11,000 Years Lost

by Peni R. Griffin

A vivid, exhilarating peek at our prehistoric past, now available in paperback

This action-packed, fully-imagined time travel book takes a young Texan girl, participating in an archaeological dig, back to the time of the mammoth. There Esther is adopted by a group of mammoth hunters, who teach her to forage for food, make clothes, build fires, and protect herself from the megafauna who roam the land-scimitar cats, panthers, and more. Even as she grows attached to her new family and proud of her many skills, Esther searches for a way home.

Praise for 11,000 Years Lost

A Texas Bluebonnet Award suggested read for 2006-2007

"A vivid and engrossing picture of Pleistocene society...Griffin draws on her careful research to invent the past with a specificity beyond an archaeologist's wildest dreams."-- Archaeology Magazine

"Esther's adventures in the messy world of late Ice Age Texas provide a compelling and believable read. Likable characters populate a fully realized world." -- Kirkus

"An exciting peek into the distant past." -- Booklist

"A unique, superior contribution to speculative adventure fiction, Ether's survival story is an emotionally satisfying, well-crafted read."-- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

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

331 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

11,000 Years Lost by Peni R. Griffin is a wonderfully written book for kids (and adults!). A girl finds an arrow head and soon there is an archaeological dig going and she gets to be there during the summer. The last day they are going to be there, she is looking for anything else so the team will stay and dig more. What she finds is a portal. She finds herself 11,000 years in the past. The story is awesome. The people think she is a star-child and has magic or good luck. She learns first hand how the Clovis people really lived and what life back then was like. The whole time she is looking for another portal back. This book keeps you on your toes. There are surprises constantly, great interactions between the characters, great plot and written so well you feel you are back with her experiencing these things. Great job! I would say this book if for kids about seventh grade or so. It is a long book but worth every page, you don't want it to end. Loved it!

[AziaMinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Rating B

A very middle school -cutesy book that takes me back down memory lane. Not difficult to read or understand and very fast pace since I was able to read this fairly quickly once I started.

Some books you read for the nostalgia and this was it. And it wasn't to bad of a story either if I do say so myself, just needed a more solid ending.

[Alyssa Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge fan of time travel books, I needed to read this one, especially since it's pretty original. I've never read a time travel book where the main character travels as far back as around 10,000 B.C.

The one thing I wasn't a fan of was the ending. There isn't much of the way in resolution, and I felt like it was rushed. It was never explained why Esther, the main character, went back in time, which I really wanted to know. Also, the pre-historic age and its characters seemed more realistic than the time and the characters from the present. That itself was a little disappointing. I wanted more from the present-day characters.

Regardless, the main story is fantastic. Griffin has obviously done her research, turning vague facts and little-known data about this era in time into an entire civilization and society. And she makes it work! I completely believed the situations and the reactions of the characters. Esther is especially likeable and made it easy for me to put myself in her place. If you're a time travel fan looking to learn a little bit about history, this is the book for you. It's fast-paced, adventurous, and entertaining.

Also posted on Purple People Readers.

[Kawthar Bakhach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got my hands on this book when I was about 12 and I've never forgotten it since. I haven't been able to find anything like that- the story of a young girl who goes back in time to the Ice Age, where she is integrated into a tribe, learns their language, discovers a new world. It's a fascinating novel. It could be a spectacular cinematic experience in its own right. This book is so hard to find I couldn't get it even from my county library!! Seriously under appreciated and not nearly as well known as it should be!!

[Luke M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book cover review
In modern-day Texas, a girl named Esther finds an 11,000-year-old spearhead at school which gives birth to an interest of archeology. While looking for a site of great archeological value, Esther walks under a dead tree branch and is transported to the very distant past. There she finds enormous animals such as Mammoths, huge bears, and saber-tooth tigers. Luckily for Esther, she is taken in by a hunter-gather group. Can Esther survive the challenges of old or will she succumb? More importantly, though, can she get back home and back to her family.

Assesment of the book

1# Nearly all of the characters in the book in this book develop and change over the course of the book. The antagonist got ruder the main character more knowledgeable, and everyone's opinion changed a little bit.

