In addition to submarines, aircraft carriers were also new to naval warfare. These enormous ships carried airplanes that could take off from the ship, as well as land back on the ship. Most aircraft carriers could hold over thirty planes!
Airplanes
Airplanes played a larger role in World War II than in any previous war. Advanced technology made planes faster and more powerful. Unlike a tank or battleship, an airplane could travel anywhere. Taking off from airfields or from aircraft carriers, the plane could engage in combat over any sort of terrain or body of water.
Airplanes could also provide a bird’s-eye view of enemy territory to help an army plan its attacks. And they could drop troops, spies, and supplies behind enemy lines via parachute.
Fighter planes were especially important in World War II. Instead of dropping bombs like bomber planes, fighter planes faced each other in the air. There were almost 150 different kinds of fighter planes used during the war. One of the most famous of these planes was called the North American P-51 Mustang. It could fly higher and make sharper turns than any other plane.
The Holocaust
The Nazis were extremely prejudiced against the Jewish people. Under Hitler’s leadership, the Nazis killed millions of Jewish people, as well as members of many other ethnic and political minority groups. To escape prison and death, some Jewish families went into hiding. They hid in caves or barns or under the floorboards of a friend’s house. They had to be very secretive and quiet, often for days at a time.
The Diary of Anne Frank
In the Netherlands, a Jewish girl named Anne Frank and her family secretly moved into the building where her father worked. The price for helping someone wanted by the Nazis was death. In spite of this, coworkers of Anne’s father helped the Frank family hide in the back of the building.
When they left their home, Anne and her fam-ily wore several layers of clothing because they did not want to be seen carrying suitcases into her father’s work building. While they were hiding, they spent long hours every day being very quiet and hardly moving. Anne wrote in her diary to pass the time. She and her family lived there for two years, until they were captured.
After World War II ended, the whole world was horrified to learn of the full extent of the Nazi persecution of innocent people. People everywhere were deeply moved by the publication of Anne Frank’s diary. Perhaps the most famous words from her diary are: “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
World War II greatly affected almost every country in the world, and so many terrible things happened that it is hard to fully comprehend its horrors. But over time, one young girl’s diary has helped people to grieve for all those who senselessly died.
Magic Tree House® Books
#1: DINOSAURS BEFORE DARK
#2: THE KNIGHT AT DAWN
#3: MUMMIES IN THE MORNING
#4: PIRATES PAST NOON
#5: NIGHT OF THE NINJAS
#6: AFTERNOON ON THE AMAZON
#7: SUNSET OF THE SABERTOOTH
#8: MIDNIGHT ON THE MOON
#9: DOLPHINS AT DAYBREAK
#10: GHOST TOWN AT SUNDOWN
#11: LIONS AT LUNCHTIME
#12: POLAR BEARS PAST BEDTIME
#13: VACATION UNDER THE VOLCANO
#14: DAY OF THE DRAGON KING
#15: VIKING SHIPS AT SUNRISE
#16: HOUR OF THE OLYMPICS
#17: TONIGHT ON THE TITANIC
#18: BUFFALO BEFORE BREAKFAST
#19: TIGERS AT TWILIGHT
#20: DINGOES AT DINNERTIME
#21: CIVIL WAR ON SUNDAY
#22: REVOLUTIONARY WAR ON WEDNESDAY
#23: TWISTER ON TUESDAY
#24: EARTHQUAKE IN THE EARLY MORNING
#25: STAGE FRIGHT ON A SUMMER NIGHT
#26: GOOD MORNING, GORILLAS
#27: THANKSGIVING ON THURSDAY
#28: HIGH TIDE IN HAWAII
Merlin Missions
#29: CHRISTMAS IN CAMELOT
#30: HAUNTED CASTLE ON HALLOWS EVE
#31: SUMMER OF THE SEA SERPENT
#32: WINTER OF THE ICE WIZARD
#33: CARNIVAL AT CANDLELIGHT
#34: SEASON OF THE SANDSTORMS
#35: NIGHT OF THE NEW MAGICIANS
#36: BLIZZARD OF THE BLUE MOON
#37: DRAGON OF THE RED DAWN
#38: MONDAY WITH A MAD GENIUS
#39: DARK DAY IN THE DEEP SEA
#40: EVE OF THE EMPEROR PENGUIN
#41: MOONLIGHT ON THE MAGIC FLUTE
#42: A GOOD NIGHT FOR GHOSTS
#43: LEPRECHAUN IN LATE WINTER
#44: A GHOST TALE FOR CHRISTMAS TIME
#45: A CRAZY DAY WITH COBRAS
#46: DOGS IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT
#47: ABE LINCOLN AT LAST!
#48: A PERFECT TIME FOR PANDAS
#49: STALLION BY STARLIGHT
#50: HURRY UP, HOUDINI!
#51: HIGH TIME FOR HEROES
#52: SOCCER ON SUNDAY
Magic Tree House® Fact Trackers
DINOSAURS
KNIGHTS AND CASTLES
MUMMIES AND PYRAMIDS
PIRATES
RAIN FORESTS
SPACE
TITANIC
TWISTERS AND OTHER TERRIBLE STORMS
DOLPHINS AND SHARKS
ANCIENT GREECE AND THE OLYMPICS
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
SABERTOOTHS AND THE ICE AGE
PILGRIMS
ANCIENT ROME AND POMPEII
TSUNAMIS AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS
POLAR BEARS AND THE ARCTIC
SEA MONSTERS
PENGUINS AND ANTARCTICA
LEONARDO DA VINCI
GHOSTS
LEPRECHAUNS AND IRISH FOLKLORE
RAGS AND RICHES: KIDS IN THE TIME OF CHARLES DICKENS
SNAKES AND OTHER REPTILES
DOG HEROES
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
PANDAS AND OTHER ENDANGERED SPECIES
HORSE HEROES
HEROES FOR ALL TIMES
SOCCER
NINJAS AND SAMURAI
NEW!
CHINA: LAND OF THE EMPEROR’S GREAT WALL
More Magic Tree House®
GAMES AND PUZZLES FROM THE TREE HOUSE
MAGIC TRICKS FROM THE TREE HOUSE
MY MAGIC TREE HOUSE JOURNAL
MAGIC TREE HOUSE SURVIVAL GUIDE
MARY POPE OSBORNE taps into the natural energy and imagination of all children when she writes the Magic Tree House books—one reason kids love them so much! A New York Times bestselling series available in more than thirty languages, Magic Tree House is beloved around the world. Highly recommended by parents and educators everywhere, the series introduces young readers to different cultures and times in history, as well as to the world’s legacy of myth and storytelling.
Mary Pope Osborne and her husband, writer Will Osborne (author of Magic Tree House: The Musical), live in Connecticut. Mary is coauthor of the companion Magic Tree House Fact Trackers with Will and with her sister, Natalie Pope Boyce.
Jacket art copyright © 2015 by Sal Murdocca
Jacket design by Heather Palisi
Random House New York
MagicTreeHouse.com
randomhousekids.com
Danger in the Darkest Hour Page 9
