Viagem no Tempo com um Hamster

Al Chaudhury #1

by Ross Welford

Assim que a porta da frente se fecha, estou fora da cama e diante do meu computador, a pesquisar na Internet por «Einstein», «Teoria da Relatividade» e «Viajar no tempo». Duas horas depois, estou a dormir com a cabeça pousada num braço e a outra mão ainda agarrada ao rato. E continuo sem estar mais próximo de entender, embora:

1. Tenha visto uns desenhos animados fixes no YouTube no qual um gato falante, a viajar à velocidade da luz, vê a sua nave espacial ser atingida por dois relâmpagos em simultâneo.

2. Tenha lido um longo artigo daquele tipo que explica os planetas na televisão intitulado (de forma promissora) «Relatividade para uma criança inteligente de doze anos». Mais inteligente do que eu, obviamente, e, sem querer gabar-me, sei que sou bastante inteligente. Pelo menos, a matemática.

3. Tenha aprendido que a física quântica significa que uma coisa pode existir em dois sítios ao mesmo tempo, mas continuei sem saber porquê. Ou como.

4. Tenha descoberto que o Albert Einstein só aprendeu a falar aos quatro anos e, nessa altura, disse bem alto à mesa do jantar: «Esta sopa está demasiado quente!».

5. Tenha raspado o cocó de raposa que havia nas minhas calças de ganga, lhes tenha dado uma lavagem rápida e posto a secar na máquina de secar e, depois, voltado a guardá-las na minha gaveta.

Genres: Middle Grade, Time Travel, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Childrens, Young Adult

416 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2015

About the author

Ross Welford is a British author of fantastic children's fiction.

Reviews

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Words: Time-travel, family, grief, hamsters, change.

I've just finished this book and I've been left with that weird empty feeling you get when you've just experienced something amazing and know that, somehow, it's going to change you.

I don't think that I can put into words how amazing this book is. Reading it was like going on a roller-coaster of emotions.

So, this review has taken a fair while to write. And I really liked thinking back, about the story, about what I felt when I read it, about what I liked and didn't like...

As much as I loved the experience of reading this book, I also loved the experience of having read the book and thinking back on it. This isn't something that happens often to me. I do think back on what I've read all the time, but I don't think I've ever focused on a single book more unless it was forced on me at school.

I loved the exploration of family, it felt like the biggest theme in this book. Because of this crazy time-travel element, the family-unit was all over the place. And it was great.

I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the story! So heartwarming!

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Time Traveling with a Hamster' by Ross Welford is so clever, funny and thrilling, I wish I was reading this book with the fresh eyes of a twelve-year-old, the intended audience (give or take a year or two in either direction)! Instead, since I am a little older, the story reminded me of the Back to the Future movies. Still, this is excellent and exciting time-traveling adventure even for a reader in their sixth decade! I was very reluctant to put it down because each chapter had me on the edge of my seat. Reading this book during the Christmas holidays (questions like "why are you still reading during family time?!?!?") made for some frustration as you can imagine, gentle reader.

Quoted from the Preface:

"My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty-nine, and again four years later when he was twelve. (He's going to die a third time as well, which seems a bit rough on him, but I can't help that.)

The first time had nothing to do with me. The second time definitely did, but I would never even have been there if it hadn't been for his "time machine." I know--that sounds like I'm blaming him, when I'm totally not, but... you'll see what I mean."


Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury is celebrating his twelfth birthday with his mom, stepdad Steve, his stepsister Carly, and his grandpa Bryon. One of his presents is a hamster! Al names him Alan Shearer. Well, actually Steve suggests the name, but Al likes it. Al knows Steve is really trying to be friends, but Al can't accept it, although he is polite. His real dad died when Al was eight years old, he still misses his dad, Pie (Pythagoras).

Pie was a brilliant engineer. In Al's childhood house, under the garage, an air raid shelter had been built by the people Al's parents had bought the house from. And there, in the shelter, Pie secretly built a time machine. He had a good reason for building it. He knew he was going to die soon from a piece of metal in his brain from an accident when he had been a kid. The metal chip was slowly moving towards a vital part of his brain and would kill him one day. Since he couldn't go back to the day of his accident (he couldn't as his adult self be with his young self - a rule of time travel), he was hoping Al could fix things. Al discovered all of this in the letter Al's mother gave him on his birthday along with the hamster.

The front of the envelope says, in his dad's handwriting, "IMPORTANT: Do Not Open This Envelope Until Sixteen Hours After Receiving It. To Be Delivered on His Twelfth Birthday."

