Polar Bears Past Bedtime

This children's chapter book is part of the Magic Tree House series, in which siblings Jack and Annie travel through time and space using a magical tree house. In previous adventures, the children have been solving riddles for Morgan le Fay, an enchantress and librarian, to earn the title of Master Librarian and the right to help her gather books across time and space. They have already solved three riddles on journeys to the ocean, the Wild West, and Africa.

Late one night, Jack is awakened by a snowy owl outside his window. He suspects it is a sign from Morgan, since animals have guided him and his younger sister Annie to the magic tree house on their last two adventures. He wakes Annie, who insists they leave immediately, still in their pajamas. The two slip outside and follow the owl through the Frog Creek woods to the magic tree house.

Morgan le Fay is waiting for them. She holds three scrolls representing the riddles they have already solved, gives Annie a fourth scroll with a new riddle, and hands Jack a research book titled Adventure in the Arctic. When Annie asks if solving this riddle will make them Master Librarians, Morgan replies only "Almost . . ." (8), hinting that an additional step remains. Annie points to the book's cover and wishes to travel there. Jack protests that they will freeze, but Morgan assures them she is sending someone to meet them. Before she can say who, the tree house spins and transports them.

Jack and Annie arrive on the Arctic tundra, a flat, treeless plain covered in snow and ice under a dark gray sky. Shivering in their pajamas, they unroll the scroll and read the riddle: "I cover what's real / and hide what's true. / But sometimes I bring out / the courage in you. / What am I?" (12). Jack reads from the Arctic book that the presence of snow with a slightly lighter sky means it is early spring.

Howling sounds approach from the distance. Dark shapes race toward them through falling snow, and Jack and Annie fear they are wolves. Then a man in a fur-trimmed hooded parka appears at the tree house window. He is a seal hunter who explains that he had a dream in which Jack and Annie needed help. Annie notes that Morgan sometimes sends dreams. The hunter seems unsurprised by their story of a time-traveling tree house and provides them each with a sealskin parka, fur pants, fur boots, and mittens. Jack reads the riddle aloud to him, but the hunter shakes his head, offering no answer.

The hunter drives them by dogsled across the frozen tundra under a full orange moon, the snowy owl flying above. The howling Jack had feared came from the sled dogs. They arrive at a small igloo, and Jack reads that the word "igloo" means "house" and that dry snow walls keep the interior far warmer than the outside air.

Inside, the seal hunter boils chunks of frozen seal meat. He explains that his people hold ceremonies to thank animal spirits and shows Jack and Annie two wooden polar bear masks he carved for an upcoming ceremony. He describes how his ancestors learned to hunt seals and build igloos by observing polar bears. He adds that polar bears can sometimes teach people to fly, which Jack dismisses as pretend. The hunter only laughs. He then takes Annie outside to feed the huskies while Jack examines the masks. Suddenly, howls and barking split the air, and Jack hears Annie squeal.

Jack rushes outside to find the dogs barking at two polar bear cubs playing in the moonlight. Annie is already wrestling with them. Jack looks for their mother but sees no sign of her. He tucks the bear masks into his backpack and joins in. The four of them chase each other across the moonlit tundra until the cubs slide down a snowbank onto the frozen sea. Jack and Annie follow, sliding on their backs, and all four lie down on the ice, exhausted.

When Jack tries to stand, a loud crack splits the air. Another crack sounds when Annie moves, confirming they are on dangerously thin ice. The cubs press close to them, whimpering. Jack reaches into his pack and hands the two bear masks to Annie. The loudest crack yet sounds even though no one is moving. Then a low snorting comes from the top of the snowbank: The cubs' mother, a giant polar bear, stares down at them.

The mother bear tries to reach her cubs, but the ice cracks each time she steps on it. Finally she lies flat and slides forward using her claws. Jack reads that a 750-pound polar bear can cross ice too thin for a person by distributing her weight and sliding her paws. Annie suggests they put on the bear masks, hoping the mother will think they are bears too. They slip the masks on. The cubs crawl onto their mother's back and she begins sliding away. Jack and Annie lie on their stomachs, spread their limbs, and push themselves across the ice the same way. The ice holds. Jack feels transformed, no longer a boy but a polar bear gliding across the moonlit ice, recalling the hunter's claim that polar bears can teach people to fly.

Annie tells Jack they have reached solid ground. The mother bear sits nearby, having waited to ensure they are safe. Recalling the hunter's explanation that his people hold ceremonies to thank animal spirits, Jack and Annie bow before the bear, speak words of gratitude, and dance in the snow to honor her. The polar bear rises on her hind legs, twice Jack's height, and lowers her head as if bowing in return. The sky erupts with swirling red, green, and purple northern lights. When the lights vanish, the polar bear and her cubs have disappeared.

The seal hunter arrives with his dogsled, having searched for them. Annie tells him a polar bear helped them, and Jack adds that wearing the masks made them feel like bears. When Annie says the masks made them brave, her words trigger Jack's realization. He rereads the riddle, and both children shout the answer together: "A mask!" (55). The hunter smiles, confirming he knew but says it was for them to discover. Jack returns the two bear masks.

Back in the tree house, the fourth scroll now displays the shimmering word MASK. Jack and Annie return their sealskin clothing to the hunter, and Annie wishes to go home, but nothing happens. Jack spots a fifth scroll that was not there before. It reads: "Look at the letters: / the first, not the rest. / Discover the place / that you love the best" (61). They unroll all four answered riddle scrolls: OYSTER, EGHO, HONEY, and MASK. Taking the first letter of each, O, E, H, and M, Jack unscrambles them to spell HOME. The fifth scroll's riddle vanishes, replaced by the shimmering word HOME. Annie wishes to go home, and the tree house spins.

They arrive in the Frog Creek woods in warm air. Morgan is waiting and declares they have succeeded. She gives each of them a thin wooden card marked with the shimmering letters M and L, explaining that they are now members of the ancient Society of Master Librarians. She tells them to carry the cards on future journeys, as only a very wise person or another Master Librarian will be able to see the letters. Annie asks to go on a mission immediately, but Morgan tells them to rest and promises to return soon. Walking home through the dark woods, Jack and Annie agree the darkness no longer frightens them. Annie observes that darkness is like a mask: It hides the day but brings out courage. They see their house glowing warmly ahead and run toward it, the place they love the best.