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Terry: The Time Travelling Tortoise
Terry was not at all interested in becoming a time traveller, but one day, that's exactly what happened...
VOO-SHWIPOP! Like it or not, Terry the tortoise was no longer in his quiet English garden, drinking tea and eating buttered crumpets. Now he was tumbling through time and space, and meeting a very odd assortment of characters along the way; such as the pirates Bee Beard and Broccoli Beard, strange creatures called cogs and dats, a depressed William Shakespeare and a humpless camel.
And when Queen Victoria mistakes Terry for a teapot, it begins to look like he might never get back home again!
Join Terry on this fantastical voyage of silly adventures, and confront conundrums of the space-time continuum face on!
By the year 2376, this book has won numerous (as yet un-invented) prizes, such as The Wurlitzer Sausage Award for Twenty First Century Classics. Suitable for children and adults of ages 7+
VOO-SHWIPOP! Like it or not, Terry the tortoise was no longer in his quiet English garden, drinking tea and eating buttered crumpets. Now he was tumbling through time and space, and meeting a very odd assortment of characters along the way; such as the pirates Bee Beard and Broccoli Beard, strange creatures called cogs and dats, a depressed William Shakespeare and a humpless camel.
And when Queen Victoria mistakes Terry for a teapot, it begins to look like he might never get back home again!
Join Terry on this fantastical voyage of silly adventures, and confront conundrums of the space-time continuum face on!
By the year 2376, this book has won numerous (as yet un-invented) prizes, such as The Wurlitzer Sausage Award for Twenty First Century Classics. Suitable for children and adults of ages 7+
- GenresChildrensTime Travel
190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2014
1 person is currently reading
414 people want to read
About the author
Mr. Wolf
10 books17 followersMr. Wolf is a freelance cartoon illustrator and the author of three funny children's books that grown-ups can enjoy too.
He spent several years providing entertaining cartoon workshops for children and adults at various arts centres and libraries throughout the UK, including two popular events for The Big Draw Festival, which is the world’s biggest celebration of drawing.
These days, however, Mr. Wolf prefers sharpening pencils alone in his lair.
Being called Mr. Wolf, he gets a little frustrated with people always asking him for the time, but he's learnt to live with it.
He spent several years providing entertaining cartoon workshops for children and adults at various arts centres and libraries throughout the UK, including two popular events for The Big Draw Festival, which is the world’s biggest celebration of drawing.
These days, however, Mr. Wolf prefers sharpening pencils alone in his lair.
Being called Mr. Wolf, he gets a little frustrated with people always asking him for the time, but he's learnt to live with it.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 18, 2018
This book is bloody good fun, it is a Children's book for adults. I refuse to read it to my daughter as we would end up having a heated debate about time travel paradoxes and I would also have to explain what a shallow grave is.
The story is witty, the characters are bizarre, a woman with curly wurly arms? Sounds tasty! But for me the highlight is the illustrations, every few pages you get a little drawing of the characters and they are really well done, Mr Wolf has obviously spent a lot of time with Time Travelling Tortoises to get the level detail just right.
Right, I'm off to rip a tortoise out of its shell just to see how much room it has in there.
Full review can be found on my Blog: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2018...
The story is witty, the characters are bizarre, a woman with curly wurly arms? Sounds tasty! But for me the highlight is the illustrations, every few pages you get a little drawing of the characters and they are really well done, Mr Wolf has obviously spent a lot of time with Time Travelling Tortoises to get the level detail just right.
Right, I'm off to rip a tortoise out of its shell just to see how much room it has in there.
Full review can be found on my Blog: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2018...
June 19, 2020
We love tortoises in our family (we have two, you see) so this book was right up my street. Terry the tortoise is perfectly content living his sedate little life with his tea and crumpets (mmm, crumpets...) so it was rather a shock when an honest-to-goodness time traveller arrives in his garden one day! Thing just get weirder from there...
This book, while a little rough around the edges occasionally, is thoroughly charming, highly entertaining, incredibly imaginative and absolutely hilarious. Don't read it in company unless you want to constantly have to explain why your drink just shot out of your nose, your dentures just exploded out of your mouth and suchlike.
The illustrations are wonderful, too; my only complaint is that there aren't enough of them! I want more!
This book, while a little rough around the edges occasionally, is thoroughly charming, highly entertaining, incredibly imaginative and absolutely hilarious. Don't read it in company unless you want to constantly have to explain why your drink just shot out of your nose, your dentures just exploded out of your mouth and suchlike.
The illustrations are wonderful, too; my only complaint is that there aren't enough of them! I want more!
September 11, 2015
This is an incredibly charming and funny story, full of playful humour and engaging characters. We follow Terry, a tortoise with problems coming out of and going into his shell. Made of gleaming metal, this silver machine gives Terry the option to take an excellent adventure through time. He reluctantly sets off on his journey, ricocheting from one familiar face to the next, all the while his main concern being where his next round of tea and crumpets is coming from.
