Posts Tagged Time Travel

CHANGING TIMES: Seven Time-Travel Titles by Diverse Authors

By Jen Kraar on March 18, 2026 / Book Lists, Fiction

Changing the clocks for Daylight Saving Time reminded me of how disruptive losing one hour can be, and had me imagining if I could travel through time. These seven spectacular books feature diverse characters, each with a definite reason for visiting another time. Some go to the past for a do-over or to meet a specific person, while others embark on quests to the future to try to save the universe. The authors of these books are not afraid to break rules, add touches of humor, or include fast paced adventures. Traveling through time reveals surprising new things to these characters, and their lives are changed forever.

So, set your clocks back, and make time to read a few of these page-turning time travel stories.

Queso, Just in Time

Queso, Just in Time by Ernesto Cisneros

One night, under a moon bow, while cuddling a mysterious rabbit, Quetzalcóatl Castillo, aka Queso, makes a wish. It’s the one thing he always yearns for – to spend time with his father. Even before his dad died, it was hard for Queso to relate to him because of his struggles with PTSD after his time in Vietnam. Queso’s wish comes true; he travels back to the 1980’s and becomes pals with Pancho, his younger dad. The two bond fighting bullies, playing foosball, and discussing their dreams. Queso instills a confidence in his dad, which ultimately improves their family’s future. A relatable look at grief and memory with a spot-on middle grade humor.

Candace, the Universe, and Everything by Sherri L. Smith

Thirteen-year old Candace’s whole world changes when she opens her locker and a wild bird flies out. She discovers a purple notebook that says, These People Are Not Your Friends. This note strikes a chord with Candace – her best friends have been excluding her. The locker is a portal that connects her to two women from other generations. Together they go birding and explore the time travel aspects of the locker. Candace learns to navigate her peer friendships and a crush too. A fascinating look at intergenerational friendships, identity and science.

First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly

“In the lead-up to Y2K, a Delaware 12-year-old preparing for disaster meets a time traveler from 2199.” (Kirkus, March 5, 2024) Because Michael is from a poor family with just his mom and himself, he is extremely anxious about surviving the turn of the century. Enter Ridge, a mysterious boy who seems calm and knowledgeable. This boy turns out to be from 200 years in the future, and has a book which details what has happened over this time span. This book of answers is just what Michael needs, or so he thinks. This Newbery-winning tale of travel, found family, and friendship does not disappoint.

The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon

When Dally Peteharrington discovers portals to other times in the library, she is able to escape the grasp of her strict mother and her grief over her grandfather’s death. While time-hopping from the 1860’s, 1930’s, 1950’s and earlier in the 2000’s, she finds a candy stash, encounters pirates, and learns how her parents met. She also unravels some painful truths about her family’s past. While this book considers racial truths and grief, it also has an entertaining side full of adventures, surprises and a gutsy girl.

Project Mercury by Ronald L. Smith

An enemies-to-friends story set in Area 51, Nevada. Army brats Ike and Eesha pretend to get along for their parents’ sake, but actually rub each other the wrong way. The two of them investigate possible UFOs and begin to suspect that Ike’s mother is a spy. Finding an ancient radio, solving secret codes, and uncovering a glowing clock brings the two to a startling discovery – Mindy, a girl from the future. Time traveling 300 years in the future creates new challenges for now friends, Ike and Esha. Wondering if UFO’s are real and if Ike’ s mom is a spy will hook readers. The adventures and growing friendship will keep them turning the pages.

A Spoonful of Time by Flora Ahn

Food often evokes memories, but Maya is surprised to take a delicious bite of her grandmother Halmunee’s Korean patbingsu and actually be transported into the past. Maya learns that while her grandmother has the ability to go back in time, it is like a movie that she cannot enter in or change. It is easy for Maya to keep this phenomenon a secret from her mom, who thinks that Halmunee has dementia, and spends a lot of time at work.. Maya longs to know more about her absent father, and yearns for a stronger connection to her Korean heritage. Traveling back in time reveals family secrets and surprising life lessons. The seven recipes included in the book spice up this heartwarming story.

Charlie Hernandez and the Phantom of Time by Ryan Calejo

In this fourth installment of the series, Charlie travels to 1950 Cuba to try to save the universe from evil forces. A letter from the Land of the Dead arrives from his grandmother to warn him about these dark forces and propels Charlie and his friends to travel back in time. They encounter monsters who are grounded in South American mythology. Readers will need to hang on for this action filled, entertaining read.

Westfallen: Interview with authors Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

By Natalie Rompella on September 18, 2024 / Articles, Author Interviews

When you see the name Ann Brashares, you probably think of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I sure do. So when I saw the premise of siblings Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares’s new book, I was intrigued. Here’s the description that got me hooked:

Westfallen is an action-packed middle grade alternate history thriller that asks what it would be like to wake up in present-day America if Germany had won World War II.

It sounds amazing, right? I had the pleasure of reading it (just released September 17!) and interviewing both Ben Brashares and Ann Brashares.

About the Book

Hi Ann and Ben! I’m so excited to “meet” you both! This was a great read because it combined historical fiction with contemporary fiction. It also had many humorous elements that will really appeal to reluctant readers. Before we begin, here’s the full description of Westfallen.

Henry, Frances, and Lukas are neighbors, and they used to be best friends. But in middle school, things can change fast—Frances has become an emo art-girl, Lukas has gone full sports bro, and Henry has gone sort of nowhere. But when a dead gerbil brings them together again, the three ex-friends make an impossible discovery: a radio buried in Henry’s backyard that allows them to talk to another group of kids in the same town…on the same street…in the same backyard…seventy-nine years in the past.

The kids in 1944 want to know all about the future: are there jetpacks? Laser guns? Teleportation? Most of all, they want to know about the outcome of the war their dads and brothers are fighting in. Henry and his friends are cautious—they’ve all seen movies about what happens when you disrupt the fabric of time—but figure there’s no harm in telling them a little bit, just enough so they can stop worrying so much. And, at first, everything seems fine. Nothing’s changed—well, nothing so big they can’t contain it, anyway.

Until Henry, Frances, and Lukas wake up on May 6, 2024, to an America ruled by Nazis. They changed history. And now it’s up to them to change it back.

As I was reading Westfallen, my daughter noticed that it says Book 1 on the spine. Is this going to be a trilogy or a series? Care to share more on this?

Yes, this is a trilogy. We are currently finishing up our first draft of Book 2. If all goes as planned, Book 2 will be out around this time next year, and Book 3 about a year after that.

About the Authors

So the obvious question for those of us with siblings . . .How did you write this together? Please walk us through how this worked.

Ben Brashares

BB: We settled fairly early on the idea of using two different points of view. It just seemed to make sense in terms of utilizing our two different writing styles and dividing up the work. As far as the sibling thing goes, I think it kept us going at times. We’d disagree about things, as all partners do, but it couldn’t ever really rise above a certain level because we’re kinda stuck with each other. I suppose for that reason we’re always putting our siblingness first (shame I’m not a girl, I could’ve used “sisterhood” there). But, yeah, we probably fall into some classic ‘birth order’ dynamics at times –Ann is seven years older and has a strong maternal sense. I’m a classic youngest in a lot of ways –lack discipline, always try to go for the joke, fold easily, etc.

The process itself is pretty straight-forward. We write a detailed outline together and then set mini-deadlines for our scenes or chapters and send to each other to read and offer notes. Ann tends to have a lot more notes on my stuff.

What character do you each feel you share personality traits with?

Ann Brashares

BB: I’m a solid mix of all three of the modern day kids. I’d say I have Frances’s peanut gallery irreverence, Henry’s anxiety/sensitivity, and Lukas’s jock/bro thing (used to anyway).

AB: Alice is kind of my antithesis, and I love writing her for that reason. She’s bold and impulsive, happy to cheat and lie as needed. I’m probably more like Lawrence, cautious and cerebral.

What is something from your childhood that you snuck into the book?