So begins an adventure which Al hopes will turn out ok. There are significant obstacles - one being he no longer lives in the house of his earlier childhood. His mom moved miles away into Steve's house when they got married. Al will have to break into his old house now occupied by new owners. The second is Al is only twelve - not a lot of money, no driver's license, watchful adults, neighborhood bullies, school attendence, supplies, etc. Of course, the biggest obstacle is getting his dad's time machine to work. It involves computer skills and following the strange directions his father explained in his letter. But most important, Al is not confident he can overcome the significant obstacles in his way. But if he can change the past! To see his dad again!

Can he do it? Does the machine even work?

I. Could. Not. Put. This. Book. Down! Things do not work as planned. Stuff happens. The worst is AL finds out the things he does changes the future. It's not good. The cliffhangers from chapter after chapter are exciting. Problems mount, mistakes are made, issues happen.

I highly recommend 'Time Travel with a Hamster'!


YouTube movie trailer of Back to the Future:

https://youtu.be/qvsgGtivCgs

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read this with my eleven year old son, I think this is a very impressive debut novel – so self assured is the writing that it is hard to imagine it is, in fact, a first book. Although this is a children’s book it is probably more suitable for ages 11+ and it deals with some big themes; including major changes and how children adapt to them, the whole dynamics of family life, bereavement and, of course, time travel…

Our hero is Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury (Al for short)– oh, and of course his hamster, Alan Shearer (like the main character of this book my son is not a great football fan, so I had to explain who that referred to. Thankfully, he knew Einstein…). On his twelfth birthday, Grandpa Byron gives Al a letter from his father. The problem is that his father has died, but according to the letter, Al can use his time machine to prevent his death.

What follows is how Al follows his father’s instructions to try to carry out something that seems impossible. Al’s father died four years ago when Al was only eight and so it is not easy to carry out his instructions; for example, Al has to return to his old house, which is ten miles away. For things have moved on and Al’s mother has a new man in her life. Can Al change the world – his world at least?

This is a fabulous book and I loved the characters and all of the crazy names (if you think Albert Einstein is a bad name, then try Pythagoras?!). This is great for older children and is, perhaps, more YA then a children’s book. However, at its heart is a great story and I will certainly be interested to read more novels by Ross Welford.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure I’m any less baffled by time travel after reading this, but what a fun adventure of a story.

Time Travelling with a Hamster is packed full of mischief, adventure, family, friendship, grief, love, time travel, random facts, and of course, not forgetting the pet hamster.

This story also has a good mix of characters, but not too many to keep track of. I love Grandpa Byron. What an interesting character he is.

Despite me enjoying children’s books, this was perhaps a little young for me to fully fall in love with, but I did thoroughly enjoy it, and think it is a great book for teenagers and older children who are confident readers. Plus, this would make a fun story for parents to read to their children too.

This story has reminded me of when I was a young girl, and I used to pretend to time travel in my dad's garden shed, with a broken radio and an old computer keyboard. Luckily, my imagination made up for my lack of technical ability to create a working time machine.

I would like to thank the publisher, Harper Collins Children’s Books. for allowing me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Francisca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book with parts that I loved deeply, parts I didn't like, and many more parts that I felt were unnecessary and heavy.

First thing that I noticed, for a middle grade novel, this is a loooong book.

I, an adult who loves to speculate about the possibilities of time travel and the possible consequences of it, as in the disruption of the space-time continuous, found myself skimming over more than one chapter, as they were long because some of the events seemed to repeat themselves in different shapes. The problem with this repetition is that it didn't come across as a planned device to help the story (a.k.a. not in a Groundhog Day style), but as a crude way to reinforce ideas that were clear from the start.

Much of the length of the story was consumed by those cycles. Quickly, I found myself wishing the author had trusted us, readers, more. Yes, especially because this book is intended for children the author (and all the editors involved in seeing it published) should have trusted that they can take huge logic leaps and follow the story without trouble.

The premise is lovely, travel in time to save Dad from dying. The relationships in the book are lovely, too. The characters are interesting and well-constructed, and yet at times because of all the focus put on the technical minutia behind the time-traveling process, some of the most attractive parts of this book don't shine as they could.

I think that many children will like this book, but just as many, even those who like sci-fi, may find it a little too dry and log for their taste.

My final verdict is to give it a chance if the themes seem attractive to you and make your own mind about it, paying little attention to my words.

[TheBookSmugglers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury’s dad was thirty nine years old when he died for the first time and twelve when he died for the second time. The former happened due to a dislodged piece of metal that caused brain haemorrhage, a leftover from of an accident he had when he was a kid.

The latter is the result of what sets Time Traveling with a Hamster in motion.

Al’s dad died suddenly when Al was eight years old. When Al turns twelve he receives a mind-blowing present: a letter from his dead father that contains mysterious instructions that Al must choose whether he wishes to follow or not. If he does so, his father’s letter tells him, he will learn everything about time travel just in time to go back to when his father was twelve and prevent his accident from happening, therefore changing his present. Al’s father’s life is thus, literally in Al’s hands as, due to the rules of time traveling, a person cannot be in the same timeline twice. So Al is the only person who can travel back in time and save his father.

