready for their next adventure in the New York Times bestselling middle-grade series—the Magic Tree House!

Time-traveling brother-and-sister team Jack and Annie have to find a certain kind of food—the fourth thing needed to save Merlin’s beloved penguin, Penny. The magic tree house whisks them off to a village in the mountains of southeast China, close to a world-famous panda reserve. Will it be their easiest adventure yet? Not a chance! Jack and Annie don't know it, but they’ve arrived on the day of a historic earthquake!

How will Jack and Annie survive when the giant quake strikes? Will they be able to rescue the pandas? And how will they ever get back to the tree house so that they can fulfill their quest to save Penny as well?

Mary Pope Osborne conjures up another fast-paced adventure filled with danger, mystery, and magic in the bestselling Magic Tree House series.
 
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From the Hardcover edition.

2 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2012

450 people are currently reading
2222 people want to read

About the author

Mary Pope Osborne

1,088 books2,558 followers
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.

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5 stars
1,476 (48%)
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867 (28%)
3 stars
537 (17%)
2 stars
116 (3%)
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59 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
Profile Image for Jenny Clark.
3,225 reviews122 followers
July 9, 2021
This is the final book in the quartet to save Penny. Jack and Annie go to modern day China in this one, and help at a panda reserve. This takes place on the day of the great Sichuan earthquake, after which they help rescue the pandas. The potion they have this time makes them 5 times taller then their normal height, and the last ting they need to save Penny is panda bread. One thing that does get me about this series is that everywhere they travel, they have no problems with language, and this is never explained, though I'm sure it's something like it's part of the magic that changes their clothes so they blend in. The fact tracker for this is Pandas and Other Endangered Species
Profile Image for Shelli.
5,144 reviews56 followers
January 21, 2015
A Perfect Time For Pandas was the fourth book in the latest adventure missions Jack and Annie have been sent on by Teddy and Kathleen, their magical friends from Camelot. Teddy accidentally turned Merlin the Magician's treasured pet penguin Penny into a statute. While he and Kathleen worked on reversing the spell, Jack and Annie were sent across different times and continents to find the ingredients needed for the reversal. In this book edition and Annie were sent to Southwest China on May 12th 2008, when major earthquakes devastated the region.

The Magic Tree House books are a MUST READ collection for all children. Unlike many other series for young readers, the Magic Tree House should be read in chronological order to best appreciate Jack and Annie's travels through time as they go on various missions; which are typically completed in four parts. Parents and educators will enjoy going along for the ride as much as their students! My daughter is a teenager now but she still gets excited when she sees a new tree house adventure has come out.
Profile Image for kristen.
597 reviews17 followers
September 26, 2012
The common pattern of the books in The Magic Tree House Series makes for engaging adventures everytime. Kids will love the appeal of the adorable pandas and really sympathize with the earthquake tragedy. Another great book in the series!
Profile Image for Aubree Bowling.
217 reviews13 followers
February 15, 2015
My 6 & 8 year olds loved it. I have now read them 3 of these and I decidedly prefer the historical time travel ones. but the Magic Tree House series is strong and opens up their imaginations really well.
Profile Image for Brenna.
395 reviews10 followers
February 21, 2021
Read with my nephew, Phoenix, every time he came over to my house! He loved it and he got it for me because it was clearly about pandas and we laughed a lot. Plus he thought I was extra cool that I got to go to a lot of the places mentioned. :)
Profile Image for Berkeley Poder.
147 reviews7 followers
October 7, 2016
The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie off to a village in the mountain of southeast China,nears a world famous pandas reserve.They need to find a special food to save Merlin's beloved penguin,Penny.Then a historic earthquake strikes!How would Jack and Annie got out of this dangerous place in China.Can Jack and Annie save the pandas at the panda center.How would Jack and Annie get back to the tree house, so they can fulfill their mission from Merlin and how would they go and help Merlin's penguin,Penny.Will Jack and Annie make it back to help Penny!
161 reviews
May 27, 2013
Jack and Annie are off on another adventure. This time they end up in China at a panda reserve. How cool is that? This should be a fun adventure. But it just isn't meant to be that easy. What are the odds that they land in China the exact day that a major earthquake is about to hit. Is this the adventure where everything goes wrong?
Author 1 book67 followers
October 6, 2014
Fun book full of adventure. Pandas with their love looking eyes bring out the best in all of us. An earthquake hit Southwest China in 2008. It devastated the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve Center. Jack and Anne go on another adventure to China in their time traveling tree house. They learn how to love not only humans but animals as well. Great book.
Profile Image for Malorie  (Firereader).
283 reviews60 followers
February 21, 2021
On their fourth mission to get an item to save Merlin's baby penguin, Jack and Annie run toward danger during a catastrophic earthquake to save endangered panda bears. That pretty much sums it up without giving anything away. As usual, my son enjoyed it and learned some things about pandas and got to say "aww!" over the pictures a lot.
Profile Image for Lindsy.
19 reviews6 followers
September 30, 2015
Read aloud to my 3 and 4 year old. A very quick and easy read with a good story line. We love Magic Tree House, but I prefer books that might have more interesting or challenging vocabulary. But we read these in between.
1 review
November 29, 2015
I think A Perfect Time for Pandas is a historical fiction book because Jack and Annie traveled on a magic tree house to ancient China. They are trying to save Merlin, the magician's pet penguin, Penny and they are trying to rescue pandas from an earthquake.
Profile Image for Christina.
239 reviews6 followers
April 14, 2016
This book was fun and magical but also sparked a lot of talk in our house about endangered animals and how we help them and what makes them endangered and so forth. I always like books for my son that spark questions and creativity.
Profile Image for Karen.
Author 10 books30 followers
December 5, 2016
My son and I did love this book. Maybe because it featured panda (and a penguin) and a brief visit to Camelot. Or maybe because it was such a warm and delightful read.
Profile Image for Alivia.
5 reviews
May 26, 2017
I like Annie, because she likes pandas.
Profile Image for Liz.
309 reviews1 follower
Read
June 3, 2020
Another chapter bedtime book. We loved the panda kindergarten.
Profile Image for Emily.
188 reviews
August 17, 2020
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. Soon Merlin was not well, and not cheerful at all. Jack and Annie found four secrets of happiness for him, and now he is happy again. However the biggest thing that cheered him up was a little penguin named Penny Jack and Annie had gotten from their last mission to find the last secret of happiness for Merlin. That mission had taken place in Antarctica. Then, after those missions, they helped a girl named Augusta, Mozart, Louis Armstrong, and Charles Dickens. One adventure ago, they figured out that one of their dearest, cutest, animal friends have been turned accidentally to stone. Penny the penguin. To rescue Penny Jack and Annie have to find four items. An emerald and a special flower has already been found, but Jack and Annie still need to go on two more missions to find all the things to rescue Penny. Today Jack and Annie are going on their fourth mission to find the last object to rescue Penny...

As usual, the mission all started when Jack and Annie decided to give the treehouse a visit. Inside, they found that their friends, Teddy and Kathleen, have left them a note, a potion, and a reasearch book. They soon figured out that according to the note, the third object they are supposed to find on this mission is food that is hard, nutritious, the colour of sand, baked with love, and given to those who lost their land. Jack and Annie first thought it was pretty weird and I have to agree. According to the reasearch book, they figured out that their mission was going to take place in Southwest China. They also found that when they take one sip of the potion Teddy and Kathleen left for them, they will grow four times their size! Since they wanted to get started on their mission, they pointed at the reasearch book and wished to go there. Magically, the magic treehouse teleported them there, the place their mission was taking place. Since they didn’t know what to do to start their mission, they decided to first go to restaurants and see if they serve any food that is rough. They started off at a restaurant named Garden Paradise. They asked the waiter if they served any food that was tough as wood and the colour of sand. But that only made Jack and Annie seem like weird people to the waiter and the other people at the restaurant. Jack and Annie left garden paradise feeling extremely awkward. Soon, they didn’t know what to do next. Annie suggested they look in the reasearch book Teddy and Kathleen left with them, so that’s what they did. Soon the reasearch book talked about pandas. They figured out that Wolong Town is a home to giant pandas. Annie loves pandas and she has wanted, all her life, to see one up close. She decided that she was going to the panda centre. As much as Jack wanted to focus on the mission and find the weird food, Annie was too excited Jack just couldn’t say no! So, they rented to mountain bikes and head out towards the mountains in the direction of the panda centre with Annie in a very pleasant mood. However, soon they saw a sign that said no one under eighteen is allowed to go in the panda centre unless accompanied by an adult. Annie accept this sign. She kind of ignored it, and blended into a small crowd of panda centre volunteers. I can’t believe her! Jack grumbled to himself but still followed Annie. This volunteer group was controlled by a woman that works at the panda centre named Dr. Ling. Dr. Ling first led the group into the panda nursery where a single newborn panda lay in the incubator. After Jack and Annie took a quick peek, Dr. Ling took them to meet the panda keepers. Jack and Annie will help one of the panda keepers take care of one of the giant pandas. Their panda keepers turned out to be Master Lee. The panda they are going to help take care of is a giant panda named Bing Bing. Master Lee took Jack and Annie to Bing Bing’s yard to clean stuff. Annie asked where Bing Bing was, and Master Lee said, to Annie’s disappointment, they were most likely not going to see Bing Bing today. She is really shy, and is probably hiding in her yard. Says Master Lee. However, soon and unexpectedly, they actually found Bing Bing! Once Master Lee noticed that they found her, he gave them a job. Observe and write down everything she does. Annie asked if they could touch her. However, Master Lee said no. They had very little observations on their papers when Master Lee came to collect them. They had recorded more in their hearts than in their brains. Then, they were supposed to head to the bus where the other volunteers were already in. However, then, they caught sight of some little pandas playing on a playground. A sign said panda kindergarten. Jack and Annie thought the pandas were so cute and they just stared at them for a minute or two. They began talking about how cute they were when an angry voice interrupted them. Dr. Ling was standing behind them saying that the other volunteers had already boarded the bus and how irresponsible Jack and Annie were. Jack and Annie yanked off their volunteer clothes and ran for the bus. When they were out of sight, they sneakily headed to their bicycles so they could go to Wolong Town and look for that special food again so they could help rescue Penny. They decided they could visit more restaurants. However, before they could say another word to each other, an earthquake started! Everything was rumbling! Everything was shaking! They decided that they had to head back to the panda centre and rescue the pandas. However, they couldn’t. Fallen trees, rocks, and mud blocked their way to the panda centre or Wolong Town. Can Jack and Annie help the pandas survive the earthquake when they can’t even get to the panda centre? Can Jack and Annie find that weird food so they can complete their mission? Can Jack and Annie survive this tremendous earthquake and it’s aftershocks?
8 reviews
December 9, 2024
A Perfect Time for Pandas is an adventurous and educational journey that blends magic, history, and a love for animals. In this book, Jack and Annie travel to China using their magical treehouse, where they learn about the culture of China and how in modern times Pandas are extremely important to them, helping at a panda rescue center. Along the way, they face challenges, learn about pandas and their habitat, and work together to complete their mission to save the pandas from an accident that is waiting to happen. The story is both exciting and heartwarming, with a focus on teamwork and compassion. I loved how the book combined fast-paced action with fascinating facts about pandas and their conservation. The major themes in the book were environmental conversation and teamwork. Environmental conservation is highlighted through the focus on protecting pandas and their habitats, teaching readers about the importance of caring for endangered species. When I first read this book, I already loved Pandas and it only reinforced my love for the species while making me want to reach out to others to try and save them. Teamwork is another team, as Jack and Annie must work with each other despite their sibling rivalry to support each other during their adventure. The main genre of this book is a mixture of fantasy and historical fiction. My reasoning behind this is the fact that Jack and Annie are getting help to travel back in time from wizards who reside in a magic treehouse, while historical fiction side of the genre is where the event that Jack and Annie go back to help and prevent happened in real life with an earthquake that happened in China that killed multiple pandas. Children reading this book could learn about the challenges faced by endangered animals and the importance of protecting their ecosystems. They could also learn the value of cooperation and problem-solving when working toward a goal. This book was a WOW book for me because it seamlessly combines magical adventures with real-world lessons, making it both entertaining and educational. The mix of imagination and meaningful content leaves a lasting impact, inspiring readers to care for the planet and its creatures.
Two of the literary devices the author used in writing this book were descriptive imagery and dialogue. The author, Mary Pope Osborne uses vivid descriptions to bring the Chinese setting and the pandas' habitat to life. For example, her depiction of the misty mountains, bamboo forests, and the panda rescue center immerses readers in the environment and creates a strong sense of place. This enhances the story by making the setting feel real and engaging. With the dialogue being realistic and heartfelt in the conversations between the brother and sister Jack and Annie, alongside the people they meet, adds depth to their relationship and conveys important information naturally. Through their dialogue, the reader experiences the characters’ curiosity, problem-solving, and empathy, which enriches the narrative.
Profile Image for Ariel.
370 reviews5 followers
August 11, 2023
Magic Tree House: Perfect Time for Pandas. It's all about Jack and Annie, who are these really brave kids. They have this magical tree house that can take them to different places and times. In this adventure, they go to China, which is a really faraway place!

