A Dig in Time

by Peni R. Griffin

Nan and her kid brother Tim discover that they are able to travel back in time simply by finding objects from the past--Grampa's pipe, their mother's high heel, and more

Genres: Time Travel

186 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[John Burt]

Nan and Tim (actually Inanna and Utnapishtim -- their parents are archaeologists who specialize in Mesopotamian cultures) spend the summer in San Antonio with their grandmother while their parents .are on a dig in the Middle East. They decide they'd like to conduct their own dig, and with Gramma's permission, they stake out a section of the yard and begin digging in a correct, professional fashion, square by square, sifting the dirt for artifacts.
They hope for arrowheads and potsherds, but find mostly more recent objects -- but objects which have significance to their own family history. When Tim writes a poem about one of the objects and Nan recites it while holding the object, she travels back in time to when the object was lost. After a few tries, they learn the "rules" of time travel and begin to explore it as systematically as they did the dig. In the process, they learn surprising things about the history of their family and also of the history of San Antonio and of the country.
A Dig in Time is a worthy successor to "think-it-through" children's fantasy stories like The Psammead. It's worth reading by or to any "young adult" or just plain "adult".

[Sena Public]

Not at all bad, but a book I would have enjoyed much more when I was age-appropriate. The characters are drawn in true-to-life detail, unpleasant quirks and traits included. Now, I find such clarity unappealing, but probably wouldn't have noticed twenty years ago.

BUT--it's about time travel. I am a huge fan of time-travel stories. So it can't be very bad, now, can it?

[Katharine Ott]

"A Dig in Time" - written by Peni R Griffin and published in 1991 by Simon & Schuster. A simple time-travel story for younger readers.