Tim and Tobias

Tim and the Hidden People #A1

by Sheila K. McCullagh

Spiral-bound

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Sheila K. McCullagh had her first work pulished in the 1950s and then went on to write a number of children's books including the Puddle lane and the Buccaneers series.

Reviews

[Brodysatva · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very long time since I read this book. It was a school book, and at about this time, my school reports talked almost only positively about my reading ability. I spent most of my childhood reading. At home, it would take 10 minutes of calling my name, when people were in the same room, no less, before I would hear them. In school, I would sit in the cloakroom, between the coats and read the Encyclopedia Britannica. I've lost count of the things I lost, because I forgot to pick them up because I had my nose buried in a book - work tools, pens, watches, stereo speakers, shopping, even my wallet on one occasion. For which, I lay the blame at the foot of Sheila McCullagh, Tim and Tobias. P'raps that should be thanks rather than blame though.

I think I was six when they gave me this series to read - which is thirty-five years ago - so the story-line is long forgotten. What stayed with me, was feeling of transportation. If I think hard enough, I can still almost taste that feeling. I think for me, that feeling of transportation, of escape into other worlds, is akin to a religious experience. Which, coincidentally, was something I lost at the same age - I became an atheist then and my only real 'religion' has been to worship books and knowledge.

In many ways, it was the blueprint of what was to come in my reading habits. The magic that Tim finds when he meets Tobias the cat, led me to other fantastic worlds, to Tolkien, Tad Williams and others. And that took me into the realms of science fiction, which started with Arthur C. Clarke.

I have such positive feelings for this book, that I've spent the last twenty years trying to find a copy. Considering it was a school book that was probably ubiquitous during the seventies, it's hard to understand where all those thousands of copies went to.

If you know of one, I'd like to come full circle and have my very own copy, so let me know where I can get my now over-sized hands on one. I should be almost as grateful to you as I am to Sheila McCullagh.

[Madubala Gandikota]

The best series of books i had read in my young years.

[Anna Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ignited my love for reading

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these as a child and loved them! I've recently found the series published online, so I'm revisiting it! Here's the website for anyone else looking for some nostalgia https://www.123andaway.com/tim-and-to...