Monday with a Mad Genius Read online

  Here’s what kids have to say to

  Mary Pope Osborne, author of

  the Magic Tree House series:

  WOW! You have an imagination like no other.—Adam W.

  I love your books. If you stop writing books, it will be like losing a best friend.—Ben M.

  I think you are the real Morgan le Fay. There is always magic in your books.—Erica Y.

  One day I was really bored and I didn’t want to read … I looked in your book. I read a sentence, and it was interesting. So I read some more, until the book was done. It was so good I read more and more. Then I had read all of your books, and now I hope you write lots more.—Danai K.

  I always read [your books] over and over … 1 time, 2 times, 3 times, 4 times … —Yuan C.

  You are my best author in the world. I love your books. I read all the time. I read everywhere. My mom is like freaking out.—Ellen C.

  I hope you make these books for all yours and mine’s life.—Riki H.

  Teachers and librarians love

  Magic Tree House® books, too!

  Thank you for opening faraway places and times to my class through your books. They have given me the chance to bring in additional books, materials, and videos to share with the class.—J. Cameron

  It excites me to see how involved [my fourth-grade reading class] is in your books … I would do anything to get my students more involved, and this has done it.—C. Rutz

  I discovered your books last year … WOW! Our students have gone crazy over them. I can’t order enough copies! … Thanks for contributing so much to children’s literature!—C. Kendziora

  I first came across your Magic Tree House series when my son brought one home … I have since introduced this great series to my class. They have absolutely fallen in love with these books! … My students are now asking me for more independent reading time to read them. Your stories have inspired even my most struggling readers.—M. Payne

  I love how I can go beyond the [Magic Tree House] books and use them as springboards for other learning.—R. Gale

  We have enjoyed your books all year long. We check your Web site to find new information. We pull our map down to find the areas where the adventures take place. My class always chimes in at key parts of the story. It feels good to hear my students ask for a book and cheer when a new book comes out.—J. Korinek

  Our students have “Magic Tree House fever.” I can’t keep your books on the library shelf.—J. Rafferty

  Your books truly invite children into the pleasure of reading. Thanks for such terrific work.—S. Smith

  The children in the fourth grade even hide the [Magic Tree House] books in the library so that they will be able to find them when they are ready to check them out.—K. Mortensen

  My Magic Tree House books are never on the bookshelf because they are always being read by my students. Thank you for creating such a wonderful series.—K. Mahoney

  During spring vacation when I was in kindergarten, my brothers and I decided we’d try to fly like birds. We knew that people couldn’t fly, but that didn’t stop us. We were excited by the thought that we’d be the first to do so. For our launch pad, we chose the playground near our house. We tried swinging and then leaping into the air, flapping our arms wildly. Of course, we kept falling to the ground. Next we climbed to the top of the slide and took turns jumping off, again flapping as hard as we could—only to drop again and again to the sand beneath the slide. We were lucky that we didn’t get hurt. All morning we tried to fly, until finally we gave up and went home, satisfied that we’d given it our best shot.

  The great thing about being a kid, I think, is that your imagination can make life full of wondrous adventures. Leonardo da Vinci, one of the world’s greatest geniuses, was a lot like a kid who never completely grew up. Even when he was working, he seemed to be playing, always looking at the world and asking, “I wonder what would happen if …” He had great enthusiasm for experimenting with different ways of doing things and for exploring new ideas—including trying to fly! I hope that when you meet Leonardo in this new Merlin Mission, you will feel that you’ve made an amazing new friend.

  This is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2007 by Mary Pope Osborne

  Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Sal Murdocca

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc. MAGIC TREE HOUSE is a registered trademark of Mary Pope Osborne; used under license.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  www.magictreehouse.com

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Osborne, Mary Pope.

  Monday with a mad genius / by Mary Pope Osborne ; illustrated by Sal Murdocca. — 1st ed.

  p. cm. — (Magic tree house; #38)

  “A Merlin mission.”

  “A Stepping Stone book.”

  Audience: RL: 3.3

  SUMMARY: Jack and Annie travel 500 years back in time to Florence, Italy, and spend a day helping Leonardo da Vinci in the hope of learning another secret of happiness.

  1. Leonardo da Vinci, 1452–1519—Juvenile fiction. [1. Leonardo da Vinci, 1452–1519—Fiction.

  2. Time travel—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction. 4. Brothers and sisters—Fiction.

  5. Curiosity—Fiction. 6. Florence (Italy)—History—1421–1737—Fiction.

  7. Italy—History—1492–1559—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.O81167Mon 2007 [Fic]—dc22 2006101209

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89460-2

  v3.0

  For James Quinn Courts

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dear Reader

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1. Old Friends

  2. Looking for Leonardo

  3. Ten Types of Noses

  4. Battle Scene

  5. Knock, Knock

  6. Thousands of Ideas

  7. The Great Bird

  8. Wings!

  9. The Smile

  10. Questions

  More About Leonardo da Vinci

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #39: Dark Day in the Deep Sea

  “I wish to work miracles.”

