Mary Pope Osborne
Mary Pope Osborne
Mary Pope Osborneis an American author of children's books. She is best known for the award-winning and bestselling Magic Tree House series, which has been translated into more than 30 languages and has sold more than 130 million copies worldwide...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth20 May 1949
CountryUnited States of America
books discovered imagination looked number single somewhere wrote
I discovered writing children's books was a way to keep living in my imagination like a child. So I wrote a number of books before I started 'Magic Tree House.' Then, once I got that, I never looked back because I could be somewhere different in every single book.
brothers constantly dad games happened heard informed kids military nearly played post saw stories war
A military childhood in the 1950s was very much informed by WWII. My brothers and I often heard stories from our dad - and from other kids - about things that had happened to their dads. We constantly played war games and, nearly every Saturday, saw a different WWII movie at the post theater.
books house laura loved secret wrote
I loved Frances Hodgson Burnett, who wrote 'The Little Princess' and 'The Secret Garden.' And I loved the 'Little House on the Prairie' books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
love
I love using my imagination. I love writing about animals.
home
A vacation for me is when I'm home and I'm writing.
kids works
Sometimes when I go out on the road, I feel almost embarrassed or dismayed because I can't be the image of what kids want me to be. So I just try to be myself, and usually that works out OK.
closer imagination
My imagination is closer to a child's imagination than to a grown-up's.
movies
I wanted to be a cowboy in cowboy movies.
adventures country goes horrifying lord love routine setting vivid
I would love to live in 'The Lord of the Rings.' J. R. R. Tolkien's world is so vivid and rich and sensual. I love the country setting and the routine of the hobbits. Of course, I would like to be a hobbit who goes on small adventures - not huge, horrifying ones like Frodo's quest.
castle dolphins ghosts run
With my writing, I can still play inside an enchanted castle or live inside an old fort. I can run from ghosts or ride dolphins any day of the week.
acted continued dreary free high imaginary life local places seemed shakespeare spending tennessee time visit whether williams worked
When I was a teenager, I continued to visit imaginary places by spending all my free time at our local community theater. Whether I acted in a play or worked backstage, the world of Tennessee Williams or Shakespeare always seemed more real to me than the dreary life of high school.
jobs children teaching
I love teaching. It's a job that lasts forever. Whatever you teach children today travels with them far into the future.
home writing miracle
Writing is a miracle. You can travel anywhere in the world, to any time and any place — and still be home in time to have dinner.
darkness faces chance
I have to keep facing the darkness. If I stand tall and face the thing I fear, I have a chance to conquer it. If I just keep dodging and hiding it will conquer me.