Books by Theme

Travel through Time

What time is it? Is it time for bed? Time to eat? Explore the concept of time with books that look at time in fact and fiction.

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time

By: Madeleine L'Engle
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Age Level: 9-12
Reading Level: Independent Reader

How the Murray children search through time to find and save their missing scientist father continues to enthrall readers even 50 years after its publication. The author was awarded the Newbery Medal for what has become a classic time travel fantasy.

Back in Time with Benjamin Franklin

Back in Time with Benjamin Franklin

By: Dan Gutman
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction
Age Level: 9-12
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Travel back in time with young Qwerty (aka Robert) as he finds research much more intriguing when it involves experiencing 1776 in person via a time machine. Action and humor bring the past alive in this fast-paced novel.

Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time

Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time

By: Walter Wick
Genre: Fiction, Fairytales, Folk Tales, and Tall Tales
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

Visit places and meet the characters who lived "once upon a time" during a dramatic moment from a well-known fairy tale. Highly detailed photographs accompanied by rhyme guide readers' eyes. This book is sure to encourage multiple examinations.

Dinosaur Train

Dinosaur Train

By: John Steven Gurney
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

Does Jesse travel back in time or is an imaginative jaunt when he boards a train with a Tyrannosaurus engineer? No matter; the imaginative journey of train- and dinosaur-obsessed Jesse is sure to delight.

Just a Second

Just a Second

By: Steve Jenkins
Genre: Nonfiction
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader

In just a second, a bat can make 200 calls, a black mamba snake can slither 24 feet, four babies are born somewhere in the world, and much more. Time takes on new meaning in this stylishly illustrated, provocative look at time and how it’s measured.

Knights of the Kitchen Table

Knights of the Kitchen Table

By: Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by: Lane Smith
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Age Level: 9-12
Reading Level: Independent Reader

As a gift from his magician uncle, Joe receives The Book setting into motion a series of humorous time travel adventures. Joe and his friends, Fred and Sam, travel to King Arthur's England where they meet dragons, knights, and more in this first Time Warp Trio trip. Smith's black/white illustrations punctuate the action in this fast-paced tale.

Leprechaun in Late Winter

Leprechaun in Late Winter

By: Mary Pope Osborne
Illustrated by: Sal Murdocca
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Myths and Legends
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Annie and Jack travel to a long-ago Ireland to inspire Augusta to share her creativity with near calamitous results. How the sibling team solves the problem and achieves their mission is a worthy addition to the appealing Magic Tree House series.

On the Blue Comet

On the Blue Comet

By: Rosemary Wells
Illustrated by: Bagram Ibatoulline
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Age Level: 9-12
Reading Level: Independent Reader

The Great Depression changed everything for 11-year-old Oscar and his widowed dad. Oscar's prized model trains are sold, his dad leaves Illinois to find work in California, and Oscar begins an adventure through time and places after he jumps onto a model train.

The Fran that Time Forgot (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)

The Fran that Time Forgot (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)

By: Jim Benton
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader

It's tough to be a scientist but especially hard when kids find out Fran's middle name. To change it, Fran Kissypie Stein invents a machine to go back to change it with near-disastrous but with laugh out loud results.

The Little House

The Little House

By: Virginia Burton
Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

As seasons and years pass, a sturdy little house that witnesses her bucolic rural setting evolve into a bustling city The beautiful little house became lonely and dilapidated until someone notices her and returns the house to the country. This appealing Caldecott Medalist can be enjoyed on several levels, including a comment on the urbanization of America.

The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs

The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs

By: Joanna Cole
Illustrated by: Bruce Degen
Genre: Nonfiction
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Everyone's favorite science teacher is back as Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a journey into the Mesozoic Era. The Magic School Bus becomes a time machine, giving the students a first-hand look at many dinosaurs and the eras in which they lived. The text and illustrations are blended in this amazing fact and trivia-filled field trip to the past.

Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth

Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth

By: Lloyd Alexander
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction
Age Level: 9-12
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Gareth, Jason's cat, knows that a cat's nine lives are really nine trips. Since a cat can take a friend along, Jason & Gareth travel to long ago places and times. This modern classic is certain to intrigue readers while introducing them to a bit of history and historical sites.

Time Train

Time Train

By: Paul Fleischman
Illustrated by: Claire Ewart
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

Join Miss Pym's students as they take a memorable train trip across the U.S. to a time and place where dinosaurs roamed. Humor and adventure combine as Miss Pym is horrified but her students delight in getting to know the huge creatures firsthand.

Time Zones

Time Zones

By: David Adler
Illustrated by: Edward Miller
Genre: Nonfiction
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Why is the time different in New York and in Tokyo at the same moment? How time zones were developed and standardized are clearly presented in this lighthearted but informative look at the science and history of time and travel.

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me

By: Rebecca Stead
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Age Level: 9-12
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Bits and pieces in Miranda's life in New York City in 1978 mysteriously come together to reveal a surprising whole in which Miranda’s favorite book, Madeline L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time, figures prominently. (2010 Newbery Medal Winner)

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