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The Time Machine Next Door #1
Explorers and Milkshakes
Book Brown (ideal for ages 7+)
A page-turning, laugh-out-loud historical adventure by comedian and podcaster Iszi Lawrence, perfect for fans of Horrible Histories.
Time flies when you're having fun. But what does it do when you're not?
Sunil is bored. Very bored. Whilst home alone, he accidentally breaks his grandfather's most prized possession and must scramble for a way to fix it. Alex, his eccentric next-door neighbour, has an unusual solution to his problem – a time machine! Soon, Sunil is visiting the freezing, icy depths of Antarctica as a stowaway on a stranded ship and the heart of London to meet famous astronauts – all while trying to stay away from a mysterious man with a particularly suspicious pet kiwi…
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The Time Machine Next Door is an exciting new series of quirky historical chapter books for readers aged 7-9. Written by comedian, podcaster and children's author Iszi Lawrence, these books bring lesser-known parts of history to life with hilarious plots, real-life characters, fascinating facts and fantastic illustrations.
_______________
A page-turning, laugh-out-loud historical adventure by comedian and podcaster Iszi Lawrence, perfect for fans of Horrible Histories.
Time flies when you're having fun. But what does it do when you're not?
Sunil is bored. Very bored. Whilst home alone, he accidentally breaks his grandfather's most prized possession and must scramble for a way to fix it. Alex, his eccentric next-door neighbour, has an unusual solution to his problem – a time machine! Soon, Sunil is visiting the freezing, icy depths of Antarctica as a stowaway on a stranded ship and the heart of London to meet famous astronauts – all while trying to stay away from a mysterious man with a particularly suspicious pet kiwi…
_______________
The Time Machine Next Door is an exciting new series of quirky historical chapter books for readers aged 7-9. Written by comedian, podcaster and children's author Iszi Lawrence, these books bring lesser-known parts of history to life with hilarious plots, real-life characters, fascinating facts and fantastic illustrations.
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- GenresChildrens
85 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 13, 2023
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 16, 2023
History brought to life by time travel - some human stories that will interest young readers.
This started and I turned back to check I wasn't reading the second in a series (I'm still not sure) as it seemed to assume the reader knew a little more about the characters than we did. It sets the scene for this and future books quickly - with Sunil having a crisis after breaking his granddad's old record (LP - look it up kids!). After coming across a strange man and a kiwi called Wiki, he finds that his neighbour Alex has build a time machine (that she calls a Boring Machine or BM because time seems to slow down when you're bored). Could this be the answer to his problems?
From here, I quite enjoyed it, as Sunil is whisked around time with some reasoning given as to how the jumps are made, and a few rather interesting characters are met with (Neil Armstrong! Ernest Shackleton!) with lesser known aspects of their histories explored up-close-and-personal.
I didn't really understand the sub-plot with the kiwi, but I did like the history (and footnotes).
A little clunky in its execution but a great idea. Alex felt under-used and a mere plot device rather than a full participant. But it's fun and a good short chapter read for those looking for short novels that will entertain and interest.
For ages 6-11.
This started and I turned back to check I wasn't reading the second in a series (I'm still not sure) as it seemed to assume the reader knew a little more about the characters than we did. It sets the scene for this and future books quickly - with Sunil having a crisis after breaking his granddad's old record (LP - look it up kids!). After coming across a strange man and a kiwi called Wiki, he finds that his neighbour Alex has build a time machine (that she calls a Boring Machine or BM because time seems to slow down when you're bored). Could this be the answer to his problems?
From here, I quite enjoyed it, as Sunil is whisked around time with some reasoning given as to how the jumps are made, and a few rather interesting characters are met with (Neil Armstrong! Ernest Shackleton!) with lesser known aspects of their histories explored up-close-and-personal.
I didn't really understand the sub-plot with the kiwi, but I did like the history (and footnotes).
A little clunky in its execution but a great idea. Alex felt under-used and a mere plot device rather than a full participant. But it's fun and a good short chapter read for those looking for short novels that will entertain and interest.
For ages 6-11.
September 13, 2024
Suitable for a child who likes learning about history, but yet a story.
January 16, 2026
Read to my 8 year old son. Fun madcap story with some interesting historic facts thrown in.
June 9, 2023
Time travel, it sounds like a wonderful idea doesn’t it, especially when there is a time machine right next door to you for you to make use of. Now I know what you are thinking - that time travel isn’t possible but in fiction anything is possible, we just need a little sprinkle of imagination. Then we need a twist so that our time travel story is just a little different from all the others out there. This is exactly what Iszi Lawrence has done, imagined her story arc and then given it a twist. Add in brilliant illustrations from Rebecca Bagley and you are on to a winner!
The Time Machine Next Door: Explorers and Milkshakes and Scientists and Stripy Socks are the titles, as hilarious as they sound. Not only are we immersed in the story, all the action and adventure but we have the chance to learn a lot of history too. A magical combination. Meet Sunil and his next door neighbour Alex a time machine and a milkshake machine, a sinister villain (imperative!) and an easy-to-read chapter book (or two). To fix his grandfather’s most prized possession and Alex sends Sunil to the frozen Antarctica, the heart of London and to a meeting with some famous astronauts. Then… the pair find themselves whizzing from London to the Galapagos Isles hoping to the avoid the villainous Mr Shaykes and his pet kiwi. Can it get any sillier? I hope so!
The Time Machine Next Door: Explorers and Milkshakes and Scientists and Stripy Socks are the titles, as hilarious as they sound. Not only are we immersed in the story, all the action and adventure but we have the chance to learn a lot of history too. A magical combination. Meet Sunil and his next door neighbour Alex a time machine and a milkshake machine, a sinister villain (imperative!) and an easy-to-read chapter book (or two). To fix his grandfather’s most prized possession and Alex sends Sunil to the frozen Antarctica, the heart of London and to a meeting with some famous astronauts. Then… the pair find themselves whizzing from London to the Galapagos Isles hoping to the avoid the villainous Mr Shaykes and his pet kiwi. Can it get any sillier? I hope so!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews