Climb into the unpredictable world of a most unusual treehouse, and join the adventures of three 1880s Pennsylvania farm children who experience it, in turn, as a refuge, a lookout post, and a frightening dragon's lair. In three interlocking stories, Tom, Emily, and Nathaniel each confront the mischief that ensues when their dreams come all too true. A spirit of romance shimmers through these humorous tales like summer sunlight through the leaves.

Reviews

A trio of winners--both children and stories. (starred review, Horn Book)

This high-spirited round of stories has the makings of a classic. (Smithsonian Magazine)

Treehouse Tales Honors

*Junior Library Guild selection
*1997 New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
*William Allen White Children's Book Award nominee
*starred reviews, Publisher's Weekly, Horn Book

How the Author came to write this book (Or, how the stinkiest story idea in history got cleaned off and shined up into a book)

Believe it or not, Treehouse Tales started out its life as Outhouse Tales, a group of stories that all had something to do with a--well, you guessed it--an outhouse. The stories were semi-autobiographical, taken from humorous experiences at a girl scout camp where the author was a counselor. I probably don't have to tell you why I changed the focus of the story from an outhouse to a treehouse!

What's left of the original story? Not much, after 10 million drafts. About the only element from the original is the time smoke poured from the treehouse and Nathaniel thought it was--but an author should never give away the story. You'll have to read the book to find out!

Teaching Ideas

1. Help students to build a 'treehouse' corner of your classroom where they can hide away with a good book. Make sure it is covered with a canopy of leaves, real or home-made, and let students sign up for 'treehouse time' when they have finished an assignment early and have time to read.

2. Many children have a special place they go to when they want to be alone with their thoughts and dreams. When they are in this place, all sorts of amazing adventures take place in their imaginations. Ask students to write a story about a real or imagined hideaway in which they are the hero of an adventure. In each story, there should be a prop, something physical from the real world of the hero, which becomes a springboard for adventure.