2# The story was not the most exciting. For example, because Esther was a child she did not know all too much, and if she was an adult that was quite knowledgeable and could do actual work then it would be more exciting. I would have loved it if she gave them some modern knowledge or tech or even some modern medicine.

3#Something that is nice is how the author trys hard to make it as realistic as possible while still having time travel exist. I like how it's not complete fantasy but still has time travel and other stuff. Esther visiting places she's been before in modern times is a very nice touch to the book on the author's part.

Reaction

The book was ok. It had a good idea, good characters, setting, and a good story, but much more could have been done to make the book so much better. It could be an ok book for people who are crazy about time travel stuff as well as ancient stories and stuff. As I said, it's ok but there are much better books out there. I would recommend it however for 5th-7th graders.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Griffin,Peni R., 11,000 Years Lost, 336 pgs. Harry N. Abrams Language~G, Sexual Content~G; Violence~PG

Finding an arrow-head is always exciting, but what if you found one that was 11,000 years old? Esther discovered a Clovis arrowhead that has been buried since the Ice Age. Archeologists come to dig around the site to see what else can be found. While observing the archeologist work, Esther sees some odd looking girls playing in the distance. She goes over to investigate and her world changes. A portal back to the Ice Age has opened and Esther unknowingly walked through it. Now she is 11,000 years in the past! The mysterious girls, belong to a nomadic tribe and when Esther shows up they say she has come from the stars and is a ‘special/magical’ being that bestows luck upon all she touches. She becomes friends with the two girls and is adopted into their family. Unable to find a way home, Esther struggles learn the nomadic language and the ways of the nomads. Esther begins to fear that she will never get back home.

Descriptions of the nomadic way of life and its dangers are very interesting and the hunt for the mammoths exciting. The cover is slightly dull, therefore consider reading this story aloud.

Upper ELM/MS. Optional Allison Madsen~Youth Services Librarian-SJO Public Librarian

[Diya J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esther is an eleven-year-old girl from Texas, who is helping Dr. Durham dig at an archeological site. One day, she is walking in the woods and gets trapped in Texas, 11,000 years ago. A troop finds her and takes care of her. Se adapts and learns their language, but people are still suspicious of her. They doubt everything she says and are always against her. She tells this troop about the far, far future, where there are no mammoths or scimitar cats. They are very confused. She sees in entrance into her time, the world she knows, but she misses it. What will Esther do to get home?
While reading, I felt lucky that I don’t have to go through what Esther did. She had to adapt and learned a new language super fast. I felt excited while she was adapting to their ways. I felt scared when Esther was facing a new challenge, like hunting for herself, going through a food shortage and hiding from dangerous animals. This book is pure imagination and is a must-read for those who love adventure and historical fiction.

[Jim D'Ambrosia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. Texas girl falls through a time warp and hooks up with a band of natives in the area. Fairly well thought out, especially with the sociological impact of such a strange newcomer on a naturally superstitious people. Good archeological detail; not sure how much is known vs made up though. There should be more books like this.

[Alex Lam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad! A thoroughly well-researched book about a modern girl trapped in a hunter-gatherer life during the Pleistocene Era and her struggle to get back. Minus one star because of the puzzling ending.

[Chris Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of story I would dream up as a kid, travelling back in time, living off the land, meeting and interacting with the people of the times.

Very nostalgic in that sense, and an interesting read.

[Hannah Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was around 11-12 years old and absolutely loved it. Looking back, I still believe the writing, character development, twists and turns, as well as the ending of the story and the effort and research put into it astounding.

[Elfwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was a really great story, and taught me a lot about history. I highly recommend reading it!

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

It will be a fun read for the teens. However, I found it lacking in imagination and there was too much "wazicat".
Two stars for me, one extra for the kids.

[Ginger Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book worth reading multiple times

[Mizumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shit, this was a good book. This is one author who's definitely done her research, though she admits story comes before fact sometimes in the author's notes. She balanced fact and story very well, I think (it's always easy to be dragged along in 'look, I did my research, look at all these shiny facts!').