And we know this doesn’t go well – for when Al fails to save his father, he alters the space-time continuum, changing everything. And then he needs to find a way to set things right.

Time Traveling with a Hamster is a strange creature. The central relationship in the book came as a nice surprise: it’s not Al and his father or Al and his hamster. It’s Al and his granddad Byron’s and their relationship is sweet and informs most of Al’s actions. His granddad is the true father figure in the novel. I also loved that Al is Anglo-Indian and that his grandad shares his experiences as an immigrant.

Looking at the title and the cover copy though, I was expecting a light, entertaining romp with a kid and his pet hamster. Of the pet hamster, Alan Shearer, there is very little, his presence is inconsequential, almost an after-thought. And even though there are moments of light and fun (hey, time traveling shenanigans are always fun), this book turned out to be darker and more thoughtful than I was expecting. This is not a bad thing per se but the problem with this is that the narrative voice doesn’t quite decide if it wants to sound very young or much older.

Think on this: Al is trusted with a mission that decides the fate of his own father. If you think this is a lot of pressure to put on a 12-year-old kid, bingo. But which kid, given the chance to save his own father’s life, would say no? The problem here is that we see very little on-page relationship between Al and his dad. The first part of the book is all dedicated to Al and his grandad, who by the way, doesn’t even sound like he liked his son very much. Actually, his mom doesn’t seem to have liked his father all that much either. So as a reader, it’s hard to be invested in this mission. As an outsider looking in, I detested Al’s father and wished he had remained dead for the things he put his kid through, and for the horribly condescending, self-serving letters he sent. On the other hand, which person would not try to save their own lives if they knew a way?

This is why I call this book a strange creature. Because the focus here seems to be placed so much on the adults, and a lot of the story asks us to sympathise more with them rather than with the actual kid that is the main character. When Al comes back to a different future after things go horribly wrong in the past (and horribly wrong is a mild way of putting it), it’s his granddad that is changed the most. We get a much richer, deeper description of his granddad’s pain than Al���s, whose life has been altered significantly as well – he is not even supposed to be alive (actually, good question: how is he even alive if his father never met his mother. Time traveling paradox!). Given all this, in fact, when reading Time Traveling with a Hamster, I often wondered if the book was even written as a kids’ book in the first place because it straddles a line between kidlit and adult fiction crossing over and back multiple times.

One thing I liked very much is how Al asks himself about the “other Als”. Do you remember how Marty McFly goes back to the future at the end of Back to the Future to find his family completely altered? What happens to the Marty McFly that that version of his family knew? His family has memories of that Marty and his childhood and this new Marty has none of those memories. So it’s a little bittersweet to think about that and Time Traveling with a Hamster is affecting in that same way.

So: A strange creature. I liked it – but probably not as much as I had hoped and not in the way I had expected.

[Aditi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space. If you can bend space you can bend time also, and if you knew enough and could move faster than light you could travel backward in tie and exist in two places at once.”

----Margaret Atwood


Ross Welford, an English author, pens his debut middle grade science fiction story, Time Travelling with a Hamster that unfolds the story of a 12-year old boy who after his father's death travels back in time with his father's invented time machine to meet his father along with his pet hamster, but things do not go well when he go backs in time.


Synopsis:

“My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve.

The first time had nothing to do with me. The second time definitely did, but I would never even have been there if it hadn’t been for his ‘time machine’…”

When Al Chaudhury discovers his late dad’s time machine, he finds that going back to the 1980s requires daring and imagination. It also requires lies, theft, burglary, and setting his school on fire. All without losing his pet hamster, Alan Shearer.


Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury was eight years old when his dad died for the very first and on his twelfth birthday he receives a letter addressed to him written by his father when he was alive. In his letter, he has passed on to his invented time machine to Al and has been asked to use it to go back in time to save the life of his father, when his father was twelve years old and an accident happened to him. But Al fails to save his father from death. And that moment changes the laws of the time-machine thus making it impossible for Al to go back in the present. Al has time-traveled back to the 80s with his pet hamster but how is he supposed to save the life of his father?

The writing style of the author is articulate and easy to comprehend with. Since it's a middle grade story, the writing is apt for the young aged readers. The author has penned this story with so much thrill and it feels like riding a roller-coaster that only goes back and high up in the air as the ride is filled with adrenaline-rushing moments when the boy and his pet hamster is lurking from one time's dimension to another. The narrative is extremely fascinating and since the boy is of Indian origin, the author has done a great job in arresting the Indian linguistics along with its proper meaning into the story line. The pacing is really fast as the story grips the readers from the very first page.

