To the Future, Ben Franklin!

This is a book in the Magic Tree House series, in which siblings Jack and Annie use a magic tree house to travel through time on missions assigned by Morgan le Fay, a magical librarian from the legendary realm of Camelot. In previous adventures, they learned from three heroes of the past. Now Morgan sends them to meet a fourth.

On a hot summer afternoon in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, Annie spots a flash of lightning in a cloudless sky and suspects magic. She runs to the Frog Creek woods, where she finds the magic tree house back in the tallest oak tree. Jack follows, and inside they discover a parchment note from Morgan in verse. The note instructs them to travel to "Old Philadelphia," where a paper must be signed. They must find "Doctor Ben," say they are "from the press," and ease his distress. If he loses hope, they must take him to a land of "everyday wonders." Annie interprets the mission as helping Doctor Ben decide to sign the paper. Their Pennsylvania book contains a chapter on "Old Philadelphia, 1787," and Jack wishes them there. The tree house spins them back in time.

They arrive in the sweltering summer of 1787, their clothes magically changed to colonial attire. The tree house has landed in a mulberry tree inside a walled courtyard behind a brick house. They overhear Miss Sarah, Ben's daughter, trying to find someone to deliver a midday meal to her father at the state house, and they volunteer. The gardener, John, describes Doctor Ben as a scientist, inventor, and diplomat. Jack and Annie set off through the cobblestone streets.

They reach the Pennsylvania State House, a brick building with a tall bell tower. A guard lets them inside. Peeking into the Assembly Room, they see men arguing about the power of a national government, freedom of speech, and trial by jury. Jack consults their book and learns that 55 delegates have gathered to decide whether the 13 former colonies will become one nation. The book identifies the most famous delegates as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Annie spots an older man with gray hair and glasses, and Jack confirms he is Franklin.

When Washington calls a break, Jack and Annie approach Ben with the food basket. Washington remarks that they remind him of two children he met during the Revolutionary War, a reference to a previous adventure. Ben thanks them and starts to leave. Remembering Morgan's instructions, Jack blurts out that they are "from the press." Ben panics, explaining that all delegates have sworn an oath of secrecy. He rushes them outside, but Annie clarifies they work for the "Frog Creek News," a paper only the two of them read. Ben laughs with relief.

Ben warms to them and walks them up Chestnut Street to show them the free public library he founded, the first in the colonies, and his invention of the lightning rod. Back in his courtyard, sitting under the mulberry tree, Ben recounts his life: growing up poor as one of 15 children with only two years of schooling, founding the Pennsylvania Gazette, publishing Poor Richard's Almanack, starting Philadelphia's first fire company and post office, conducting his famous kite experiment, helping write the Declaration of Independence, and serving as a diplomat abroad.

Jack asks what Ben is working on now. Ben confides that at 81 he is a delegate to the Constitutional Convention but has almost lost hope. The delegates disagree over the strength of the central government, the balance of power between large and small states, and, most painfully for Ben, the failure to end slavery. He says he does not plan to sign the Constitution and dozes off. Jack grasps the stakes: If Ben refuses, others may follow, and the country may never unite. Annie interprets Morgan's clue: The "land of everyday wonders" is not 1787 America but modern-day Frog Creek. Jack protests that they have never brought anyone to their time, but Annie insists.

Annie wakes Ben and tells him about the magic tree house hidden above them. Thinking they are playing make-believe, Ben agreeably climbs the rope ladder. Annie wishes them home, and the tree house transports all three to modern Frog Creek.

Ben is dazed but calms when Annie reassures him. He marvels at the smooth asphalt road. A station wagon honks past, and Ben leaps back in fright; Jack explains that cars use engines instead of horses. When a small plane takes off from a nearby airfield, Ben panics. Jack and Annie explain airplanes, jets, and rockets. Ben grows despondent, declaring his own inventions insignificant next to flying machines. He wants to go home, saying the delegates' ideas are nothing compared to the modern world. Jack and Annie realize that technology has only overwhelmed and discouraged him.

As they lead Ben back toward the tree house, Annie stops him, insisting there is one more thing he must see. She takes him to the Frog Creek Library. Inside, people of all ages and backgrounds are reading and working at computers. Annie tells Ben that his Philadelphia library inspired thousands of free public libraries across America, all open to everyone. She adds that America now has free schools with equal education for boys and girls. Ben grows teary.

Jack shows Ben a computer and searches for "United States of America." The screen displays a map and the Great Seal. Ben reads that the country has 50 states stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with over 325 million people composed of immigrants from around the globe. He recognizes the Great Seal, noting he was on the committee that created it in 1776, and reads its Latin motto, E pluribus unum, meaning "Out of many, one." Jack tells Ben that amendments will guarantee freedom of speech, freedom of religion, women's right to vote, the end of slavery, and equal rights for all. Ben grasps that creating the Constitution is only the first step, not the last. He stands urgently, declaring he must return because the delegates need him.

As they leave the library, Ben declares that his world may seem rough and simple, but it is filled with new discoveries, and he can help create a Constitution that will change history. He accepts that amendments will address what he disagrees with; first, the delegates must come together because they may never get another chance. Jack and Annie lead him back to the tree house, where Morgan le Fay has appeared. Morgan congratulates them on completing their last four missions. Ben thanks Jack and Annie, asking them never to take their world's wonders for granted and to stay curious. With a swirl of wind, a flash of lightning, and a crack of thunder, the tree house, Morgan, and Ben vanish.

Walking home, Jack and Annie realize that technology only frightened Ben, but the public library was the key. There he could see the country his work helped build, where information is free and open to all. Annie suggests they return to the library, and they run through the summer heat toward it. A closing section notes that on September 17, 1787, the Constitution was signed, with Franklin urging compromise despite the document's imperfections. By 1791, ten amendments known as the Bill of Rights were added, and today the Constitution includes 27 amendments, making it the longest-standing constitution in world history.