The Man Who Made Time Travel

by Kathryn Lasky, Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)

Who would solve one of the most perplexing scientific problems of all time?

This dramatic picture-book biography brings to life – with illustrations that glow with wit and inspiration – the fascinating story of the quest to measure longitude. While the scientific establishment of the eighteenth century was certain that the answer lay in mapping the heavens, John Harrison, an obscure, uneducated clockmaker, dared to imagine a different a seafaring clock. How Harrison held fast to his vision and dedicated his life to the creation of a small jewel of a timepiece that would change the world is a compelling story – as well as a memorable piece of history, science, and biography.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Genres: History, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Biography, Science, Mathematics, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 2003

About the author

Kathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.

Reviews

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Man Who Made Time Travel follows the work of John Harrison, an unknown, self-taught carpenter and clockmaker who ultimately solved the 18th century’s most complicated and prestigious scientific mystery – measuring longitude. Sailors would unknowingly be lost at sea, and ships consistently sank due to sailor’s inability to locate their east-west position in the ocean. This became such a problem for the nations of the world that the British Parliament passed the Longitude Act, which proclaimed that any who could solve the longitude problem would be awarded a huge sum of money. All of the esteemed scientists at this time were convinced that the problem could be solved through complicated calculations with the distance between the moon and the stars, but one man had a different idea: a clock with enough precision to keep accurate time at sea. This idea was quite daring, as the accuracy of most clocks at this time was quite dismal. Harrison, a young man who taught himself the art of clock making, challenged the prevailing minds of the day as he built a series of clocks in his quest to solve the longitude problem, each one more precise and perfect than the last. John Harrison spent his entire life working on his extraordinary clocks, the ultimately led to explorer’s ability to identify their longitude around the world and thus explore the world like never before. His work showed individuals around the world the power of hard work and innovative ideas, and that regular people can do exceptional things.
I loved how this story made nonfiction feel like a story book, especially with the accurate, yet kid-friendly illustrations. I learned so much about an aspect of history I knew nothing about, but I didn't feel like I was reading an informational book at all! I think this book could be used for older grades, as it is dense in information, but could still be appropriate for a read aloud as the story moves at an appropriate pace.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Orbis Pictus Honor book, The Man Who Made Time Travel is an dramatically illustrated story for older readers. It is the story of John Harrison, who created a way to track longitude in ships. It begins with a shipwreck, informing readers that so many had suffered this same fate because there was no way to measure a ships location and that many of them would get lost at sea. So the British Parliament passed an Act that would pay for a way to measure longitude. The story details different methods and inventions that came about during this times. But it was 21 year old Harrison who would be made famous. From his passion of learning the innerworkings of clocks came his first invention, H1, the seaclock. He spent most of his life perfecting this to the standards of the act, which was a long and arduous process. He was finally awarded the prize money but was never given the winning title.

This is a wonderful story, especially for students that are interested in mechanics or learning how things work. Filled with rich historical detail, this book could accompany a science unit or history.

[Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good and if you want to learn about the history of clocks you should read this book

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is packed with information regarding the invention of the timepieces that led to the sextant and chronometer. This is written in story form so it makes it easy to follow. The story talked about longitude and latitudinal lines among other things making it a good geography book as well. One of my sons couldn't stop asking questions about what we were reading. His mind was going a hundred miles a minute about what we were reading.

[Charlotte Osborn-bensaada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lasky takes the story of John Harrison's lonely journey to claim the Longitude prize for figuring out how to measure Longitude at sea. Over many years he created 5 amazing clocks that eventually resulted in a non-sky method for measuring longitude. Great book for helping kids see how ideas and problem solutions often take many steps and great fortitude.

[Lucia Benzor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids can learn so much from this book and be inspired as kids to be problem solvers and working towards a goal. A worthy goal. It made clocks as simple as could be and even had the power to make me interested in clocks and got me thinking about how they were built.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about the invention of clocks.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love tripping over a book that makes you stop and marvel at what one person's pursuit of a goal can accomplish. The need was for a way to measure longitude so that ships could accurately determine their location at sea. The story starts with the description of a series of ship wrecks with the loss of life of 2000 men - because they did not know their location and ship after ship sailed into the same reef on a foggy night. The book then goes on to show several ideas that others came up with and why they were impractical.
Then along comes John Harrison, a self taught, curious young man. He reads Newton, copies every word and then enacts the experiments to prove the facts to himself. Then he becomes fascinated with clocks and builds one entirely of wood because he could not afford brass. With each clock he builds he improves on the materials and the accuracy. When he finally had the plans for his first clock to show to the Board of Longitude he couldn't find them, but didn't give up and followed advice that directed him from one person to another until he found someone who was willing to give him the money to build the clock. When he presented the clock to the Board he now needed to test it on a sea voyage. The clock fared better than John, who spent the entire trip seasick. Harrison continued to make changes to the clock, always thinking of ways to improve it. He strove for perfection his entire life yet recognition always seemed to elude him.
The story reminded me of Nathaniel Bowditch. If you haven't read Carry on, Mr. Bowditch, be sure to share that chapter book with your older readers.