This reminded me of the warm voices of childhood, such as Derek Griffiths or Arthur Lowe, that cosy feeling mixed with underlying subversion and happy anarchy. This book is like ODing on repeat viewings of children’s television that was made in the fallout from the sixties and seventies, where counterculture messages had infiltrated the mainstream and created a remix of the traditional. Amid the nostalgic voice is some good-natured establishment prodding, downright funny and never sneering.
This book is lively and colourful and I’m not really concerned with who it’s aimed at, as I don’t think the book cares either. It’s wonderful to follow this tortoise on his travels through time, opening his mind to possibility, hoping he doesn’t mess with the space-time continuum too much, whilst acknowledging what he values. Mostly having a nice sit down and a cup of tea. Preferably with crumpets.
A nostalgiafest:
The rather heartbreaking Mr Forgetful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5KSn...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeMMo...
Stop playing the flumpet, have a crumpet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AXu3...
Sesame St does Yellow Submarine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeYzj...
This reminded me of the warm voices of childhood, such as Derek Griffiths or Arthur Lowe, that cosy feeling mixed with underlying subversion and happy anarchy. This book is like ODing on repeat viewings of children’s television that was made in the fallout from the sixties and seventies, where counterculture messages had infiltrated the mainstream and created a remix of the traditional. Amid the nostalgic voice is some good-natured establishment prodding, downright funny and never sneering.
This book is lively and colourful and I’m not really concerned with who it’s aimed at, as I don’t think the book cares either. It’s wonderful to follow this tortoise on his travels through time, opening his mind to possibility, hoping he doesn’t mess with the space-time continuum too much, whilst acknowledging what he values. Mostly having a nice sit down and a cup of tea. Preferably with crumpets.
A nostalgiafest:
The rather heartbreaking Mr Forgetful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5KSn...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeMMo...
Stop playing the flumpet, have a crumpet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AXu3...
Sesame St does Yellow Submarine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeYzj...
April 3, 2021
Before I write this review, a disclosure: I have written two books with Harry Whitewolf and have been a fan for a while now, so of course I'm going to give this book a glowing review.
A bias, you say? Well, of course! As Big Tex would say, this book is the most remarkable, stupendous, irascible, tortoise-tacular, pugnacious, cantankerous, adjectival book about tortoise time travel that you will ever read.
It takes the mystical, metaphysical and purple popsicle properties of time travel and adds a cherry coke to it. Great drawings, great story, great story-tortoise-telling. And Big Tex, the tortoise with the ten-gallon hat to kick things off.
This book is for kids, with nods and winks of humor for the adults as well. So, why not take a trip with Terry? Back to the time of dinosaurs? Back to the time of pirates to meet Bee Beard? A visit to Joan of Arc? Why not? Into the silly, wacky future?
Is there anything this book is missing? Why yes? A Doc Brown cameo. But of course, that would bring on the copyright monsters, and that would require a sequel: "Terry Tortoise versus the Copyright Monsters."
"Great Scott!"...errr, "Great Tortoise!"
A bias, you say? Well, of course! As Big Tex would say, this book is the most remarkable, stupendous, irascible, tortoise-tacular, pugnacious, cantankerous, adjectival book about tortoise time travel that you will ever read.
It takes the mystical, metaphysical and purple popsicle properties of time travel and adds a cherry coke to it. Great drawings, great story, great story-tortoise-telling. And Big Tex, the tortoise with the ten-gallon hat to kick things off.
This book is for kids, with nods and winks of humor for the adults as well. So, why not take a trip with Terry? Back to the time of dinosaurs? Back to the time of pirates to meet Bee Beard? A visit to Joan of Arc? Why not? Into the silly, wacky future?
Is there anything this book is missing? Why yes? A Doc Brown cameo. But of course, that would bring on the copyright monsters, and that would require a sequel: "Terry Tortoise versus the Copyright Monsters."
"Great Scott!"...errr, "Great Tortoise!"
October 31, 2015
This was a fun story about a tortoise who, despite being a bit sleepy, manages to travel across time and space getting into all sorts of wonderful adventures. I found myself smiling through various scenes and chuckling at others. There was also some great wordplay which gave various parts of the story some colourful rhythms.
My favourite chapter was Treetops and Teapots which had a cartoonish Queen Victoria obsessed with collecting teapots. I couldn't stop laughing at the part where Terry's shell has just been damaged and he disappears. The Queen then says in his absence: 'I guess it must be one of those new disappearing teapots. Yes, very good. Very clever. That's progress for you, I suppose.'
...I had to take a break at that point because I couldn't stop laughing.
Another reviewer made the point that although set up as being a children's story, this book doesn't seem to worry too much about that too much. I think adults will see the humour in this story and children will but a different way.
A great little adventure and I look forward to the next one.
I'm now off to check out Terry's blog! :-)
My favourite chapter was Treetops and Teapots which had a cartoonish Queen Victoria obsessed with collecting teapots. I couldn't stop laughing at the part where Terry's shell has just been damaged and he disappears. The Queen then says in his absence: 'I guess it must be one of those new disappearing teapots. Yes, very good. Very clever. That's progress for you, I suppose.'
