High Tide in Hawaii

This is a book in the Magic Tree House children's series, in which eight-year-old Jack and his seven-year-old sister, Annie, travel through time and space using a magic tree house that transports them when they point to a picture in a book and wish to go there. The tree house belongs to Morgan le Fay, a magical librarian from Camelot, the legendary kingdom of King Arthur. While the siblings are away, no time passes back home in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. This book concludes a story arc about the siblings' search for different forms of "special magic."

One summer evening, Jack and Annie are reading on their porch when Annie senses the magic tree house has returned to the Frog Creek woods. They climb into the tree house and find souvenirs from three previous missions, along with a book and a note from Morgan. The note includes a rhyme: They must "build a special kind of ship / that rides the waves, / both high and low, / on every kind of trip" (5–6). The book is titled A Visit to Old Hawaii. Annie points to its cover and wishes to go there, and the tree house transports them.

The tree house lands atop a tall palm tree on a Hawaiian island. Jack reads that Hawaii is a chain of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean and that people first arrived about two thousand years ago, rowing canoes thousands of miles guided by wind and stars. Hearing music from a nearby village, Jack and Annie walk through a flowery meadow to investigate. They find villagers wearing flower leis and dancing the hula, a traditional Hawaiian blend of dance and chanted poetry. Annie joins the dancers. A village girl named Kama, about Annie's age, spots Jack and pulls him into the group. Kama introduces her brother Boka, who is about Jack's age. Both children place their leis around the visitors' necks as welcoming gifts.

Kama offers them poi, a gooey food made from pounded taro root. Annie enjoys it, but Jack finds the taste strange. Jack tells Kama and Boka the truth about coming from Frog Creek in a magic tree house, and the Hawaiian children respond with joyful acceptance, calling it fun and exciting. Kama's mother invites Jack and Annie to sleep at their hut. As they lie down for the night, Boka promises to take them wave riding the next day. Jack feels nervous but keeps quiet, realizing they also forgot to ask about building a ship.

The next morning, Jack hopes someone is building a ship, but the villagers are doing daily chores. When Jack asks about ships, Boka and Kama see no reason to sail away, leaving Jack puzzled about Morgan's riddle. After breakfast, the children head to the cliff overlooking the beach, where they find wooden surfboards at the bottom of a rocky path. Jack wants to read about surfing first, but Kama is confused by the concept of a book, since early Hawaiians had no written language. Annie urges Jack to follow their friends' instructions instead.

They paddle out into the ocean. Kama tells them to ride a wave on their bellies without trying to stand up the first time. When a big wave comes, Jack sees the others standing on their boards and impulsively tries to stand himself. He loses his balance and falls. Waves crash over him, sweeping away his board and lei, and he struggles to shore.

Annie, Kama, and Boka encourage Jack to try again, but he is shaken and embarrassed. When they laugh at his fall, he snaps at Boka and Kama, telling them they don't even know how to read. The two look hurt. Annie tells Jack to apologize and tugs at his research book, but he stubbornly pulls it back and pretends to read. Annie and the others return to the water. Sitting alone, Jack feels sorry but is too upset to say so.

Suddenly the ground shakes violently: an earthquake. Jack sees the others sitting on their surfboards, apparently unaware. He looks up "earthquake" in the research book and reads that earthquakes in Hawaii can cause tsunamis, massive waves that grow higher as they approach land. Just before a tsunami strikes, water may pull away from the shore, then return as a destructive wall of water. A tsunami can strike minutes or hours after an earthquake. Jack realizes one may be imminent.

He drops the book and runs to the water, shouting, but the others cannot hear him. Jack grabs his surfboard and paddles wildly toward them. When Boka gives a friendly wave and turns away, Jack screams for help. The three kids paddle to him with worried faces. Jack warns them about the tsunami. Boka says they need to ride in fast, and Kama tells everyone to stay on their bellies.

A wave sweeps them toward shore. Jack rides his board successfully this time. Boka and Kama are already on the sand, but Annie is still in the shallows when the ocean begins to pull away from the shore, the telltale sign of a tsunami. Jack screams for Annie to run. A hissing sound comes from the sea, and fish flop on the bare sand. Annie sprints to Jack and grabs his hand; Jack grabs Boka's, and Boka grabs Kama's. They scramble up the cliff path together.

From the top, they watch a wave rise like a dark mountain of water. The gigantic wave crashes against the cliff, spraying water over them. When it recedes, they see the path has been destroyed and everything below swept away. Boka and Kama's parents and other villagers race across the meadow, and everyone embraces in relief.

Boka tells his parents that Jack saved them by reading about tsunamis. When Kama doubts a book can tell stories, Boka suggests they use hula instead. Kama chants the tale while she, Boka, and Annie dance it out. Jack surprises himself by joining in, and all the villagers participate.

Afterward, the children apologize to one another: Jack for his mean words, Boka and Kama for laughing at him, and Annie for grabbing his book. Kama shares her mother's saying that friendship is like riding the waves, sometimes gentle and sometimes rough. Annie gasps and repeats Morgan's rhyme. Jack realizes the "ship" they were meant to build is friendship, a bond that rides the waves, both high and low. Kama explains that Hawaiians never say goodbye; they say "aloha" both in greeting and parting. Boka adds that friends are always together, even when far apart. Jack and Annie say "Aloha" to the villagers and walk back to the tree house. Annie's damp lei serves as proof of their discovery.

Annie wishes them home, and they arrive back in Frog Creek at sunset. Morgan le Fay is waiting in the tree house. She reviews the four items from their missions: The play scrolls represent the magic of theater, the twig the magic of animals, the corn seeds the magic of community, and the flower lei the magic of friendship. Morgan declares Jack and Annie "Magicians of Everyday Magic," explaining that they have learned to find magic in everyday things and need only live life to the fullest to discover more. She hints they will soon be called upon to use this knowledge in the realm of fantasy. They hug Morgan and climb down, watching the tree house vanish in sparkling light. Walking home, Jack reflects on another form of everyday magic: the magic of family. He feels it is the best magic of all.