Polar Bears Past Bedtime is the twelfth installment to the Magic Tree House series. The book is preceded by Lions at Lunchtime and succeeded by Vacation Under the Volcano.
Synopsis[]
The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to the Arctic, where a polar bear leads them onto very thin ice.
Chapters[]
- Are You Serious?
- The Howling
- Mush!
- Snow House
- You're It!
- Flying Bears
- Spirit Lights
- Riddle Solved
- Oh No, One More!
- Master Librarians
Plot[]
Jack heard the call from outside his window, what he saw was a snowy owl, which prompted him to call out to Annie. He believed the owl had been sent by Morgan like the jack rabbit and gazelle. Eager to investigate, the two children quickly put on their shoes and quietly sneaked out of the house. In the forest, they found the magical tree house and Morgan, whose magic had allowed them to travel through time and space with the tree house.
Earlier in their journey, Morgan had shared that Merlin the Magician had placed a spell on her, preventing her from collecting books for the tree house library. She had hoped the children could become Master Librarians and gather the books. To earn this title, Jack and Annie had to solve four riddles. In this adventure, Morgan provided them with the fourth riddle and a book titled "Adventure in the Arctic", along with the promise that someone would meet them when they arrived at their destination. When the tree house landed in the freezing Arctic tundra, Jack read the riddle aloud.
I cover what is real
and hide what's true.
But sometimes I bring out
the courage in you.
What am I?
Shivering from the cold and worried about the dangers of the harsh environment, the children were startled by the sound of wolves outside. Soon, a seal hunter appeared at the window, claiming he had dreamed that they needed his help. Annie believed Morgan had sent the dream and told the hunter. He offered them warm sealskin clothing before leading them outside, where the wolves they had heard turned out to be huskies pulling his sled.
The hunter brought Jack and Annie to his igloo, where he prepared seal meat for his dogs. Though Annie felt sympathy for the seal, the hunter explained that the seal was essential to his people's survival. He also showed them masks shaped like polar bears that would be used in a ceremony to honor the spirit of the polar bear, which he believed had taught his people many valuable lessons, including how to fly.
Jack and Annie with polar bears and each wearing a mask, the answer to the fourth riddle.
While outside feeding the dogs, Jack took the polar bear masks with him. As they ventured further, Annie spotted two polar bear cubs and began to play with them. Jack joined her, and they followed the cubs onto the ice. Suddenly, the ice cracked beneath them, and they became trapped. When the mother bear appeared to rescue her cubs, Jack and Annie hoped to blend in by wearing the bear masks. They imitated the mother bear's actions, sliding on their bellies to escape the ice. Jack felt as if he were soaring through the air, realizing the meaning behind the hunter's words about polar bears teaching people to fly.
Once safely back on land, the children expressed their gratitude to the polar bear by dancing in the masks. As they finished, the northern lights appeared in the sky, followed by the sudden disappearance of the lights and the polar bears. The seal hunter soon found them, and they shared how the bear masks had helped them feel courageous. Together, they deduced that a mask was the solution to the riddle.
When the hunter returned the children to the tree house, they expected to return home, but nothing happened. Instead, they found a new riddle they had to solve before they could leave.
Look at the letters:
the first, not the rest.
Discover the place
that you love the best.
Without their sealskin coats, they had to solve the riddle before they froze. By reflecting on past adventures and the answers they had already found, they realized that "home" was the key. When they returned, Morgan rewarded them with magic library cards and told them they had earned the title of Master Librarians!