...I had to take a break at that point because I couldn't stop laughing.
Another reviewer made the point that although set up as being a children's story, this book doesn't seem to worry too much about that too much. I think adults will see the humour in this story and children will but a different way.
A great little adventure and I look forward to the next one.
I'm now off to check out Terry's blog! :-)
December 20, 2015
Fantastic and alive story, packed with cultural references but works fine without them, adding layers of fun finds. I don't know a reference-happy bestselling author who can claim that!!
Alive with Wolfian wit and electric, comic dialogue, Terry is a must read for children, both inner and the rubbish kind.
I just wish it had more illustrations!
Alive with Wolfian wit and electric, comic dialogue, Terry is a must read for children, both inner and the rubbish kind.
I just wish it had more illustrations!
September 19, 2015
Brilliant and great fun to read - a good few laugh out loud moments. The author has a great imagination for all the worlds that Terry time travels to. I'll update once I get my 12yr old to read it :-)
September 29, 2020
This was a wonderfully, silly book – Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure on speed, with a tortoise. Terry, the tortoise wants to be left alone to finish his crossword, eat his crumpets and drink his tea (yes, in this book, that is what tortoises do when left to their own devices), but Big Tex (who appears out of nowhere) with a silver shell tortoise-shaped time travelling machine, with his dying breath, exhorts Terry to take up his mantle (i.e. shell):
His friends Newton and Crow add on the pressure, and before he knows it, Terry is VOO-SHWIPOPping his way through the past and future, all over the planet. Everywhere he goes, people, animals (and even plants in the future) speak perfectly understandable English – even in ancient Egypt, where they are using antigrav to build the pyramids in the hope of creating a tourist industry.
There are some lovely rewritings of history along the way, and most people/animals/plants that meet Terry are very helpful. One exception is Queen Victoria, who inadvertently nearly brings about Terry’s demise. Will he ever manage to get home in one piece before his supply of teabags and crumpets run out?
Although I really enjoyed this book, I could not give it 5 stars. Time-travel paradoxes are mentioned but then comprehensively ignored. Nothing Terry does seems to impact the future/present, and he manages to have a conversation with himself without the universe exploding. I know, this is a work of fantasy – but I do like a bit of world-building consistency.
Lovely pictures throughout. Highly recommended to anyone who needs a bit of light relief and fun.
“'But, it's amazing! Blazing! Blooming life changing! The greatest god given gadget of awe inducing incredibleness that you could ever imagine! It can take you to any time and any place. The future! The past! At last! Time travel is here! It's clear. It's dearly delightful. Mightily insightful. And hardly at all frightful. The Silver Shell. The time travelling machine. The thing of dreams!”
His friends Newton and Crow add on the pressure, and before he knows it, Terry is VOO-SHWIPOPping his way through the past and future, all over the planet. Everywhere he goes, people, animals (and even plants in the future) speak perfectly understandable English – even in ancient Egypt, where they are using antigrav to build the pyramids in the hope of creating a tourist industry.
There are some lovely rewritings of history along the way, and most people/animals/plants that meet Terry are very helpful. One exception is Queen Victoria, who inadvertently nearly brings about Terry’s demise. Will he ever manage to get home in one piece before his supply of teabags and crumpets run out?
Although I really enjoyed this book, I could not give it 5 stars. Time-travel paradoxes are mentioned but then comprehensively ignored. Nothing Terry does seems to impact the future/present, and he manages to have a conversation with himself without the universe exploding. I know, this is a work of fantasy – but I do like a bit of world-building consistency.
Lovely pictures throughout. Highly recommended to anyone who needs a bit of light relief and fun.
February 13, 2015
I received this book as a First Reads give-away.
This is a very fun romp through time with a reluctant time traveler. It is not heavy, or laced with hidden meaning. It is perfect for the target audience. Age 7+ readers will find this easy to read, fast-paced, and not too long. With Terry encountering a wide range of "real" and not-so-real characters, there is always a new twist around each corner.
If you have someone reluctant to get into reading, have them try this book. It may change their mind.
This is a very fun romp through time with a reluctant time traveler. It is not heavy, or laced with hidden meaning. It is perfect for the target audience. Age 7+ readers will find this easy to read, fast-paced, and not too long. With Terry encountering a wide range of "real" and not-so-real characters, there is always a new twist around each corner.
If you have someone reluctant to get into reading, have them try this book. It may change their mind.
October 28, 2016
This is my debut book, suitable for both kids and adults who want to go along on a silly ride of adventurous nonsense!
October 28, 2016
This is my debut book, suitable for both kids and adults who want to go along on a silly ride of adventurous nonsense!
January 13, 2015
Just from reading the blurb and the first couple of pages I thought this book was hilarious and light-hearted. I absolutely loved the humour. However, as I read on unfortunately I could not see it as a children's story. It displayed a large array of references that only adults would understand but held all other potential for being a children's story. I feel that the content would not be understood by children thus not particularly befitting any particular audience.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews