Winter of the Ice Wizard by Mary Pope Osborne

Winter of the Ice Wizard by Mary Pope Osborne (audiobook)-110 pages in print

Teddy and Kathleen visit Jack and Annie in present day to deliver a message from Merlin. Jack and Annie's mission is to recover Merlin's staff from the Ice Wizard of Winter on the Winter Solstice, which actually turns out to be a message sent by the Ice Wizard to lure Jack and Annie to his palace to find his eye. They recover the Ice Wizard's eye from the Frost Giant who had been given the eye by the Fates. Teddy and Kathleen bring the Wizard's sister back to him and she forgives him, so Merlin and Morgan, who had been turned into white wolves by the Wizard, are humans again and the day is saved once again. I really enjoyed listening to these 4 Magic Tree House books on audiobook. I enjoyed reading them as a kid and they still bring some enjoyment, though not as much as back then.

Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne

Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne (audiobook)-111 pages in print

It has been a while (since last Halloween) that Jack and Annie have been called on a Merlin Mission and it is the first day of the Summer Solstice. Later the same day, they find out that Merlin has a new mission for them: to brave many obstacles and find/recover a sword so that King Arthur survives to become King of Camelot. Once again, they have to follow a rhyme/riddle to complete their mission. The first obstacle, the cave of the Spider Queen, would be really creepy, as I do not like spiders, especially giant ones (also, it reminds me of the giant spider(s) from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and The Hobbit). The Spider Queen actually helps Jack and Annie, though. Teddy shows up to help them and introduces them to a new friend, a girl named Kathleen. As usual, Jack and Annie are able to complete their mission, in spite of all the obstacles. It is cool that the author reads for the audiobook. A few other authors have done the same (Neil Gaiman is one) to varying degrees of success.