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Earthquake in the Early Morning is the twenty-fourth installment to the Magic Tree House series. The book is preceded by Twister on Tuesday and succeeded by Stage Fright on a Summer Night.

Synopsis[]

The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to San Francisco in 1906, in time for them to experience one of the biggest earthquakes the United States had ever known.

Chapters[]

  1. Tweet-tweet
  2. Thunder Under the Ground
  3. The Great Shake
  4. What's the Story?
  5. Stop! Stop!
  6. Something to Lend
  7. Dynamite!
  8. Good Luck, San Francisco!
  9. The Wonderful Room
  10. The Mystery of Morgan's Library

Plot[]

After Annie watched some birds, she and Jack went back to the magic tree house as Morgan instructed them to. They had three things to save Camelot: a list from the Civil War, a letter from the Revolutionary War, and a poem from an old schoolhouse. Now, all they needed was something to lend, but Jack wondered how these would save Camelot anyway. The book that would take them to the last thing was about San Francisco, California in 1906.

Their clothes changed upon arrival, and they admired the city, but Annie got annoyed by Jack researching it. As they tried to be like tourists under the rising sun, they heard a rumbling coming from underground. When they tried to shake it off, it started again and the whole city began to fall apart! After it stopped again, Jack couldn’t find Annie, she fell into the ground. Jack brought some bricks for Annie to stand on so she could climb out herself. Jack discovered that this 1906 earthquake was one the biggest in American history. Everyone in the city went outside silent in shock, some were crying.

Next, the buildings started to catch fire! Annie wanted to help; some men were trying to get some bank bags to the harbor by loading them up in a wagon. The kids then ran into reporters named Betty and Fred, who got the story about the saved money. Since the ferry is crowded, Betty tells the kids to go to Golden Gate Park. Many people were scattering, taking many things with them. Right now, the kids were near a building where a man was moving books to the Pavilion, they helped him put the last in his wagon. Unfortunately, Jack read that all the books burned when the Pavilion caught fire, they ran to warn the man but he didn’t believe them.

Just as they started to cry about that, they heard someone else crying. It was a woman named Mary and her two nephews, Peter and Andrew. The older brother, Andrew, was writing something on a piece of wood with coal. Their house had also caught fire and burned all their things, including the boys’ shoes. Jack and Annie decided to lend the two their own shoes, and in return, Andrew lent them the piece of wood. Jack realized that they gave them their last special writing! They told the three to go to Golden Gate Park and said they were good friends.

Unfortunately, the street down the hill where they came from was covered in smoke. They noticed everyone in the city was trying to save something important like their sign. Some soldiers announced that they were using dynamite, Jack read that the mayor (Eugene Schmitz) thought it could stop the fires, but it just caused a firestorm! After the first explosion, the kids were found by Betty and Fred again. Fred took a picture of them with Jack holding the sign. Running through the explosions, Jack and Annie finally made it back to the magic tree house. Wishing San Francisco good luck, the two left.

Back home, Jack read that the city was restored in a decade with help from people all around the country, its citizens never gave up hope. Jack placed the sign from Peter and Andrew with the other writings. Suddenly, Morgan appeared, she said the writing is actually for someone else. She transported them to her own library, where a man was sulking due to him and his knights giving up hope for the kingdom. They must show him the writings to help, but he was doubtful since they were just kids. However, they helped many people the past two weeks, the writings were them sharing what they did. The list told how to help wounded people, the letter told of how you shouldn’t give up even when things look their worse, the slate said you must try again if you don’t succeed, and the sign said you can still have hope if you lost everything. This cheered the man up, though he was surprised that the kids could find courage and hope. Determined to do the same, he went off to tell his knights what they shared, thanking them. The kids then gave the writings to Morgan so they would help others who came there, they then went home.

Lend Sign

Jack and Annie in a newspaper photo with a sign lent to them.

Jack and Annie were amazed that they got to go to Morgan’s library. Suddenly, the wind blew the San Francisco book open, revealing the picture that Fred took of them. It said that they tried to give hope to the city, Annie remarked about the similar situations. She said the man was King Arthur but Jack was doubtful until she pointed out that he said he was an ordinary king. They then went home before their parents woke up, wondering when they will get to go back to Camelot.

Notes on time and place settings[]

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