Pirates Past Noon is the fourth installment in the Magic Tree House series. It was written by Mary Pope Osborne and illustrated by Sal Murdocca. It has sixty-seven pages and ten chapters. It was published and released in 1994 It was re-released by Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with Random House Inc. in 1996. It was printed in the United States. The book is preceded by Mummies in the Morning and succeded by Night of the Ninjas.
Synopsis
Back for the fourth time
As the book starts off, Jack and Annie are stuck inside due to a storm. They decide to go to the tree house in order to do something fun. They put on their rain clothes and head out. When they get to the oak tree, the tree hosue is there. They climb up the rope ladder and enter. While looking through the books, they find a book about pirates. Annie, without even knowing where they were going, wishes them off to an island paradise. Just as all the magic begins, a parrot appears outside. Annie names it Polly.
Meeting the pirates
The kds meeting Captain Bones
The tree house lands in a palm tree on a beach. Jack and Annie leave the tree hosue and go to the beach. They see a ship coming for them carrying a flat with a skull and crossbones. Jack looks at the cover of the book and finds out that it is a pirate book. Jack starts to take notes when Annie sees that some pirates are coming in a rowboat. As they starts to run, Jack loses his glasses. He finds them and his backpack and runs for the tree house. Annie makes it to the top of the tree house, but Jack turns and sees that he has left the pirate book. He runs as fast as he can to the beach. He grabs the book, but gets caught by the pirates. Annie comes to save him, but is caught, too. The other two pirates, Stinky and Pinky, search the tree house, but are disappointed to find only books. Then they find the "M" medallion. They toss it down to Captain Bones, who fires off two pistols. Bones then makes Jack read a treasure map for Captain Kidd's treasure. Bones promises to let the two go after they have found the treasure. After a failed attempt to decifer the map, Bones takes the kids to his ship. When they get to the ship, the pirates lock them up in the cabin. Jack and Annie find out that the island is shaped like a whale, therefore decifering the map.
The treasure and home
Jack and Annie tell Bones that they will show him where to find the treasure. They are thrown in a boat, along with Bones, Pinky, and Stinky, and head for the island. In the distance, Jack could see a storm brewing. They reach the shore and tell Bones where to find Kidd's treasure. Pinky and Stinky move a giant rock and begin digging. Bones pulled out the "M" medallion and tossed it in the hole. Then the thunderstorm broke over the island, scaring off the pirates. Jack grabs the medallion and meets Annie in the tree house. Annie then wishes them home.
Back home
When they get back, Jack puts the pirate book on top of all the others. Then Annie sees that Polly has followed them back. Then, before their eyes, Polly transformed into a beautiful old lady. She tells them her name is Morgan le Fay and that she is King Arthur's sister from the realm of Camelot. She also tells them that she has travled to modern times to collect books for the library in Camelot, for she is the librarian. She explains that she has put a spell on the tree house and that no one is supposed to be able to see it. Jack and Annie managed to see it because of Annie's imagination. They were able to work the magic because Jack loves books. She then tells them that she was Henry the Pteranodon, the knight, the black cat, and Polly in all their previous adventures. Jack gives her all the "M" things and she gives him his backpack. Morgan then says she must leave, and so the children exit the tree house. By this time, it has stopped raining. Then the tree house disappears. While walking home, Jack discovers that the medallion has some how ended up in his pocket. Annie says that it is magic and that Morgan will return.
Research Guide
The non-fiction companion to Pirates Past Noons the research guide Pirates. It was written by Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne and illustrated by Sal Murdocca.