Mary Pope Osborne donates 1.2 million books to children across the US

For many children, a book can be their first opportunity to explore places, people and experiences beyond their immediate surroundings. But access to reading material is not the same for every family, and schools serving low-income communities often have to work with limited resources. Mary Pope Osborne, the author behind the popular Magic Tree House series, has spent years addressing that gap.

Alongside a writing career spanning more than three decades, she has supported children's literacy through a personal book-giving initiative. Her Gift of Books programme has now helped place more than 1.2 million books with children attending underserved Title I schools across the United States, as per Mary Pope Osborne Classroom Adventures Program.Mary Pope Osborne's writing career began with a childhood interest in make-believeOsborne's connection with storytelling goes back well before the publication of her first children's books. Growing up in a military family meant moving frequently.

By the time she was 15, she had lived in several parts of the United States, as well as Austria.