Anyway, I actually feel this story wasn't about Esther, our young protagonist, so much as it was about the Clovis people she meets as she accidentally stumbled 11,000 years back in time. Though we get to know Esther a little in the first chapters, the major part of the book is about getting to know the Clovis people, how they lived and how they viewed the world around them.
Actually, I think the book was pretty mature for a YA novel. You see, when Esther goes back in time, people don't magically understand her - she has to learn their language, not the other way around. She has to learn to abide their customs, and though they do think she's special because she's 'from the stars', not everyone sees her as a good omen. And when she eventually returns home after disappearing for months, she gets into trouble. No-one believes her, even though she can prove things with the bracelet and sites where they can find remains of the group, because time-travel is much less believable than kidnapping or something else more of this world. And let's face it, this is probably the most likely response you'll get if you come up with Esther's story. Personally, I think the ending was fitting, if it left some points lingering, such as how the time travel worked exactly and why it was Esther. Though I suspect the latter was answered at the suggestion she might be distantly related to the group.

Overall, a very enjoyable and interesting read, though you have to pay attention with all the names and words. Thankfully, the author provides you with a word list and a genealogical tree.

[Vici · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. Read it in something like the fourth grade because I had a high reading level and devoured books like most kids my age devoured candy. I thought it was awesome. I picked it up again a week ago from the local library (I'm 22 now) and still enjoyed it immensely. It's based in real research but utilizes vast amounts of imagination. It's wonderfully discussed but leaves plenty to wonder about. It delves into the (possible yet fictional) culture and mythos of a pre-history tribe of hunter gatherers. It introduces its own quasi-language and uses words from that language for anything that the main character doesn't have an English/Spanish equivalent for. The characters are entertaining and more than one-note, the plot is good, the writing is fantastic for a kids book. And despite being a kids book, it takes the character and the reader seriously; it explains things in a way that doesn't require a doctorate, but doesn't dumb anything down. It challenged me as a child, and held my interest as an adult. So why didn't I give it five stars? Well, because I readily admit I'm rather easy to please, and it doesn't capture me the way it used to. I still enjoyed it, but it's not a book that I'll be checking out every single week like a few other children's books that are dear to my heart. The characters could have been fleshed out a bit more as individuals, there could have been a bit more description of the things that didn't have English equivalents, I would have liked to see a more gradual transition from "I have no idea what any of this means" to "automatically translate everything to English because the character became totally fluent during a page break"... But that's all nit-picking, really. All in all, it's a good, solid read, and I highly recommend it!

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Griffin, Peni R., 11,000 Years Lost, 336 pgs. Harry N. Abrams Language~G, Sexual Content~G; Violence~PG

Finding an arrowhead is always exciting, but what if you found one that was 11,000 years old? Esther discovered a Clovis arrowhead that has been buried since the Ice Age. Archeologists come to dig around the site to see what else can be found. While observing the archeologist work, Esther sees some odd looking girls playing in the distance. She goes over to investigate and her world changes. A portal back to the Ice Age has opened and Esther unknowingly walked through it. Now she is 11,000 years in the past! The mysterious girls, belong to a nomadic tribe and when Esther shows up they say she has come from the stars and is a ‘special/magical’ being that bestows luck upon all she touches. She becomes friends with the two girls and is adopted into their family. Unable to find a way home, Esther struggles learn the nomadic language and the ways of the nomads. Esther begins to fear that she will never get back home. Descriptions of the nomadic way of life and its dangers are very interesting and the hunt for the mammoths exciting. The cover is slightly dull, therefore consider reading this story aloud.

Upper ELM/MS. Optional Allison Madsen~Youth Services Librarian-SJO Public Librarian

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

After making an archeological find near her school's playground, Esther becomes fascinated by the archeological work that is started at the site. Her parents are less excited about the time that she spends there. One morning, when her mother has forbidden her to go the dig site, Esther finds herself walking through a portal in time and becomes lost 11,000 years in the past.

