Season of the Sandstorms - Mary Pope Osborne [1]
“A Merlin mission.”
“A Stepping Stone book.”
SUMMARY: Guided by a magic rhyme, Jack and Annie travel to ancient Baghdad on a mission to help the caliph disseminate wisdom to the world.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89456-5
[1. Time travel—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Brothers and sisters—Fiction.
4. Baghdad (Iraq)—History—Fiction. 5. Iraq—History—Fiction.]
I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope.
Magic tree house series; v #34. PZ7.O81167Se 2005 [E]—dc22 2005000836
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
To Paul Caringella,
a scholar in the
House of Wisdom
Cover
Title Page
Dear Reader
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
1. The Golden Age
2. Nowhere
3. Mamoon
4. Ships of the Desert
5. Bandits!
6. Sandblasted
7. Behind the Third Wall
8. Room of the Tree
9. House of Wisdom
10. Before the Moon Rises
More Facts About Baghdad
About the Author
About the Illustrator
Special Preview of Magic Tree House #35: Night of the New Magicians
Away, for we are ready to a man!
Our camels sniff the evening and are glad.
Lead on, O Master of the Caravan:
Lead on the Merchant-Princes of Baghdad.
—James Elroy Flecker
One summer day, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods. A brother and sister named Jack and Annie soon learned that the tree house was magic—it could take them to any time and any place in history. They also learned that the tree house belonged to Morgan le Fay, a magical librarian from the legendary realm of Camelot.
After Jack and Annie traveled on many adventures for Morgan, Merlin the magician began sending them on “Merlin Missions” in the tree house. With help from two young sorcerers named Teddy and Kathleen, Jack and Annie visited four mythical places and found valuable objects to help save Camelot.
On their next four Merlin Missions, Jack and Annie were told they must travel to real times and real places in history and prove to Merlin that they could use magic wisely. They have just returned from a successful mission in the city of Venice over 250 years ago, and now they are waiting to hear from Merlin again….
Jack put his math homework aside. He opened the drawer beside his bed and pulled out a small, handmade book. For the hundredth time, he stared at the title on the cover:
10 MAGIC RHYMES FOR ANNIE AND JACK
FROM TEDDY AND KATHLEEN
For weeks, Jack had kept the book hidden in his drawer, wondering when he and Annie would be able to use its magic again. The book’s ten rhymes were to be used on four missions, and each rhyme could be used only once. Jack and Annie had already used two rhymes on a mission in Venice, Italy.
“Jack!” Annie rushed into Jack’s room. Her eyes were shining. “Bring the book! Let’s go!”
“Where?” said Jack.
“You know where! Come on!” Annie called as she ran back downstairs.
Jack quickly put Teddy and Kathleen’s book into his backpack. He pulled on his jacket and took off down the stairs.
Annie was waiting on the front porch. “Hurry!” she cried.
“Wait! How do you know it’s there?” Jack said.
“Because I just saw it!” Annie shouted. She hurried down the porch steps and crossed the yard.
“You saw it? Actually saw it?” yelled Jack as he followed Annie through the chilly afternoon air.
“Yes! Yes!” Annie yelled.
“When?” shouted Jack.
“Just now!” said Annie. “I was walking home from the library and I had this feeling—so I went and looked! It’s waiting for us!”
Jack and Annie raced into the Frog Creek woods. They ran between the budding trees, over the fresh green moss of early spring, until they came to the tallest oak.
“See?” said Annie.
“Yes,” breathed Jack. He stared up at the magic tree house. Its rope ladder dangled above the mossy ground. Annie started climbing up. Jack followed. When they got inside, Jack pulled off his backpack.
“Look,