In the Land of Broken Time

Written by Max Evan

Illustrated by Maria Evan

Translated by Helen Hagon

Charming tale mixing elements of fantasy, magic, adventure, and time travel. Christopher is looking out his window when he sees the circus passing by. He desperately wants to go out and investigate, but his mother refuses because he has been ill with a cold. Christopher sneaks out and arrives at the circus tent. A young girl his age named Sophie helps him gain admission. Their adventure begins when they are chased by a cleaning woman who looks like a witch. They hide in a hot air balloon basket and discover a golden retriever circus dog named Duke sleeping inside. Suddenly the fugitives find themselves aloft. What an adventure lies before them!

The three become friends and allies. Landing in The Forest of Chornos, they discover a magic sundial, and a professor called Temporis Certus who experiments with hourglasses and time.. He gives them advice on how to escape by sailing down a river into the town on the other side of the forest. There the trio encounter a gnome, a nefarious regent and the time machine that could allow them safe passage home. Duke finds himself in a strange predicament. Will Duke ever find his way back to the circus? How will Sophie and Christopher solve the shifts in time and adjust the time machine to return to their past?

This book is targeted for ages six through twelve; it is a chapter book most appropriate for children in grades three to six. The book is well-written, fun and fast paced. There are plenty of surprises and intriguing characters. Nice blend of fantasy with a bit of science intertwined. I hope to see additional books written by this talented couple.

If you enjoyed reading this post please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right hand corner of this page.

Youngtimer: Adventures in Travel Book 1

Written by G.G. Fulton

First book in a series of middle grade time travel adventures. Carly is a twelve year old sixth grader who is very bright. So bright that her school is determined to skip her two grades. When Carly gets wind of this, she comes up with an ingenious plan to prevent that from happening. Her scheme includes bribing a fellow student to pretend to be her boyfriend by doing his homework for him, and slacking off in school assignments so that she appears to be a love sick preteen incapable of earning her teacher’s trust and unenviable nerd status.

In terms of everyday life, Carly and her best friend Patti are pretty ordinary. Carly is very close to her grandpa who is a bit of an eccentric because he spends lots of time locked up in his workshop. When her grandfather unexpectedly passes away, he leaves her a box of instructions with a letter. He tells Carly not to open the box until she turns eighteen. Patti convinces her to give in to curiosity. After all, who can possibly wait six years, an eternity in a twelve year old’s life.

Now Carly often acts first and thinks second. That will lead the friends into trouble when they start experimenting with using the time machine locked in grandpa’s garage. The friends go back in time to visit a One Direction concert, the filming of their favorite movie on the island of Santorini, and visiting a school bully named Lulu, with unexpected consequences each time. But Carly receives her biggest scare when she attempts to go back in time to prevent her parents from meeting. What was she thinking? Now her life as she knows it won’t exist.

Readers in the middle grades will love the strengths and flaws in both the children and adult characters in this series. Targeted for grades four through eight, boys and girls will find a lot of familiar problems and situations. Good book for classroom discussion. I look forward to examining other books in the series.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right hand corner of this page.

The Time Machine Girls:Book One:Secrets

Written by Ernestine Tito Jones

Charming chapter book featuring two sisters, eight year old Hazel and six year old Bess. The girls could not be more different: Hazel is responsible, truthful and obedient, Bess is unrestrained, mischievous and prone to hide the truth.

The sisters are trapped in their grandparents home for the summer while their mother helps them clean out the house in preparation for downsizing. Because the girls have no TV and no internet, the opportunity for getting into trouble immediately presents itself. Hazel has been given a book of rules; under no circumstances can they go into the attic. When Hazel consents to play hide and seek with Bess, little Bess runs to hide in the attic. There the girls find some strange books about time travel and a unusual contraption, which Bess promptly decides to sit in. Sure enough, they find themselves back in time. The sisters find themselves in the year 1738 on the lawn of George Washington’s boyhood farm. He is a six year old boy. What connection does their time machine have with George? Will the girls be able to find their way back home to the twenty first century? If so, how can they explain what they did to their parents and grandparents?

This book is the introduction to a series that promises to hold lots of fun for beginning and early middle grade readers. A house full of secrets, strange grandparents, and two inquisitive and intelligent sisters sound like the beginning of an interesting adventure series for readers in the seven to twelve age group.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right hand corner of this page.