[Tyler Wansack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Man Who Made Time Travel was an informative book that also gave a geography lesson, learning about latitude and longitude, while reading itl. The illustrations in this story would catch anyone’s eye, so I think children would really enjoy looking at these pictures while reading the story. This story provides a history lesson as well, since you are learning about ships back in the 1700’s and how the invention of clocks came about. It was interesting to learn how our clocks are today would not be the way they are if it weren’t for John Harrison. Also, I think this book will give kids the courage to reach their goals, no matter the obstacles they have to go through to reach it, and to be positive problem solvers; even if you get stumped, keep pushing through.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I doubt you know this story of perseverance. It a tale of a lifetime of dedication to a craft and numerous setbacks, petition taken to the kind, and a key contribution to accurate sea travel used but unheralded for years because the craftsman wasn’t educated the way the ruling body thought he should be. The journey of John Harrison is one every student needs to hear. And their families too.

My son gave me this book to read about a man he had discovered in his school readings. The author’s background information of how she learned about John Harrison and his precision clock is worth continuing to read beyond the final page.

The illustrations are also lovely and complementary to the text. They enhance and give the listener of the read aloud plenty to look at while the words are read.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one book hits several genres: narrative nonfiction with a nod to sci-fi in the title, but lots of science and history as well. John Harrison spent his adult life working on the problem of how to help sailors navigate longitude. His concept was simple- time how far the ship is from a known location, but the execution took his the rest of his life. In his time period, clocks on land were barely reliable and he had to create one that would be reliable on a ship. Wonderful illustrations by Kevin Hawkes help bring the time-period and the technology to life.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually add the books I read to my kids to my own account, but since I think I may have enjoyed this one a great deal more than them, I think it counts. I loved reading about the dogged persistence of Harrison. He was remarkable! I loved contemplating what an enormous contribution he made to the world. This book demonstrates what we popularly call a "growth mindset" now. This was such a great book to read shortly after "The Hen Who Sailed Around the World"....how far we've come!

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a well-written book about something kids don't think much about -- how an accurate clock, or watch, changed people's ability to navigate the oceans. John Harrison's lifelong work to perfect his timepieces is brought to life with sparkling prose and lively art. I really enjoyed this book -- which is one of those longer nonfiction picture books of the type that seems to be out of favor right now.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a delight to read! I learned so much about John Harrison and his perseverance and integrity in the midst of the (VERY) annoying Longitude board. The message behind this story was amazing and I cannot wait to get a physical copy for my classroom!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather detailed book (recommend for older elementary level) that provides a fascinating combination of geography and history. I don't recall ever having a better explanation of longitude and its use.

[Ms Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://smithlitblog.wordpress.com/20...

[Emili]

I got this book for another assignment because it was a recipient of an award. I liked the summary, and what kid is not fascinated with the idea of time travel?

[Elizabeth S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done. Pictures, details, explanations of some of the physics... awesome.

[Kaylyn Burrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sweet book is great when teaching students about longitude and latitude. The illustrations provide an inspiring visual for the students to better understand the story.

[Hannah Shaffer]

This book is pretty meaty for early elementary students, but my kids were fascinated and surprisingly sat through a reading of this biography in its entirety.

[Geo Hendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of an inventor who was not formally educated but, because of his enginearing mind he created something wonderful

[Ronnie Hobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about the history of clocks.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Man Who Made Time Travel, written by Kathryn Lasky and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, is a biography picture book about John Harrison. Lasky writes John Harrison's impressive story through short historical snip-its on each page. She gives some British background about is longitude and latitude and how each is determined (or not determined) and a prize the British government would award the person who discovered a way for travelers to determine the longitude of their location while out at sea because this can keep them from getting lost. Lasky explains that watches in the 1700's were very bad at keeping time, especially when there was a lot of moisture, motion, and temperature changes that occur on the sea. The main focus of the book is that John Harrison invented a clock that could travel the sea without returning to land displaying an incorrect time. In fact, John Harrison built 5 clocks, each getting better and better. After, 40 years of clock building and ingenuity John Harrison was never awarded Longitude Award despite his accuracy and Lasky truly depicts an unsung hero. If not for John Harrison's determination and craftsmanship, clocks that don't have to be wound up everyday would never be apart of modern living and traveling (like traveling to conquer the world like the British did) would not be possible.
Hawkes illustrates this book with paintings. The artwork as a whole is good. It depicts the story line very well and the shadows, large details, and the colors are wonderful. Hawkes literally paints the picture for the reader, putting the time of the action into the reader's mind and showing what Lasky is writing. But the small details really detract from the effectiveness of the full page spreads. The character's facial expression can only be through the amount of white showing in their eyes and the amount of black showing their open, shocked mouth. The details of Harrison's clocks were not good either and this detracts quite a bit. Without the detail of the primary subject of the story, the images are not useful.
I give this book 4 of 5 stars because the images were not as detailed as could have been by using a different medium and the techniqalities of the language Lasky uses is a bit too complicated for 3rd-5th grade readers. This book is good for its information about John Harrison and it can be used as both a free read and a resource in history.

