Bibsy Cross and the Time Capsule

by Liz Garton Scanlon, Dung Ho (illustrator)

Meet Bibsy Cross, the precocious, regular-pegular eight-year-old who isn't so sure she wants to capture her childhood in a time capsule in the fourth installment of this charming chapter book series.

Most things are easy-peasy, regular-pegular for Bibsy Cross. She loves her parents, her cat, her best friend, Natia. She loves school and the library. And she loves a good school project.

But this time, each student is tasked with creating a time capsule, and Bibsy's not so sure she wants to trap the present in a box. She needs her childhood now, not preserved for the future. When Nanaberry comes--not just for a visit, but for good--she helps Bibsy see the project in a new light.

Will Bibsy figure out how to preserve her memories without letting them go?

Genres: School

123 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 8, 2025

About the author

Liz Garton Scanlon is the author of numerous beloved books for young people, including the highly-acclaimed, Caldecott-honored picture book All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee, two novels for middle grade readers, and an upcoming chapter book series. Her many other picture books include the ones she's co-authored with Audrey Vernick, like Bob, Not Bob and World's Best Class Plant. Ms. Scanlon is also a poet, a teacher and a frequent & popular presenter at schools, libraries and conferences. She serves on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Austin, Texas.

Reviews

[Mary Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Bibsy so much.
Mrs. Stumper is an embarrassingly accurate teacher. (Hopefully I wasn’t like her very often or for very long!)

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bibsy Cross is happy to learn that her beloved grandmother is coming for a visit - and even more thrilled when her father tells her that the widowed Nanaberry will be staying with their family for good!  Bibsy excitedly rushes to school, sharing her news with her best friend Natia on the way.  Her good mood spills over into homeroom - even the stern Mrs. Stumper can’t put a damper on her enthusiasm!  But her ‘sweet’ turns into a bit of a ‘sour’ when, later that morning, Bibsy and her classmates attend an assembly in which they learn the concept of a time capsule from a roller-skating character named “Future Fabulosa” (who looks suspiciously like the school reading specialist).  At the end of the presentation, the students are assigned a time capsule project, in which they are asked to ‘capture’ their favorite childhood memories and save them for their future selves to open.  Readers of previous series entries will know that Bibsy loves a project - but she finds this one a bit overwhelming and confusing, because to her it seems strange to try to capture childhood memories while still an actual child.   She has a hard time articulating her concerns to her teacher or parents, but an understanding Nanaberry helps her put it in perspective.  Nanaberry, a retired librarian, suggests looking at the project as a way to preserve her most important stories.  After a brainstorming session with Natia, Bibsy has a clever plan to do just that.

Bibsy Cross is a lovable third grade heroine who is positive, persistent, and plucky.  Her upbeat attitude is admirable: she is willing to try new approaches to challenging tasks, and her disappointment is temporary when she encounters a setback.  Readers will particularly enjoy her interactions with other characters in the book: her camaraderie with Natia, the loving family rituals with her parents and now Nanaberry, and even the give-and-take with the ‘exacting’ Mrs. Stumper.  Quick chapters and the free verse format make for fun, fast-paced reading; the text features authentic dialog, rich vocabulary, and Bibsy’s catch phrases like ‘regular pegular’ and “jinx blinks.”   The story is greatly enhanced by the frequent grayscale comic-style illustrations, which all include pops of purple for Bibsy’s t-shirt and other random items in each picture.  Bibsy and her parents cue as white, Natia and her family are Black, and the illustrations imply the diversity of Bibsy’s school community. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm continuing to love these Bibsy Cross books, perfect for a class read aloud, The fourth in the series, this one [3.5 for me, but higher if I were near Bibsy's age!] covers an activity that may be familiar to many youngsters. Bibsy and her classmates are tasked with choosing what objects from their childhood that they want to place in a time capsule. Surprisingly, Bibsy struggles with this because she's not sure about putting something she values in storage and because she isn't sure what makes her and her classmates so special. While the character of Bibsy herself is part of what makes this book and series so special, there are other elements that add to its charm--her parents, how she and BFF Natia use phrases like "regular-pegular," and the spot-on depiction of her teacher, the appropriately named and long-suffering Mrs. Stumper, who can barely conceal her annoyance at all Bibsy's questions and need to share. Reading this book makes me wonder if my own teachers felt the same way about my own loquaciousness back in the day. Each page and each digital drawing in this title is suffused with love.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Award winning author Liz Garton Scanlan is back with the fourth installment the Bibsy Cross series. Likeable main character Bibsy Cross usually loves projects but an assigned project of putting together a time capsule has brought her mixed feelings. As a third grader, she wonders how she will capture her life and fit it into a small box. When her grandmother comes to stay with her family permanently, she can relate to Bibsy's challenge since she just had to pack up her life to make this move. Bibsy grapples with the assignment until she lands on a good way to capture her memories through stories that she puts in her box. Written as short chapters in verse language, the book is very accessible for young readers who will easily relate to many of Bibsy's life and school experiences.

[Kirk Scanlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection. Such an exceptional end to the series.