The 13-Storey Treehouse facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Andy Griffiths |
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| Illustrator | Terry Denton |
| Country | Australia |
| Series | The Treehouse series |
| Genre | Juvenile fiction |
| Published | 2011 (Pan Macmillan Australia) |
| Pages | 239 |
| ISBN | 978-0-330-40436-5 |
| LC Class | PZ7.G88366 Th 2011 |
| Followed by | The 26-Story Treehouse |
The 13-Story Treehouse is an exciting book from 2011. It was written by Andy Griffiths and drawn by Terry Denton. This book also inspired a fun stage play!
The story is all about two friends, Andy and Terry. They live in an amazing 13-story treehouse. Their biggest challenge is trying to finish writing their book. But it's hard to focus with so many cool things around! Their friend Jill, who loves animals, often visits them.
Imagine a treehouse with a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, and even a tank full of sharks! It also has a secret underground lab and a machine that shoots marshmallows right into your mouth. How cool is that?
The 13-Story Treehouse won a special award in 2012. It was named the Book of the Year for Older Children at the Australian Book Industry Awards.
Contents
What Happens in the Story?
The book starts with Andy, who is also the narrator. He introduces himself and his friend Terry, who draws all the pictures. He also tells us about their incredible treehouse. Then, the real adventure begins!
A Cat-nary and a Big Problem
One morning, Andy wakes up and finds Terry painting a white cat yellow. Terry wants to turn it into a "catnary" – a cat that looks like a canary! After the cat falls from the treehouse, it actually grows wings and flies away.
Soon after, their friend Jill arrives. She loves animals and is looking for her pet cat, Silky. It turns out the cat Terry painted was Silky! Andy and Terry try to act innocent, but Jill is suspicious.
Right after Jill leaves, Andy and Terry get a video call from their publisher, Mr. Big Nose. He is very unhappy because they are behind schedule on their book.
Drawing Battles and TV Troubles
Andy and Terry try to think of ideas for their book. But Terry only has drawings of his own finger! Since these are the only pictures he has, they start arguing. This leads to a drawing competition. They even compete to draw the best banana!
Andy gets upset, and they end up fighting. Terry even uses a giant banana he grew earlier. Terry accidentally knocks Andy out! To wake him up, Terry pours a bucket of water on him.
They try to get back to their book ideas. Andy has four pages that just say "Once upon a time." But before they can do more, Terry gets distracted. His favorite TV show, Barky the Barking Dog, is on! Andy is not happy and throws the TV out of the treehouse.
Sea-Monkeys and a Mermaid Monster
Right after the TV incident, Bill the Postman arrives. He delivers sea-monkeys that Terry ordered. Andy is really annoyed by this. Terry goes down to their Secret Underground Laboratory to hatch the sea-monkeys.
Andy waits for a long time. When Terry doesn't come back, Andy goes down to the lab. He gets even more bored and angry while Terry finishes hatching a sea-monkey. Terry starts feeding it, and it grows into a mermaid named Mermaidia! They put her in a bathtub.
Mermaidia and Terry become very close, leaving Andy feeling left out. Andy overhears them talking and even hears Terry kiss Mermaidia. When Terry leaves, Andy goes into the bathroom. He discovers that Mermaidia is actually a sea monster in disguise! Andy records her singing a song about how gross she is.
He runs to find Terry, who is eating marshmallows. Andy shows Terry the proof that Mermaidia is a monster. Terry finally believes him. They decide to go back to the underground lab. They plan to use the banana enlarger to shrink her back down.
Burp Bubbles and Monkey-Monkeys
After shrinking the sea monster, Andy and Terry try to work on their book again. Terry is still sad about Mermaidia. Andy tries to cheer him up with popcorn and lemonade. The lemonade makes Terry burp a lot! When he chews bubble gum, he burps so much that he gets trapped in a giant burp bubble and floats high into the sky.
Andy tries to save him using a swinging vine and a golf club. On his fourth golf shot, Andy manages to pop the burp bubble! But Terry starts falling. Luckily, the marshmallow machine saves him by shooting lots of marshmallows onto the ground below.
When they get back to the treehouse, they come up with a new idea: Superfinger! This is a finger that solves finger-based puzzles. Just as they finish, the doorbell rings. Terry has ordered another batch of sea-monkeys! Andy is very unhappy.
But this time, the sea-monkeys turn into "monkey-monkeys"! Andy and Terry grab their giant banana and start hitting the monkeys with it. This somehow hypnotizes the monkeys. So, the duo throws the monkeys and the giant banana to a far-off island.
Gorilla Attack and a Happy Ending
After cleaning up, things return to normal. Andy and Terry start their next book. But they are quickly interrupted by a giant gorilla! The gorilla found the giant banana on his island and wants more.
The treehouse is almost destroyed! But then, Silky and the other "catnaries" save the day. They tease the gorilla until he passes out. Then, they take him back to his island.
Jill visits again and asks about Silky flying. Andy tries to keep the secret, but finally tells her the truth. Jill is actually happy about Silky's new skill! She always wanted a canary but worried Silky would eat it. Now, having a catnary is "the best of both pets."
Andy is still worried because their book isn't finished. But Terry has a great idea: they should write about everything that happened that day! They quickly write down all their adventures. With Jill's help, who uses a Santa-like sleigh, they deliver their book to Mr. Big Nose just in time for it to be published!
More Treehouse Adventures
This book was so popular that it started a whole series! Here are the other books in the Treehouse series:
- The 26-Storey Treehouse (released September 2012)
- The 39-Storey Treehouse (released September 2013)
- The 52-Storey Treehouse (released September 2014)
- The 65-Storey Treehouse (released August 2015)
- The 78-Storey Treehouse (released August 2016)
- The 91-Storey Treehouse (released August 2017)
- The 104-Storey Treehouse (released July 2018)
- The 117-Storey Treehouse (released July 2019)
- The 130-Storey Treehouse (released October 2020)