So, Jack and Annie don't really know where they're going, but guess what? They end up in China! And it's a special day because something important is about to happen.

They visit a place called Panda's Resort. It's like a place where people care for pandas, like a sanctuary. Pandas are these super cute and cuddly bears that live in China. But then, suddenly, something crazy happens – an earthquake! Oh no!

Because of the earthquake, the pandas are in danger. Jack and Annie have to be really brave and quick. They help rescue the pandas and keep them safe. They're like panda heroes!

Annie does something really sweet. She gives names to two twin pandas – Rolly and Pulley. It's adorable because they both roll around and chew on sticks together. Imagine pandas rolling like that, haha!

Do you know what's even more exciting? Jack and Annie are on this big adventure because they need to find something that will help their friend Merlin. Merlin is a powerful magician, and he needs their help. They want to save Merlin's penguin friend named Penny. So, they have to find some special things, and one of them is in China.

What's great about this book is that it teaches us important stuff. One thing is that if you see someone or something in trouble, it's really nice to help them. Jack and Annie didn't have to save the pandas, but they did because it was the right thing to do. That's a good lesson for all of us.

And guess what? Pandas are not just cute, and they're also in danger in real life. So, reading about Jack and Annie helping pandas makes us think about how we can help animals too.

I really liked reading this book. It was exciting, and I learned about pandas and how important it is to be kind and helpful. If you like adventures and cute animals, you should totally read Magic Tree House: Perfect Time for Pandas. It's a magical and fun journey!

Check out my full review of this book on my YouTube channel. It's got everything you need to know about this amazing read.
https://youtu.be/T0EI9trclTk
Profile Image for Sara Hollar.
395 reviews29 followers
September 26, 2017
We were so excited to read this because my 4 year old loves China (not sure where that came from). Sadly, it was not great. There were really no cultural lessons here. Everyone in the story spoke English. Jack & Annie went into one restaurant where they noticed different foods, and they immediately "EWW!" and laugh about it. Apparently this is the last book of a series where they needed to find items to complete a spell for a little penguin that somehow turned to stone. I'm not completely opposed to spells and sorcery, but I felt lost and knew my 4 year old was lost because we hadn't read the previous 3 books. The worst part of the story is that Jack & Annie break the rules to get into the panda center and they carry on this lie for the entire story. Every child is to be with an adult, so they pretend this older lady is their grandmother so they can get into the panda center. They lie and trick & deceive through the rest of the book. I was super uncomfortable with this. My son loves the MTH series, but I think we will stick with the earlier books. I definitely don't recommend this one.
Profile Image for Kim.
1,300 reviews5 followers
October 8, 2021
Jack and Annie are on their fourth mission to help Penny the Penguin come back to life again. They have retrieved an emerald shaped as a rose from India, a feather quill pen from Abraham Lincoln, a white and yellow flower from the Swiss Alps, and now panda bread from China.

In this book Jack and Annie visit a Panda Center in China and meet Bing Bing a Giant Panda Bear. They also encounter small pandas at play and even a newborn panda in an incubator. They are born naked and pink. While on the road down on their bikes, they experience an earthquake and aftershocks. They go back to help out the workers to find the scared pandas and find the last item to help Teddy and Kathleen break the spell.

Together, as a family, we learned of the many endangered species of animals that need our help. We can provide that help in many ways, one that out son said was to give money to these centers for food. We love these books.
Profile Image for EJ Johnson.
344 reviews
February 26, 2021
I am really enjoying reading some of The Magic treehouse books with my grandsons. I was worried this one wouldn’t be as fun for them as the last one we had because it dealt with real life and not magical creatures but they still liked it. We take turns reading and it is a pleasant read though below level for the oldest and above for the youngest. We are now reading the non-fiction companion book about Pandas.
Profile Image for Brian Stout.
111 reviews9 followers
June 9, 2021
A perfect time for pandas was really good and so I liked it and now I'm doing a review I did five stars and my favorite part was the middle because it was so interesting and exciting and it was about the pandas and everything was good about the book and I liked it because it was exciting and amazing and it was a little bit scary and so that's why I liked it. And those are the few things I like about it.
Profile Image for Adelle and Nata  Read.
17 reviews
July 6, 2018
Adelle - 5/5 "It was very interesting and funny and they saved Penny the penguin! 5/5 because all the magic tree house books are very interesting and funny."
Nata - 4/5. "It was like all the other magic tree house books because all of the books are basically the same thing—they go on an adventure, they come back, and then they see Merlin. But it's also very interesting."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews

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