  —from the notebooks of

  Leonardo da Vinci

  One summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods. A brother and sister named Jack and Annie soon learned that the tree house was magic—it could take them to any time and any place in history! And no time at all would pass in Frog Creek while they were gone.

  Jack and Annie also learned that the tree house belonged to Morgan le Fay, a magical librarian from the legendary realm of Camelot. After they went on many adventures for Morgan, Merlin the magician began sending Jack and Annie on “Merlin Missions” in the tree house. With help from two young so
rcerers named Teddy and Kathleen, Jack and Annie visited four mythical places and found valuable objects to help save Camelot.

  On their next four Merlin Missions, Jack and Annie once again traveled to real times and real places in history. After proving to Merlin that they knew how to use magic wisely, he entrusted them with the Wand of Dianthus. With the help of the wand, Jack and Annie would now be able to make their own magic.

  On their most recent adventure, Teddy and Kathleen told Jack and Annie that Merlin was very unhappy and not well and that Morgan wanted them to search for four of the secrets of happiness to share with Merlin.

  Now Jack and Annie are waiting for the tree house to return and take them on their second mission to help Merlin….

  Jack poured milk over his cereal. His stomach felt fluttery. It was Monday—the first day of a new school year.

  Jack always felt nervous on the first day. What would his new teacher be like? Would his desk be close to a window? Would friends from last year be in his class again this year?

  “Annie, hurry!” Jack’s mom called upstairs. “It’s fifteen minutes till eight. School starts in half an hour.”

  Jack’s dad walked into the kitchen. “Are you sure you and Annie don’t want me to drive you?” he asked.

  “No thanks, we don’t mind walking,” said Jack. Their school was only three blocks away.

  “Annie, hurry!” their mom called again. “You’re going to be late!”

  The back door banged open. Annie rushed into the kitchen. She was out of breath.

  “Oh, I thought you were upstairs,” their mom said with surprise. “You were outside?”

  “Yes!” said Annie, panting. “Just taking a quick walk.” She looked at Jack. Her eyes sparkled. “Hurry, Jack. We really should go now!”

  “Okay, I’m coming!” said Jack. He leapt up from the table. He could tell Annie wasn’t talking about school. The tree house must be back! Finally!

  Jack grabbed his backpack. Annie held the door open for him.

  “No breakfast?” their mom asked.

  “Too nervous to eat now, Mom,” said Jack.

  “Have fun,” their mom said.

  “Learn a lot,” said their dad.

  “Don’t worry, we will!” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie slipped out the door and walked quickly across their yard.

  “It’s back!” said Annie.

  “I figured it was!” said Jack.

  “Morgan must want us to look for another secret of happiness to help Merlin,” said Annie.

  “Yep!” said Jack. “Let’s run!”

  Jack and Annie dashed up the sidewalk. They crossed the street and headed into the Frog Creek woods. They ran between the trees, through shadows and light, until they came to the tallest oak.

  High in the tree was the magic tree house. The rope ladder was swaying in the chilly morning wind.

  “How did you know it was here?” asked Jack, catching his breath.

  “I woke up thinking about Teddy and Kathleen,” said Annie, “and I had this strange feeling.”

  “Really?” said Jack. “Teddy! Kathleen!” he shouted up at the tree house.

  Two young teenagers looked out the tree house window: a curly-haired boy with freckles and a big grin and a smiling girl with sea-blue eyes and dark wavy hair.

  “Jack! Annie!” the girl said.

  “Come up! Come up!” said the boy.

  Jack and Annie hurried up the rope ladder. When they climbed inside the tree house, they threw their arms around their friends.

  “Are we going to look for another secret of happiness?” said Annie. “To help Merlin?”

  “Yes, and this time you will travel back to Florence, Italy, five hundred years ago,” said Teddy.

  “Florence, Italy?” said Jack. “What’s there?”

  “An amazing person who will help you,” said Kathleen.

  “Who?” asked Annie. “Is this person magical?”

  Teddy grinned. “Some people might say so,” he said. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a book. The cover showed a drawing of a man wearing a purple cloak and floppy blue cap. He had a long nose, bright, kind eyes with heavy eyebrows, and a flowing beard. The title said:

  “Leonardo da Vinci!” said Jack. “Are you kidding?”

