What the Magic Treehouse Books Seem to Have in Common

same formatting, appearance, front and back--tree, ladder, etc.
same size, etc.
blue/green colors
picture--Jack and Annie look alarmed, and are outside? male in protective position?
titles relate to a time of day or week, are often alliterative
comments from readers at front
for beginning readers: easy-to-read, with pictures, short
educational component hidden
but: bold paragraphs containing facts, more info at back of book focusing on historical facts

one male, one female child--"relatable" to
Annie a "typical" younger sister, risk taker, more aggressive, impulsive, naive, brave--has a sixth sense?
Jack an note-taker, more concerned, more cautious, nervous--always pushing up his glasses; the rational scientist, the voice of reason and responsibility
Jack and Annie are consistent throughout--don't grow or change in response to new experiences
no parents--or little said about them
no villains--rather, an obstacle to be overcome
other characters include good people or animals who help save Jack and Annie
often they need to be helped by adults

combination of fantasy trip, real places in history
visit to tree house leads to new place to discover/explore
Morgan sends them on the adventures, and for a reason--to learn something
always a trip to one specific place; Jack always carries a backpack
a situation to solve or overcome--the books come in sets of fours, with the fourth solving a problem
they change their clothes to suit the place or time--clothes depicted on the cover
Jack and Annie always have a task to accomplish, and do
they always learn something about specific events in history or about nature
or: do they rewrite and change history?
always scary but they get through it with help from someone or something--often they help other people, then those people help Jack and Annie
when main characters or others get into danger, they quickly get out of it again--no long-range suspense, etc., therefore…
the storylines are "typical"--not realistic (underdog stories?)
images of death, violence, etc., are in background--Jack and Annie are in the midst of disaster but don't experience it close-up
come home to mom and comfort food
time travel stops flow of time in their present real world
tree house is kept a secret from everyone else
they always know there will be another adventure

reading is fun; it’s fun to learn; history is fun--always related to true events
librarians are "wizards"--helps appeal to the market
help people and they will help you
feel good about accomplishing your goals
keep on hoping and trying and good will come of it
it's nice to get along with other people--siblings or others
small children leaving the house alone in the middle of the night--can handle themselves?
children have imaginations and are open to new experiences
small people can make a big difference
altering gender stereotypes--Jack wimpy, Annie not;
but, typical brother/sister relationship (OR: they never seem to argue like real brothers and sisters); and, the boy is a facts man and the saves the day, the girl more fun-loving and gets into jams, etc.--i.e., they confirm stereotypes
clean middle-class white kids
race is not mentioned--not an issue, or is it a white view of history?

3rd person POV, but from viewpoint of the children, sometimes also a narrator
everyone in history speaks and/or understands contemporary American?
it's obvious that the stories are written by the same author--same in style and structure
generalized descriptions--little in the way of concrete detail
a watered-down view of history, few details
an easy, simple read--and safe, nothing to alarm parents, etc.