The concept of time-traveling has been explained very well and easily for the readers and the logics used by the author to make time-traveling possible are apt. Even young readers will find the story to be enlightening for their minds. The author has vividly captured the feel of a person who is traveling through time, and along with Al's feelings, the readers are bound to feel the same way.

The characters are very, very interesting and are highly inspired from reality. The main character, Al, is a brave young boy who heeds to his father's advice and follow back in time. He is sharp-witted and extremely fearless considering his age. The author has strikingly captured the voice of an innocent 12-year old boy. The supporting characters, especially, Al's grandfather, Byron, is very well-developed.

The whole story is centered around the boy and his grandfather's relationship through good times and bad times. They both had a strong bond of friendship and trust and is arrested by the author with lots of deep, heart-felt emotions.

Overall, this is an enchanting and illuminating story that is laced with enough thrill and heart-stopping adventure that will not only enthrall the young kids but will also intrigue the mature readers too.

Verdict: If you love time-traveling science-fiction stories, then definitely go for this one.

Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Harper Collins India for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.

[Valerie Book Valkyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Phodopus Stars
Literature is awash with time travelers dating back to the 19th century. The mechanisms for time travel are as varied as the human imagination and include, but certainly are not limited to, suspended animation as in The Man Who Awoke by Laurence Manning; physical contact with magical objects abound: The Clock That Went Backwards by Edward Page Mitchell, Hermione's time turner in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and, more recently, Thrust by Lidia Yuknavitch; time banks as in Tourmalin's Time Cheques by F. Anstey; time portals you can simply walk through, one of my favorites being located at the back of a diner in 11/22/63 by Stephen King; timeslips as with Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain; manipulation of time by entities that exist outside of time as presented in The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov; and genetic mutation as in The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Time traveling, no matter how you do it, is a stellar ride. As weird and wonderful as all of the various time traveling modalities may be, my preferred method consists more of the nuts and bolts type time traveling ship. Originally* there was the Time Traveler, a Victorian scientist who invents a time traveling machine in The Time Machine by H.G. Wells; soon after there was the Cretaceous-going time machine used by Time Safari, Inc. in Ray Bradbury's A Sound Of Thunder; then there was the dimentionally transcendental Police Box, aka TARDIS, the exclusive time traveling ship of Doctor Who no matter which of the various authors penned the story; AND NOW there is Albert Chaudhury with Alan Shearer, the Phodopus time traveling companion!

Time Traveling With A Hamster is promoted as Childrens/Middle Grade/YA Science Fiction. While that may be the case, any “child at heart” up for a quirky, comedic, spirited ride will enjoy this speedy summer vacation read.

Al's sage Grandpa Byron explains to our protagonist, "I've got a good memory because I've trained it, but that is not the same as knowledge, and neither memory nor knowledge is the equal of wisdom." Grandpa then sips his chai & pulls away from the curb on his mauve scooter, safron robes fluttering in his wake. Al keeps company with one Cool Grandpa & a bevy of other quirky fun relatives, mates, and miscreants.

In a posthumous letter, Al's dad is trying to explain how the time machine works. As he tries to digest it, Al explains, “Do you remember learning multiplication in primary school. And instead of saying, 'What's five times four?' the teacher would say something like, 'There are five dogs, and each have four legs – how many legs are there altogether?' so you wouldn't get freaked out by the maths-ness of it all? Well, I can tell that's what my dad's doing, but I still don't get it.”

Al doesn't get “freaked out by the maths-ness” and does “get it” in his own way, taking us with him on a whirlwind of a ride. Hang on and Enjoy! This is a fun, fast, light hearted, yet physics-ly sound, summer vacation read. Recommend.

*In 1887, the novel Anacronópete by Spanish author Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau introduced the first time machine, predating H.G. Wells by 8 years. (en.Wikipedia.org)

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time Travelling with a Hamster is the first book in the Al Chaudhury series by British author, Ross Welford. Four years ago, when Al (Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury) was eight, his dad died. Since then, he and mum have gone to live with Steve and the Stepsister From Hell, Carly. Football-mad Steve tries hard to get Al to like him, but Al’s not into football, and Steve’s not dad. Carly doesn’t try at all.

Now, on his twelfth birthday, his mum hands him a letter from his dad. His beloved Grandpa Byron (Byron Rahman Chaudhury-Roy) looks a bit disapproving. When he opens it, much later, Al thinks that maybe Bryon has an idea what’s in it: it’s pretty far-fetched. Pye (Pythagoras Chaudhury) has set Al a task: to use his time machine to go back to 1984, to prevent the minor bingle that will later cause his death.

Trouble is, the time machine his dad built is ten miles away in their old house in Chesterton Road, in the fall-out shelter under the garage. Getting there is a bit of a challenge, and taking Grandpa’s moped in the middle of the night without his knowledge could be trouble, but if he can save his dad, it will be worth it, won’t it?

A laptop, some wires and a tin tub: not what he expected a time machine to look like. Could it work? It seems stupendously unlikely. He might just send his hamster first, to see if it does… except, how will the hamster work the laptop to get back?

Before this adventure is over, Al has to break and enter, is chased by police, saves a cat, loses his mobile phone to a bully, gets trapped in the fall-out shelter, concocts tales for taxi drivers, convinces Carly to help him out, resorts to shoplifting, commits arson, has to climb out of a toilet window, and witnesses o horrible accident that ends in a drowning. He can’t help recalling that Grandpa Bryon warned him that meddling with time would result in misery.

Welford gives the reader a wonderfully earnest protagonist and supplies him with some great support characters. Quirky Grandpa Byron is bound to be a favourite and offers wisdom and insight: “Don’t confuse knowledge with memory, Al. I have got a good memory because I have trained it, but that is not the same as knowledge, and neither memory nor knowledge is the equal of wisdom.”

While the intended reader age is nine years and over, you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy this very entertaining debut novel, and fans will be pleased to know that it is followed by Time Travelling with a Tortoise.

[TheBookSmugglers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury’s dad was thirty nine years old when he died for the first time and twelve when he died for the second time. The former happened due to a dislodged piece of metal that caused brain haemorrhage, a leftover from of an accident he had when he was a kid.

The latter is the result of what sets Time Traveling with a Hamster in motion.

Al’s dad died suddenly when Al was eight years old. When Al turns twelve he receives a mind-blowing present: a letter from his dead father that contains mysterious instructions that Al must choose whether he wishes to follow or not. If he does so, his father’s letter tells him, he will learn everything about time travel just in time to go back to when his father was twelve and prevent his accident from happening, therefore changing his present. Al’s father’s life is thus, literally in Al’s hands as, due to the rules of time traveling, a person cannot be in the same timeline twice. So Al is the only person who can travel back in time and save his father.

And we know this doesn’t go well – for when Al fails to save his father, he alters the space-time continuum, changing everything. And then he needs to find a way to set things right.

Time Traveling with a Hamster is a strange creature. The central relationship in the book came as a nice surprise: it’s not Al and his father or Al and his hamster. It’s Al and his granddad Byron’s and their relationship is sweet and informs most of Al’s actions. His granddad is the true father figure in the novel. I also loved that Al is Anglo-Indian and that his grandad shares his experiences as an immigrant.

Looking at the title and the cover copy though, I was expecting a light, entertaining romp with a kid and his pet hamster. Of the pet hamster, Alan Shearer, there is very little, his presence is inconsequential, almost an after-thought. And even though there are moments of light and fun (hey, time traveling shenanigans are always fun), this book turned out to be darker and more thoughtful than I was expecting. This is not a bad thing per se but the problem with this is that the narrative voice doesn’t quite decide if it wants to sound very young or much older.

Think on this: Al is trusted with a mission that decides the fate of his own father. If you think this is a lot of pressure to put on a 12-year-old kid, bingo. But which kid, given the chance to save his own father’s life, would say no? The problem here is that we see very little on-page relationship between Al and his dad. The first part of the book is all dedicated to Al and his grandad, who by the way, doesn’t even sound like he liked his son very much. Actually, his mom doesn’t seem to have liked his father all that much either. So as a reader, it’s hard to be invested in this mission. As an outsider looking in, I detested Al’s father and wished he had remained dead for the things he put his kid through, and for the horribly condescending, self-serving letters he sent. On the other hand, which person would not try to save their own lives if they knew a way?

This is why I call this book a strange creature. Because the focus here seems to be placed so much on the adults, and a lot of the story asks us to sympathise more with them rather than with the actual kid that is the main character. When Al comes back to a different future after things go horribly wrong in the past (and horribly wrong is a mild way of putting it), it’s his granddad that is changed the most. We get a much richer, deeper description of his granddad’s pain than Al’s, whose life has been altered significantly as well – he is not even supposed to be alive (actually, good question: how is he even alive if his father never met his mother. Time traveling paradox!). Given all this, in fact, when reading Time Traveling with a Hamster, I often wondered if the book was even written as a kids’ book in the first place because it straddles a line between kidlit and adult fiction crossing over and back multiple times.

One thing I liked very much is how Al asks himself about the “other Als”. Do you remember how Marty McFly goes back to the future at the end of Back to the Future to find his family completely altered? What happens to the Marty McFly that that version of his family knew? His family has memories of that Marty and his childhood and this new Marty has none of those memories. So it’s a little bittersweet to think about that and Time Traveling with a Hamster is affecting in that same way.

So: A strange creature. I liked it – but probably not as much as I had hoped and not in the way I had expected.

[Kristi Hovington · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Ross was my school’s visiting author as part of our Sant Jordi day festivities, and this book was the one my students kept telling me about, kept asking if I’d read yet. And they were right: it is a beautiful, inclusive, big hearted book about grief, family, and loneliness.

For any other school librarians/English teachers on GR wondering whether or not to book Ross for a school visit: he is the best! I booked him for a tough role: two 300+ 90 minute assemblies and smaller 50 min creative writing classes. He had our 7th - 12 graders entertained, laughing, and very engaged on the topic of “The Magic of Reading” which included magic tricks (he’s a member of the magic circle) that the faculty and students were talking about all day long. All of it tied to reading. His books have been published in 22 or more different languages, so for international librarians, that’s also a plus to be able to offer his books in multiple languages. Plus, he’s interesting and fun to hang out with for a day.

[Smitha Murthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ross Welford is fast becoming one of my favorite writers in Children’s Literature. There’s something deeply engrossing in the adventures he spins. I was hooked by the title of the book. There’s no way I am NOT going to pick up a book when the title has a hamster in it.

Welford uses time travel to deal with metaphysics, life, grief, and mind and space-bending dimensions of time. That’s a lot to pack into a children’s book! But it’s fun, even if it makes your head go dizzy. On his 12th birthday, Al Chaudhury gets a letter from his long-dead father about a time machine he has invented.

Poor Al and his hamster then use the time machine to go back and forth into different periods in the past to see if he can prevent his father’s death. Sounds all adventurish. But it’s here I like Welford. He draws a world where you learn how dangerous it is to mess around with Time.

We all think we want to go back and correct something or the other in our past. I do. I want to undo regrets and change losses into gains. But Welford shows that probably we may lose out on the best aspects of our life when we do so. In a gentle way, he leads us to use the treasure chest of our memories to enrich our lives.

“Choose one moment in every day that is worth cherishing. Welcome that moment into your Memory Palace, nurture it always, and it will never leave you.”

How can I not like that?

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, color me impressed! You've heard me praise the wonders of Middle Grade fiction and its wonderful authors many a time, and yet it never fails to stun me how much goodness comes out of the books written for this age group. Ross Welford has penned a gem here. Time Traveling With A Hamster simultaneously pulls together the importance of family, the grey areas we face when making hard decisions, the beauty (and issues) associated with being passionate about something, and even owning up to ones own mistakes. I am so thrilled to have read this, and can't recommend it enough!

Now, let me put out there that there are actually a fair amount of high end concepts in this book. As a reader who believes fully in not talking down to young readers, I was smitten with this. Al Chadhury's father was a brilliant man. One who wasn't afraid to dabble in science and theory, ultimately leading to his discovery of time travel. Through Al's travels in time, and the letters his father left behind, he learns so much about everything his dad was passionate about. There are brilliant descriptions of the theory of relativity, and examples that actually make it palatable for young minds. There's even discussions of memory devices. Suffice it to say, I was blown away by the sheer amount of lessons in here.

Better still, none of those lessons seemed to slow down the overall pace of the story. I admit that it took a few chapters to really get going, as some books do, but once I was immersed that was it. Al's quest to save his dad flew by. His brushes with danger, his quick thinking to get out of hairy situations, his realizations that he might not be as clever as the thought he was, all of it just blurred together into this gorgeous story that wouldn't let me go. The ending is perfection, especially for an MG read, and I couldn't have been happier.

Long story short? This is a must have for reading lists of all ages, but specifically I think this would be a wonderful book to share as a family. There are just so many good ideas caught up in here, I feel like it would be an amazing read to share between parents and their children. Ross Welford has written the type of story that transcends age groups, and that's no easy feat! Add this to your reading list. You won't regret it.

[Siv30 · Rating 3 out of 5]

לסקירה מפורטת בעברית, קישור לבלוג שלי -

https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/מסע-...

[PyranopterinMo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story moves at the speed of light, or nearly. It's a fast enjoyable read of a boy who develops an expertise in time travel and breaking and entering. I've been reading time travel stories for decades: this isn't a great time travel story. But it's a great story for kids with plenty of interesting "what if?" and so on questions in an interesting time period- way back in 1984 .

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't so convinced until the very end. I really liked the generational relationship between Al and his grandfather, and the cultural element made this book a lot more interesting too. Not sure why the hamster was there - maybe including an animal sidekick just makes it more appealing to kids?

[Paradise · Rating 3 out of 5]

از کیوت‌ترین‌هایی که تا حالا خوندم:)✨🐭

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out good but the second half isn’t as good as it should get.

[Ayshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

شاید اگه جریان آل و همسترش و بابابزرگش وسط نبود، دلم می‌خواست یه پایان غمناک داشته باشه ولی الان تو این کتاب با این شخصیتا دقیقا می‌خواستم پدرشو نجات بده و خدا رو شکر نویسنده هم همینو نوشته بود. خلاصه که یه داستان شیرینی بود که بیشترشو تیکه تیکه وقتی جایی می‌رفتیم یا بین زنگ تفریح‌های درسی خوندم و تمومش کردم‌.

[Mila · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

This was quite entertaining and the main concept was interesting but the plot was too confusing for my taste, the main character was bland and there wasn't nearly enough of the hamster.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 16 year old son's rating: 4 stars (that's saying a lot!)
My 10 year old son's rating: 4.5 stars

The mere concept of time travel is always tricky, but I thought this middle grade read did a good job with it.

[Laila Tarek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM. IN. LOVE. This is officially the best cover buy I ever made, I saw this book in my local bookstore, never heard of it before, the cover was so catchy and I looked up and saw this:

“My dad died twice. But only the second time was my fault.”

Before you know it, my wallet was empty and my bag had a book that shamelessly says Time Travelling with a Hamster. I went home and realized it’s a 2016 release, which we rarely get here in Qatar, because our bookstores are shitty and it takes several months before a new release gets here, so usually bookworms turn to online shipping. BACK TO TOPIC, the characters were all complex and flawed, full of life, brilliantly made and I just wanted books made for each and everyone of them separately, so I can see more of them in the depth and complexity we saw in Albert.
FULL REVIEW: https://lebookworm7.wordpress.com/201...

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a kids book so I started reading this to my daughter, straight away I could see her eyes glazing over, it was way to technical for her, so I decided to read this to myself. I enjoyed it, slow to start but once Albert's dad starts explaining the science behind time travel and also explaining Einstein's theories in a language I could understand I was hooked. Albert's Grandad has gotta be one of the coolest ever.

Albert did make me angry now and then when he does something dumb, I had to keep reminding myself he is just a kid and he'll figure it out. It's always going to be tricky handling time travel in a kids book but Ross Welford does it well and makes a nice little adventure book. I'll be checking out his future releases for sure.

(Warning for parents, I spotted at least one swear word in this book)

[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb and dark read. It is a story that deals with the fundamental themes of the importance of family and its dynamics, grief and adjusting to major shifts in life. And for good measure it has a hamster named Alan Shearer! How great is that? Then add the dimension of time travelling and it becomes a book you want to read.

The central character is called Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudry which validates the fact that time travel is indeed going to be an option. His father's fate lies in his hands and it leads to horror and chaos. The relationship Al has with his grandfather is one to cherish and relates the story of immigrants. All in all, a great read whose heart is in the family, its relationships and change. I recommend it. Many thanks to HarperCollins for a copy of the book via netgalley.

[Karen Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a childrens' book, this packs a real emotional punch.
Here we have the story of twelve year old Al Chaudhury who is coming to terms with his dad's shock death and moving away from everything he knows to live with his new step-family.
Al is, to put it mildly, something of a eccentric character. His curiosity is limitless, and we get to travel with him on the most amazing journey.
With a gripping opening that immediately arouses our interest, we learn that Al's dad invented a time machine and is trusting his son to go back in time and save his dad's life.
For someone who will always have a soft spot for Back to the Future, this novel really is fascinating. The science might be a stretch for younger readers at times, but it is about a lot more than the concept of time travel. Welford, with real humour, explores issues of grief, friendship and identity. Definitely, a gem.

[Amiad · Rating 3 out of 5]

אל מקבל מכתב מאביו המת ובו הוא מתבקש להשתמש במכונת זמן שאביו המציא, לחזור לעבר ולמנוע את מותו של אביו. הוא כמובן מנסה למלא את בקשתו של אביו אבל מסע בזמן (ועוד עם אוגר) הוא לא פשוט.

ספר חביב אבל פשוט מדי למבוגרים בעוד שלילדים כל התיאוריות של המסע בזמן שבו אולי יהיו מסובכות מדי.

[K.J. Mecklenfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun :-)

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time Travelling with a Hamster is the first book in the Al Chaudhury series by British author, Ross Welford. The audio version is narrated by Assad Zaman. Four years ago, when Al (Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury) was eight, his dad died. Since then, he and mum have gone to live with Steve and the Stepsister From Hell, Carly. Football-mad Steve tries hard to get Al to like him, but Al’s not into football, and Steve’s not dad. Carly doesn’t try at all.