We recycled some names. We grew up (mostly) on Primrose Street in Chevy Chase, MD. That’s the street where Alice and Henry live. We had a lot of dead gerbils/hamsters/guinea pigs growing up.

Are there any Easter Eggs or nods to other books or movies in Westfallen? (I sensed maybe something related Back to the Future??)

BB: There are a lot of pop cultural references. One of the things we really loved about the series concept was that the kids in Westfallen could use their knowledge of their (our) timeline as sort of a super power. Westfallen folks never got Star Wars or Justin Beiber or any of that, so our kids try to use their inside knowledge to gain an advantage where they can. Mission Impossible plays a role in Book 1. Back to the Future is one my favorite movies of all time, but I think we steered clear of that reference. Maybe too ‘on the nose’. Book 2 has a LOT of this stuff. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off makes a strong showing. We should probably try to be a bit more current in our references.

What books and movies have influenced each of your writing?

BB: I grew up on TV and movies much more than books, I’m a little sad to say. Ann was much more of a reader (nerd) than I was. I was a classic 80’s kid. I loved Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark (my favorite), Michael Jackson, Prince, Atari, He-Man, Three’s Company. TV was terrible back then but movies were generally better. It was until I got out of college that I started really reading. Too late to call anything super influential.

AB: I love classic stories, like The Princess Bride and It’s a Wonderful Life, the kind that are uplifting to the point of corny.

Best sibling story you two have together.

Oh man. That’s tough. How about top five. . . Our brother, Justin (four years older than me, three younger than Ann), had a pair of real police handcuffs (who knows how he got them). One slow summer afternoon when I was about four, he decided to put them on my ankles. After he cinched them real tight, he made a grand display of pretending to swallow the key by throwing it up in the air and catching it in his mouth. I think he saw it in a cartoon or something. Unfortunately, the key went right down his throat. He was as surprised as anyone. Ann walked in soon after and saw my feet turning blue and got very worried. Justin, I remember, was more worried about the key in his stomach. Anyway, Ann threw me on her shoulder and ran me a long block and a half to a neighbor’s house, where a construction crew sawed the handcuffs off in time to save my feet. As a nice capper to the story, Justin called me into the bathroom a few days later and showed me the key.

Research/Writing

Who came up with the original idea for Westfallen and how did it come about?

BB: We had been each throwing out ideas for several months. Just about all them involved some type of time travel element and some type of friendship dynamic. But that’s sort of boring so I’ll just go ahead and take credit for the radio. And I’ll cede the WWII stuff to Ann.

Not sure if you’re willing to share, but did one of you write Henry’s point of view and the other write Alice’s? Care to reveal more on that?

BB: Yes, I wrote Henry and Ann wrote Alice. But we were both pretty involved in working out who the characters were when we started. Ann helped more with Henry than I helped with Alice. Because she’s my big sister and that’s what big sister’s do. And when those big sisters have already written a #1 best-selling franchise and spent nine years editing YA/MG before that, you let the big sister do basically whatever she wants to your character.

AB: I’m coming off as a bossy know-it-all here, but I guess I deserve it. I am awed by Ben’s humor, his imagination and intuition, and mostly try to help make it make sense. When it comes to six characters in two different time periods punching holes through time, that’s not easy.

I have also attempted a time travel book and know how hard it can be. What snags did you hit when trying to make this work?

So many snags. So many mind-melting headaches. Because we really tried hard to do it right! It was very important to us to avoid moments where a reader would go, “waaaait a minute, if they. . .how are they. . . ?” But the butterfly effect is notoriously tricky to work with. You just have to make your rules and stick by them. We hope we succeeded in doing that.

For Teachers

Are you doing school visits related to this book?

We’ll be doing a book tour just after the book launches on September 17th. We’ll be visiting middle schools in Richmond, DC, Chicago, Austin, Houston, and maybe one or two others.

How can we learn more about you?

If you’d like to learn way more about me and my wife and kids and pets than you’d ever want to know, you can visit www.thesahdlife.com. It’s a blog I wrote for a few years just after becoming a dad. It’s a (hopefully) humorous look at my life as a stay-at-home dad to three kids. Other than that, I’m hoping to do a little better with my social media presence when we get a breather after Book 2.