This is another excellent novel for young readers to learn about what life might have been like in prehistory days. The author did a lot of research into her subject but fully admits in the author notes that there just isn't that much know about the American peoples who lived during the Pleistocene era. I feel that she did an excellent job extrapolating the available data using logic, common sense, and knowledge of human and animal behavior to create an believable and enjoyable book about the mammoth hunters of ancient Texas.

[Lanie]

Ugh.

I asked for this for Christmas. But, like most of the Christmas present books I've read so far, I don't like it. 60 pages in and I'm bored as hell. I WANTED to like it. The whole reason I wanted to read this was because I loved the "ivory carvers" trilogy & really liked "earth's children".

A 21st century kid time traveling back to the ice age? Sounds cool huh? And it is.

But only in theory.

The writing is bad, bland and boring. Mixed with impossible to say names and a weird font, it's not fun. Ester is boring to. I know nothing about her, save she liked hanging out at a dig site & that she hates going shopping. Other than that, I don't know shit.

It's good idea, but it's not executed well. maybe in the hands of a better author, but not this one.

I might try again some day, but not now.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Esther who has found an arrowhead near her playground. She tells Dr. Durham, the archaeologist, what she has found. As she helps out at the dig every day throughout the summer. One day her mom won't let her go to the dig because she wants to go shopping and swimming. Esther doesn't want to go so she runs to the dig. When she gets there, she wants to help Dr. Durham some more. She wants to find a Clovis fireplace so Dr. Durham can carbon date it. She sees a shimmery area and walks toward it. She sees the Clovis time period! She is thinking that she will just have a look around but she gets stuck in Clovis time period. Will she be able to get back? Or will she get back and reassure her mother and everyone that she is okay?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has everything that I like in a young adult novel. Including, explicit philosophical questions, with a few implicit possible answers given by the story itself. Especially regarding the nature of identity, relationships, culture, and weighing the cost of physical survival against the cost of defending spirit/soul/self.

It also contains both hard and soft science fiction and fantasy, time travel, and a liberal sprinkling of vocabulary from a phantom dead language.

It also has my grudging respect for an unexpected ending.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good young adult book about an 11-year-old girl who, while volunteering for a prehistoric archeological dig in Texas, winds up transported back in time 11,000 years. She's taken in by a prehistoric tribe and has to learn to survive and deal with tribal superstitions and politics. This is a surprisingly tough book. There's no wish fulfillment scene of her hunting mammoths (exclusively the province of the male hunters) but lots of excitement and well-informed speculation about the severity of life in the era. I wish it'd come together more strongly in the end. Still recommended.

[Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember this book taking me a few goes to get through. It dragged a bit when I was reading this at 10 or so years old. When I picked it up again at 14 or so, I remember finding it more intriguing. Even though it was a bit lagging in areas and I don't think I really liked the ending wrap-up, it did inspire a love for history. Over-all if archeology/history/time-travel is your thing, this is a good book for you!

[Heather Turiello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is awesome!!! Clan of the Cave Bear for a young reader. Travel back in time to live with a small tribe, fighting for survival against predators we can only imagine and hunting for food without modern weapons, tools and storage. What a great way for kids to learn about survival, history of man, and tribal culture and spiritual beliefs.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book appears to have been written for young readers I enjoyed it. The story at first seems far-fetched, but the author skilfully immerses you in the world of the prehistoric Clovis natives that you start feeling their pains and joys and sorrows and begin to realize a little what it must have been like to live 11,000 years ago. I highly recommend this book.

[Gladdys Anuran]

The Best.
I've been looking for this for about 3 years now.
I read and borrowed this on our library.
When I again, decided to borrow it, it went missing.
I forgot the name of the author of this book and I remember the title of this book as,"10,000 years lost". Yeah. Yeah. I'm so forgetful.
Now, December 11, 2013, I'm so happy that I've found it. Thanks Lord. :)
I highly recommend this book. <3

[jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am loving this book so far! I have learned so many new things about the ice age, and Peni really writes well!
The beginning and middle were quite neat, but I didn't really enjoy the end much at all. I thought it was sort of a let down.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

awsomely okay

[jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle School -- Girl goes back in time to learn about early life.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting adventure about a girl who goes back in time to 9000 BC.