Now, on his twelfth birthday, his mum hands him a letter from his dad. His beloved Grandpa Byron (Byron Rahman Chaudhury-Roy) looks a bit disapproving. When he opens it, much later, Al thinks that maybe Bryon has an idea what’s in it: it’s pretty far-fetched. Pye (Pythagoras Chaudhury) has set Al a task: to use his time machine to go back to 1984, to prevent the minor bingle that will later cause his death.

Trouble is, the time machine his dad built is ten miles away in their old house in Chesterton Road, in the fall-out shelter under the garage. Getting there is a bit of a challenge, and taking Grandpa’s moped in the middle of the night without his knowledge could be trouble, but if he can save his dad, it will be worth it, won’t it?

A laptop, some wires and a tin tub: not what he expected a time machine to look like. Could it work? It seems stupendously unlikely. He might just send his hamster first, to see if it does… except, how will the hamster work the laptop to get back?

Before this adventure is over, Al has to break and enter, is chased by police, saves a cat, loses his mobile phone to a bully, gets trapped in the fall-out shelter, concocts tales for taxi drivers, convinces Carly to help him out, resorts to shoplifting, commits arson, has to climb out of a toilet window, and witnesses o horrible accident that ends in a drowning. He can’t help recalling that Grandpa Bryon warned him that meddling with time would result in misery.

Welford gives the reader a wonderfully earnest protagonist and supplies him with some great support characters. Quirky Grandpa Byron is bound to be a favourite and offers wisdom and insight: “Don’t confuse knowledge with memory, Al. I have got a good memory because I have trained it, but that is not the same as knowledge, and neither memory nor knowledge is the equal of wisdom.”

While the intended reader age is nine years and over, you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy this very entertaining debut novel, and fans will be pleased to know that it is followed by Time Travelling with a Tortoise.

[María P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viaje en el tiempo con un hámster es una novela del autor Ross Welford que narra las peripecias de un joven cuyo padre ha fallecido, y le ha dejado una máquina del tiempo con la intención de que le salve de su muerte. Con esta premisa como telón de fondo, el libro se adentra en temas tan profundos como la muerte de un padre y cómo ello afecta al resto de la familia y a su propio futuro; también trata sobre la amistad y el amor entre otros temas. Este libro está orientado hacia un público más bien juvenil (+14 años), aunque estoy segura de que los adultos disfrutarán igual con él, de la misma manera que yo lo he hecho.

El libro cuenta la historia del joven Al Chaudhury, quien al cumplir los 12 años recibe una carta de su padre que había fallecido tres años antes. En ella revela la existencia de una máquina del tiempo con la que tendrá la oportunidad de salvarle la vida, y para ello tendrá que viajar al año 1984. ¿Será capaz de lograrlo? Una novela original y llena de humor que te hará desear viajar al pasado para leerla una y otra vez.

El argumento del libro me ha parecido de lo más original, abordando temas muy transcendentes desde una perspectiva muy inocente. La acción y el misterio se mantiene a lo largo de todo el libro, siendo imposible aburrirse o dejar de leerlo. Además, mientras leemos una historia ficticia, se aprenden conceptos tan reales como la Teoría de la Relatividad de Einstein o los reyes y reinas que ha tenido Inglaterra; siempre desde una perspectiva divertida y simple. Es cierto que se trata de un libro con bastantes páginas, por lo que un lector demasiado joven podría llegar a abrumarse (aunque también hay que tener en cuenta el hábito lector de cada niño). Es por esto por lo que recomiendo su lectura para edades a partir de los 13-14 años. En cuanto al final, decir que no es para nada previsible y en ningún momento sabes qué va a pasar; el autor ha sabido muy bien cómo mantener la intriga.

En cuanto a los personajes, todos y cada uno de ellos están muy bien desarrollados, siendo todos muy tiernos y dulces. Al, nuestro protagonista, es un chico que tiene pocos amigos y una personalidad algo reservada, pero sin duda es uno de los que más evoluciona a lo largo del libro, desarrollando una personalidad más fuerte y con una mayor confianza en sí mismo. Por otra parte, nos encontraremos con uno de los abuelos más entrañables de la literatura y con el que mejor memoria tiene.

Finalmente, el estilo del autor me ha parecido muy sencillo, pero no por ello simple. Se hace necesario que los diálogos y la narración no sean muy complejos ni artificiosos, puesto que estamos ante un libro que está orientado a un público joven. Por ello considero que está perfectamente narrado para que estos lectores no se aburran ni se cansen, si no que cada vez quieran leer más y más.

En conclusión, Viaje en el tiempo con un hámster es un libro lleno de aventuras, travesuras, viajes en el tiempo, familia, amistad, y por supuesto, un hámster llamado Alan Shearer. Lo he disfrutado muchísimo (a mis 24 años) y lo recomiendo fervientemente tanto para jóvenes como para adultos.