The forty-third book in the Magic Tree House series. It was written by Mary Pope Osborne and illustrated by Sal Murdocca. It has one hundred eleven pages and eleven chapters. It was published and released in 2010. It was re-released by Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with Random House Inc.in . It was printed in the United States.
Summary[]
Jack and Annie travel back to nineteenth-century Ireland to inspire a young Augusta Gregory to share her love of Irish legends and folktales with the world.
Chapters[]
- A Beautiful Word
- The Big House
- Miss Augusta
- What Are You Good For?
- A Fireside Tale
- A Late Winter's Daydream
- Willy
- The Hollow Hill
- Skunks or Weasels?
- Fare-thee-wells
- Lady Gregory
Plot[]
One cold afternoon in late winter, Jack struggled with writing a story for school. Annie suggested him to go outside and observe his surroundings to gather ideas. While outside, Jack discovers strange letters, "TK," appearing in his notebook, which he shares with Annie. The two head to their Treehouse, where they meet their friends, Teddy and Kathleen, the meaning of the letters. For their next mission, the pair is tasked with traveling to 19th-century Ireland to inspire a creative girl named Augusta. Kathleen turns the Wand of Dianthus’ trumpet form into an Irish whistle, and they prepare to go.
Jack and Annie arrived in Ireland, where they found themselves in a cold, wet landscape. They met an old man driving a wagon filled with pigs, who directed them to a mansion known as the Big House. At the mansion, the kids interacted with a pale teenage girl who answered the door but rudely slammed it in their faces when they mentioned they’re the ones the butler sent for. Undeterred, Jack and Annie go to the back of the mansion, where they meet Molly, a red-haired girl in a cap and apron. She let them in and led them to the kitchen, where they met the cook and elderly butler. The butler initially mistook them for other workers he had sent for, and the cook questioned them about possible jobs, like sweeping chimneys or catching rats. Finally, they met Augusta, the girl they were sent to inspire. She took them into the parlor and was kind to them despite their dirty appearance
Augusta offered them tea and potatoes, and while her two sisters criticized her for treating Jack and Annie with kindness, Augusta insisted on being compassionate. As they talk, Augusta reveals that she used to be inspired by nature and enjoyed roaming the woods, but her mother no longer allows it, believing it’s not proper for a young lady. Augusta also gave Jack and Annie advice on being useful, but her attitude comes across as condescending. Jack challenges her, pointing out that she seems to think she’s better than others. Augusta defends herself, saying she loves the poor, and promises to introduce them to her friend, Mary, who will tell them more about her. They then followed Augusta to Mary’s cottage, where an elderly woman with ragged white hair and a crooked smile greets them warmly. After sharing hot cocoa, they discussed Augusta's struggles with her feelings of being misunderstood and disconnected from others. Augusta has been trying to help poor children but feels frustrated, thinking they are "good for nothing." Mary suggests they each share what they love to do, and while Jack and Annie talk about their love of reading, writing, and acting, Augusta dismisses them, not realizing that Jack and Annie have had real experiences in Shakespeare's plays.
Mary then tells a mystical story about the "she," or fairies, and the magic they bring, which Augusta dismisses as nonsense. She is too practical and skeptical to believe in such things, having spent years looking for proof of magic in the world but never finding it. Mary explains that Augusta, while intelligent and hardworking, is unhappy because she searches for magic with her head rather than her heart.

Jack, Annie and Augusta looking over the Shee after they were summoned with a whistle.
Jack and Annie decide to help Augusta see the magic, and they plan a play to show her. They perform for her near the river, playing music on the whistle summons the magic of the Shee. As they perform, Augusta is amazed by the appearance of mystical beings riding white horses and dressed in the colors of nature. This display of magic sparks something in Augusta, and she begins to open her heart to the possibility of wonder and joy, realizing there is more to life than just practical knowledge. Jack and Annie are caught in a magical moment when they summon the Shee, a mystical group, with Jack’s music. However, something goes wrong when Jack unintentionally sings about a lonely girl, causing Augusta to be shrunk and taken by the Shee! Jack feels responsible, and the two siblings hurry to find a way to get her back.
Their search leads them to a leprechaun named Willie, who was also swept away by the music. Willie agrees to help them find Augusta, but in exchange, he asks Jack to teach him how to play the whistle the same way Jack did. Willie guides them through the forest and across a river to the secret home of the Shee, a hidden glade. There, they discover a magical place filled with mythical figures and tiny dancers. Through a small doorway in a grassy mound, Jack and Annie see the Shee in their home, including the high King and Queen, and to their relief, Augusta is there, draped in a red cape. Jack and Annie figured out that only people who enter the hill get shrunk, so they decide to approach the King and Queen to ask for Augusta's release. However, when they ask, Augusta surprises them by saying she doesn't want to leave. Jack and Annie try to convince her that she has a purpose back home, but Augusta insists she’s happier with the Shee. The High King grows angry and threatens to turn them into skunks, but before he can, the High Queen steps forward and tells Augusta a story about the Shee’s ancient origins. She urges Augusta to take her gifts of storytelling and memory back to the world, to help preserve their culture. Augusta agrees, and after drinking a magical nectar, she is returned to her normal size, and the group is transported back outside.
Augusta is excited to start her new mission of preserving the stories of the Shee, starting with Mary, the storyteller. They head to Mary's cottage, where they find Willie, the leprechaun, waiting. After some playful banter, they talk about Merlin and the magic whistle, which they cannot teach Willie to play since its magic is used up. Just as Jack fears a consequence, Willie laughs and assures them he was only joking. Augusta is eager to begin her task, and she writes down the story Willie tells about his past with Merlin. After a heartfelt goodbye to their friends, Jack and Annie leave the cottage, heading back to the treehouse, ready to return home. They climb the rope ladder, escaping the rain and wind, and as the treehouse spins, they are whisked away.
Once they got back to Frog Creek, it was sunny, and the kids were dry. Jack wanted to get home and look up Augusta on the internet. Their mom was glad they had a nice break, but told them to get back to their home so they could leave for the theater. Annie typed “Galway”, “Augusta”, and “Irish Stories” because they didn’t know her last name. On the first website she chose, they discovered that she was Lady Gregory, a famous author and playwright! Jack and Annie were glad that she Augusta turned out great, but they also realized they have to do a lot work by themselves one day using the skills that they were good for. They were good at helping others like Mozart, Tokyo and many more. Jack decided to write that story for his homework while Annie read more about Lady Gregory.
Notes on time and place settings[]
About six months have passed since A Good Night for Ghosts.
Trivia[]
- At the beginning of the book, there is a passage from Lady Gregory's Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland. "They can grow small or grow large. They can take what shape they choose. ... They go by us in a cloud of dust; they are as many as the blades of grass. They are everywhere." These are words that Lady Gregory used to describe the Shee, referred in that book as the sidhe.
- When talking about how they helped others, Annie and Jack mentioned Leonardo da Vinci and the Mona Lisa, an orphan penguin, a huge octopus, Venice, New York, a baby gorilla, the school kids and a twister, Clara Barton, George Washington, two kids and a tsunami, a Lota boy and a buffalo stampede, and a baby kangaroo, a koala and forest fire.