My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What an adorable, fun and well drawn book. The Trouble with Time Travel is cute, outrageous, and ironic. In fact the first time you read it (assuming you are an adult) you'll likely be laughing so hard at the fact that our leading girl doesn't make (what to us is) the most obvious decision about how to stop the vase from breaking (again). Gotta appreciate a kids book that gives a nod to the adult reading it!
Writer Stephen W. Martin has given us the type of picture book that is my favourite to read with kids that are 3-5 years of age. It has BIG emphasized text words that are really sounds (like CRASH or KABOOOM) and emphasized words (like great or completely) every couple pages. These are moments and opportunities (after a couple reads) to have the child you're reading to join in! They will learn which page has the word (and it's nice and big on the page) and know when to say it with you. Some of my favourite moments with kids are re-reading a story like this and laughing after each emphasis. I've also seen this help children recognize a word over time even when it's in a different context.
Overall I love The Trouble with Time Travel for its cleverness, wonderful illustrations by Cornelia Li, and re-readability. I have one small critique, the two-page spread where you have to turn the book (as they fall into the ocean) is awkward and would drive me crazy after a couple times through. But it's a minimal issue that I can easily get over and doesn't detract from the clear 5 stars this one is for me. This is a picture book suitable to buy any gender or ethnicity as, at it's core, it's about breaking something and feeling remorse for it. I only wish time travel were as easy as our leading gal makes it seem so that I could grab a pet (in her case a dog) and visit all the interesting places and times that she does.
Science note: There is a flaw which is an error commonly made with time travel... The time machine takes our gal and her dog back in time AND to a new PLACE (ie: Egypt, Rome, etc.). A 'true' time (only) machine would take her back in time to the spot she is in however many years before or after; it wouldn't displace her around the world. A nod to Big Bang Theory (and Doctor Who) for ensuring that I never forget this tidbit of science.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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1 comment:
Time travel for kids? That sounds really cute and fun!
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