Journey through ash and smoke

Ranger in Time #5

by Kate Messner

Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever, has landed in Viking age Iceland, where he meets a girl named Helga, who seems perfectly able to take care of herself--until an erupting volcano and an early arriving baby forces Ranger and Helga to journey through the ash and smoke to find her father and bring him home.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Animals, Chapter Books, Time Travel, Childrens, Middle Grade

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2017

About the author

Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books.

Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com

Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner

...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nico picked this out at his book fair and now we plan to read the whole series. It's exactly the kind of book I would love reading when I was in the target audience and I think it's a great learning opportunity for Nico because the the variety of time periods and locations. It opens a lot of discussion for us. And hey it's a dog and he's cute! :)

[Heather J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful read. Golden retriever goes back in time to help people survive various disasters. Iceland and vikings and volcano. Boys enjoyed me readings this aloud to them.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Read in a couple days because it was so good!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who doesn't love a golden retriever like Ranger, especially when he's also a time traveler who somehow gets summoned to different times and places in order to rescue someone. In this book in the popular series, Ranger heads to Iceland in the eighth century. but to his surprise, Helga, the girl he meets upon his arrival, is quite self-sufficient and doesn't need his help at all. In fact, more than once, she rescues him. With a volcano threatening to erupt and Helga's mother close to giving birth while her father is away, what can Ranger do to help out and then return to his present day home? The story will keep fans of Magic Tree House enchanted, and the back matter with text and photos about Iceland will give them a glimpse into that fascinating country and landscape. This is a reliable series that allows delivers on its promises to provide adventure in different places to readers.

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{My thoughts} – Ranger goes on a all new adventure dated during the time of the Vikings. He meets a sweet girl named Helga who has a soft spot for animals. He also learns that Helga is strong and brave and hardly needs his help, nor is she much in need of being rescued.

It takes awhile for Ranger to finally figure out why he’s been brought to Helga. However, when it comes time for Helga’s mother to have her baby sister he quickly learns that Helga still needs his help!

Helga, makes it safely to her fathers location to tell him that the baby is coming. She has problems finding him and so she climbs a cliff. She very nearly falls and Ranger goes in search of her father, hoping to find him before it’s too late.

This was a really nice book. I enjoyed reading about Ranger and his new adventure. I look forward to reading more of Rangers adventures in the near future!

[Jtimko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travel with Ranger through time to the Viking Age in Iceland. There, Ranger helps a young girl navigate the earthquake-prone area to find her father in order to bring him home before the birth of his child.
This next adventure in the series has Ranger traveling back in time to the Vikings age in Iceland. The story is well researched and reads well. The challenges that the pair face are exciting. The illustrations are realistic. There is a section in the back in which further resources are noted as well as an author’s note describing her research adventures. Fans of Ranger in Time will not be disappointed. Recommended for grades 2 through 4.

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ranger is a search-and-rescue golden retriever who travels through time to help people. This installment has him visiting Iceland in the time of the Viking settlements (the year 934) to help a girl named Helga through various predicaments.

I read this with DD2, who was more interested in the dog aspect than the historical aspect. She did not want to read the author’s note at the end, whereas I did, partly because I had been racking my brain to figure out what time period Ranger was in. In all, though, both of us liked it, and DD2 expressed an interest in reading other books from the series.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of fun, with excellent back matter. If I were a child I would devour this series. I've only read a few Magic Treehouse books but I think that I prefer these as a dog has a different perspective than children which makes everything just a bit more interesting. I don't like them quite enough to devour the rest now, as an adult, but Messner does write well and I will look at her other works.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought I wrote a reveiw of this when I read it about a month ago. Notes from April 20 powerpoint -
great series for kids who have finished Magic Treehouse. Rescue Dog travels in time to do rescues – This one is to the Frozen North (Iceland it seems) in the time of the Vikings. Must rescue Helga after she has rescued him several times. 5th in series. I think there are now 6 out. Show series link.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ranger is a dog who failed rescue training school - because he likes to chase squirrels.
Ranger is a dog who can time travel. When his rescue kit vibrates, it pulls him into his next adventure!
In this 5th book in the series, Ranger travels to Iceland during the Viking Age to help a girl named Helga through a flooded river and a possible volcano eruption.
Ranger is a golden retriever.
Resources in the back.

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the Ranger in Time series. The story motivates children to think of others and help in peril. it also motivates children to learn of new geographical and historical settings. This particular books takes the reader to Ice Land during the Vikings. The "Author's Notes" after the story are very interesting, as well as the bonus "Further Reading," which contains a list of more great books on the same subject.

[Jean Alfieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great journey by Kate! Who doesn't love an adventure that involves an erupting volcano?! This one was exciting from the start and I cheered for the brave Viking girl, Helga - who even came to the rescue of Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever! A fun and educatucational glimpse at a time-past.

[Yashi McGowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s time for summer reading with my son.

My goal is to read each book he reads so we can discuss and work on his reading comprehension skills .

I think it is a good book to start with because the big events in the beginning , middle and end are specific for summary and gist purposes.

It’s a quick read and very cute story.

[Adayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for the category it's in. I like these Ranger books. I'm confident my 6 and 8 year olds can both read these independently now, after seeing them peeking ahead. So I think I'm about to shift them from read aloud to keeping them on the shelf and seeing if they get picked up.

I like the historical setting and the author's note at the end of these are great.

[Viktoria Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Messner has done it again. The description of how the Vikings lived was detailed and corresponded with everything we’ve learned in homeschool about Vikings this year. Ranger did it again. We can’t wait to read the next ones.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as engaging as other books in the series, especially because the title and premise make it sound like the volcano plays a much bigger role thatn it does. Still, there are good messages in it and readers will learn new things.

[Allison Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to connect 9 year old with visiting Iceland. I liked the point of view with the flowers and the cliff climbing for puffin eggs. Not as much volcano action as I expected but about as much as we'll likely experience.

[Maria Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super educational read again. Love the Author notes and photos at the end.

[Aimee Messinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book!

[Isla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book becuase the kid saves ranger more then one time but ranger is supposed to save her.

[Jarrett]

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[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book for young readers - learning about history in a fun way - through a dog who travels back in time to help out kids in need

[GheenGirls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turtle: great! Return to library.

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting adventures

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story, good image of daily life during the settlement era of Iceland.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are adorable.

[A-drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

read aloud to A in 3rd grade - he used this for his 1st book report @ DHA. He made a diorama for his book report project. This is good historical fiction.

[Raysha Faye Honsowetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series, but still an enjoyable readaloud with my five and six year old!

[Jared Pilkington · Rating 3 out of 5]

“For readers aged 7-10” 😉 fun read that I barely remember because I read it to zonk out at night lol love the geekiness of Viking history though since they’re in my DNA 🧬

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

good introduction to major historical events for kids