  “I’ve heard of him,” said Annie.

  “Who hasn’t?” said Jack. “He was an incredible genius!”

  “This biography of Leonardo will help you on your mission,” said Teddy.

  “And so will this rhyme from Morgan,” said Kathleen. She pulled a small piece of parchment paper from her cloak and gave it to Annie.

  Annie read the words on the paper aloud.

  To Jack and Annie of Frog Creek:

  Though the question is quite simple,

  Simple answers might be wrong.

  If you want to know the right one,

  Help the genius all day long,

  Morning, noon, and afternoon,

  Till the night bird sings its song.

  “So to find the secret of happiness, we need to spend the whole day helping Leonardo da Vinci,” said Jack.

  “Yes,” said Kathleen. Teddy nodded.

  “I wish you could come, too,” said Annie.

  “And help us,” said Jack.

  “Never fear,” said Kathleen. “You will have the help of the great genius and the Wand of Dianthus.”

  “Oh!” Annie said to Jack. “Did you bring our wand?”

  “Of course,” said Jack. “I always carry it with me for safekeeping.” He reached into his backpack and pulled out a gleaming silver wand.

  “The Wand of Dianthus,” Teddy said in a hushed voice.

  The wand looked like the horn of a unicorn. It burned in Jack’s hand—with cold or warmth, he couldn’t tell which. He carefully put the wand back into his pack.

  “Remember the three rules of the wand?” said Kathleen.

  “Sure,” said Annie. “You can only use it for the good of others. You can only use it after you’ve tried your hardest. And you can only use it with a command of five words.”

  “Excellent,” said Kathleen.

  “Thanks,” said Annie. “Ready?” she asked Jack.

  Jack nodded. “Bye, Teddy. Bye, Kathleen.”

  “Good-bye,” said Teddy.

  “And good luck,” said Kathleen.

  Jack pointed at the cover of the book. “I wish we could go to Leonardo da Vinci!”

  In the distance, the school bell started to ring, letting kids know that school would start in ten minutes. But in the Frog Creek woods, the wind started to blow.

  The tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  A different bell was bonging in the distance. Bright early sunlight poured through the tree house window. Teddy and Kathleen were gone.

  Jack looked down at his clothes. He was wearing a knee-length tunic and dark tights. Annie wore a long dress with puffy sleeves. Jack’s backpack had changed into a cloth bag.

  Jack and Annie looked out the window. The tree house had landed in a tall tree in a garden surrounded by green hedges. Beyond the garden was a sea of red-tiled roofs. A huge eight-sided dome and a stone tower rose high above the red rooftops.

  “Welcome to Florence, Italy,” said Annie.

  Jack opened their book and read aloud:

  In the early 1500s, many artists and craftspeople lived in the city of Florence. The city was filled with silk weavers, potters, and marble workers. Artists made sculptures, paintings, and tapestries.

  “Cool,” said Annie. “I love art.”

  Jack read more:

  But the most amazing genius of that time did a bit of everything. Leonardo da Vinci was not only a great painter but also an inventor, architect, stage and costume designer, horseman, chef, geologist, and botanist.

  “What’s a geologist and a botanist?” said Annie.

  �
�They’re scientists,” said Jack. “A geologist studies rocks, and a botanist studies plants.” He turned the page.

  “Come on, we should go,” said Annie. “The tree house probably brought us right to Leonardo. We have to find him before he gets away!”

  “Oh, right,” said Jack.

  Annie started down the ladder. Jack packed up their research book and climbed down after her.

  Jack and Annie walked around the tall hedge and came to a busy road that ran along a river. They stared at all the people going by. There were women in long silk dresses, priests in black robes riding donkeys, and soldiers in blue capes riding horses.

  “I don’t see anyone who looks like the guy on the cover of our book,” said Jack.

  “Let’s ask someone,” said Annie. She walked over to a girl selling flowers by the road. “Excuse me. Do you know a person named Leonardo da Vinci?”

  “Of course! Everyone knows Leonardo!” said the girl. “He was just here! He bought some flowers from me. He said he was going to sketch them later.” Her eyes shone with excitement.

  “Where did he go?” asked Jack.

  “He headed toward the Old Bridge,” the girl said. She pointed toward a covered bridge farther down the road.

  “Thanks!” said Annie.

  Jack and Annie walked quickly along the bank of the river toward the bridge. “You were right,” said Jack. “The tree house brought us right to Leonardo. But while we were talking, he kept walking.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Annie. “We’ll catch up to him.”

  The covered bridge was supported by three stone arches. It looked like a long house stretching over the river.