Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time

by Lauren Keenan

Amorangi and Millie lost their mum. Their only clue to her whereabouts is a carving on a tree that says I’m in the past! Rescue me! To do this, Amorangi and Millie must travel up every branch of their family tree and collect an object from each ancestor they meet.
They must then be back in the modern day before the sun sets, or they’ll all be trapped forever in the past. But can they do it in time?

In their travels, the children experience aspects of events in New Zealand history, such as the invasion of Parihaka, the Great Depression, World War Two, the Musket Wars and the eruption of Mount Taranaki. They also experience changes in the town and landscape, the attitudes of people and the way people live their lives.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Time Travel, Cultural, Historical Fiction, School

260 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Wendy Bamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of discussion points from an NZ history and attitudes perspective and I think would do well with groups reading this together or as a teacher read aloud. It would benefit from a timeline so as to keep track of where the characters are and who they are with. Nicely finished off at the end. I do feel this is good for a year 5/6 age group, a little young for 7/8s.

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun childrens' book involving time travel and just a tad of a history lesson - but so subtly delivered that the kids will never realize it ;-) I really enjoyed reading about how Taranaki changed throughout the years, and was once again saddened to be reminded just how badly colonizers tend to treat the original people :-( This one was extra poignant as I have been to Parihaka Marae, and it therefore seemed less abstract than such reminders often do (which is bad enough in and of itself...)

But I digress. Please don't get me wrong - the book is not depressing at all! This is the take-away my adult self took from it. Kids will focus more on the time travelling aspect and the siblings' adventure through time.

[Zac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story of siblings travelling through time to try and save their mother, who is stuck in the past. The idea of having to travel back in time to collect objects from their ancestors is really unique take on time travel. It’s such a great way to introduce New Zealand history to kids. The story touches on the New Zealand Wars, Parihaka and Pakeha colonisation. This will be an invaluable story for all primary and intermediate schools to have, especially when New Zealand history becomes part of the curriculum.

[Erica 🍉 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful exploration of the history of Aotearoa through two children’s adventure through time to meet their tīpuna. It’s a great book for the classroom or for families to read together and discuss their local history and whakapapa

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love me a novel with time travel in it - so many possibilities for adventure and learning all wrapped up in a lively action packed story. With it's short chapters this would make a great read aloud. The observations of Amorangi and Millie as they move backwards and forwards through time are really interesting and really make us think about the little things we take for granted. New Zealand history and the importance of ancestry (with all it's surprises) was woven nicely into the story and the pitch for a primary audience was just right.

[Nova · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story for 8-13 year-olds about two kids who have to travel back through time to rescue their mum. Think Back to the Future and ensure you read it carefully as time travel can be confusing. The setting was Taranaki, and the author made good reference to historical events including Parihaka and eruptions of Mt Taranaki.

[Kimberly Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What seems like a normal walk to school suddenly becomes a wild ride of time travel, ancestral research, and family visits. Amorangi and Millie are both practical enough to work through the challenges before them and open enough to accept the magic swirling around them. The family bonds across generations are extremely touching and have the reader wondering how it might feel to actually meet one’s ancestors.

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amorangi and Millie start a normal day, heading for school. Then their mother disappears. A message carved into a nearby tree tells them what they have to do to get their mother back. Can they do this before their time runs out?

[Gena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome story, the only thing that bugged me was that it was almost dark for what seemed like at least half of the story.

[Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primary read for Y5-6 with some fun historical facts

[Anya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book for tracking some historical events and to get tamariki thinking about how the world can change. Appropriate for year 5/6