[Naomi De Guzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Man Who Made Time Travel is a picture book biography that takes a look into the life of an influential person in regards to science and travel. This book starts off in the early 1700s with a snapshot of ships and sailors dying. Throughout history, many ships sank because there was no accurate way to measure a ship's true location. British Parliament then passed the Longitude Act, which promised to pay 20,000 pounds sterling to solve the problem of measuring longitude out on the seas. We are finally introduced to the character of John Harrison, who is a self taught carpenter that loved to experiment and build items from bells to clocks. When he heard of the Longitude act he started tinkering and building clocks that would last out on the sea. His first clock was named H1. Throughout his life he tinkered and improved several versions of H1, eventually making H2, H3, H4, and lastly H5. H5 was able to last a trial out on the sea with outstanding accuracy. In 1772, he presented H5 to King George III and was finally rewarded prize money that he deserved.

When I first picked up this book, I was not precisely sure on what this biography was going to be about. I assumed that it was going to be about the person who invented the first clock. However, I learned a lot of interesting history facts from reading this picture book. I could use this book in several content areas, such as science and history. I can use this as a Read Aloud as well, since there are a lot of academic content words I can talk about while reading the book. There are also colorful and beautiful illustrations throughout each page. I can also talk about a theme of hard work and perseverance as well. John Harrison spent almost his entire life making several models of clocks. With each model he only wanted to improve it and make it better. I can talk about the theme of working hard and persevering, even though it takes a lot of time to reach and acquire your ambitions in life.

[Dalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about the invention of a way to accurately measure the exact location where a ship was while at sea and about the man who made that quest his life’s work. As late as the 18th century, sailors were unable to determine where they were at longitudinally and became easily lost at sea. In England an Act was passed that would award a great deal of money to the first person who could come up with a way to accurately measure longitude. It was called the “Longitude Act.” Many ideas were proposed, most of them ridiculously ineffective. Then a man named John Harrison came up with the idea of a time piece that could travel at sea and tell accurate time without being affected by negative elements like stormy seas, salty air, changing temperatures, or perpetual dampness.

[Kori Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Man Who Made Time Travel by Kathryn Lasky is a great non-fiction informational book. Has lots of learning opportunity for teachers and young readers alike. This book is written in story form so it makes it easy to follow along. The books use of vocabulary words like "longitude and latitudinal lines among other vocabulary words makes this book very educational. The pictures are so big and colorful and are luminous full-color paintings in some occurrences takes up the whole page. The text along with the pictures make a great complimentary read. The cover of the book sets the scene for the entire book showing the shear determination of a young boy working on a clock. This is a great read for grades 4-6.

[Alyssa Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Man Who Made Time Travel by Kathryn Lasky is a true story about a man named John Harrison. John built clocks. He was just a villager who rang bells at the church. He never went to school, but he learned about math by being a carpenter. Later in his life, he realized he could combine what he knew about carpentry and bells together. He is the man who built some of the most precise clocks in history. His whole life he worked hard to perfect everything he did, and goes down in history as one of the best clock makers. This story is full of information and facts--plus it has really interesting illustrations that would catch a child's eye. This would be a great story for children older elementary readers and would be useful in a history lesson.

[Ledys · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a wonderful book about a subject that I had never even stopped to consider. The biography is presented in clear language, in a clear, logical progression of events, but you can still sense what's at stake and you still root for John Harrison. Masterful!

[Sarah Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the concept of autobiographical picture books and The Man Who Made Time Travel only strengthen my love for the genre. Kathryn Lasky tells the true story of John Harrison's life. John was an uneducated child who combined his life skills to become one of the greatest clock makers of all time. the story demonstrates that anyone can be successful with passion and drive. The illustrations were not among my favorite but they still assist the story nicely. they are sark and a little distorted but nevertheless, this book is very informational and inspiring.

[Chak · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all very much enjoyed this book. Personally, I had no idea how big of an historical deal it was to be able to figure out how to determine longitude, and what an effect it had on the entire world. It's also a great story for kids, because this "nobody" (actually, a very smart man) eventually figured out how to determine longitude, but he had to overcome a great deal of adversity over the course of many decades in his never-ending quest. Very inspirational!