November New Releases

By LouG on November 1, 2015 / Book Lists, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Nonfiction

Looking for great new titles you can fall back on this November? Here are some books that we’re looking forward to reading at MUF:

November 3rd:

RUBY REINVENTED by Ronni Arno (Aladdin) Ruby Miller has it made. As the only child of model-turned-TV-host Celestine Cruz and pro-baseball star Zack Miller, she has everything a twelve-year-old girl could want. Well, except for real friends.

After a disastrous birthday party where she discovers her supposed BFFs are only friends with her because her parents are uber-famous, she finds a place as far from fake and phony Hollywood as she can get: a boarding school in Camden, Maine. In her desperation to distance herself from her star-studded parents and the paparazzi who trail them, Ruby tells her new friends that she’s an orphan. She feels awful about lying, but once she starts, it’s hard to come clean. Plus, now that nobody’s comparing her to her perfect parents, Ruby can finally let her own talents as a dress designer take center stage.

When Ruby finds herself connecting with a cute boy who really did lose his parents, she’s torn between who she is and who she’s pretending to be. And with Parents’ Weekend approaching, she must find a way to keep her secret—without losing her new best friend, the trust of her first crush, and the chance to shine as the designer of her very own fashion show.

MY DIARY FROM THE EDGE OF THE WORLD by Jodi Lynn Anderson (Aladdin) Spirited, restless Gracie Lockwood has lived in Cliffden, Maine, her whole life. She’s a typical girl in an atypical world: one where sasquatches helped to win the Civil War, where dragons glide over Route 1 on their way south for the winter (sometimes burning down a T.J. Maxx or an Applebee’s along the way), where giants hide in caves near LA and mermaids hunt along the beaches, and where Dark Clouds come for people when they die.

To Gracie it’s all pretty ho-hum…until a Cloud comes looking for her little brother Sam, turning her small-town life upside down. Determined to protect Sam against all odds, her parents pack the family into a used Winnebago and set out on an epic search for a safe place that most people say doesn’t exist: The Extraordinary World. It’s rumored to lie at the ends of the earth, and no one has ever made it there and lived to tell the tale. To reach it, the Lockwoods will have to learn to believe in each other—and to trust that the world holds more possibilities than they’ve ever imagined.

DEAD POSSUMS ARE FAIR GAME by Taryn Souders (Sky Pony) As the end of the school year approaches, the fifth-grade teachers at Victor Waldo Elementary conclude there’s not enough time to complete a new math unit before summer break. Great news for math-phobic Ella, right?

Wrong! The teachers decide instead to have their students host the first-ever Math Fair. And the fair project is worth two major math grades.

Add in one dead possum plus two horrible roommates who come to stay while their house is being renovated, and you have an equation for disaster. Ella is headed for summer school and math tutoring for sure. Can she stop her troubles from multiplying before it’s too late?

FAST BREAK by Mike Lupica (Philomel) Forced to live on his own after his mom dies and her boyfriend abandons him, 12-year-old Jayson does whatever it takes to get by. He will do anything to avoid the foster care system. Besides, his real home has always been the beat-up basketball court behind the projects in the North Carolina hills, and his family has always been his friends and teammates. He manages to get away with his deception until the day he gets caught stealing a new pair of basketball sneakers. Game over. Within a day a social worker places him with a family from the other side of town, the Lawtons. New home, new school, new teammates.

Jayson, at first, is combatative, testing the Lawtons’ patience at every turn. He wants out, yet the Lawtons refuse to take the bait. But not everyone in Jayson’s new life is so ready to trust him–and even Jayson’s old friends give him a hard time now that he’s attending a school full of rich kids. It’s on Jayson to believe that he deserves a better life than the one he once had. The ultimate prize if he can? A trip to play in the state finals at Cameron Indoor Stadium–home to the Duke Blue Devils and launching pad to his dream of playing bigtime college ball. Getting there will be a journey that reaches far beyond the basketball court.

PRESIDENT OF THE WHOLE SIXTH GRADE by Sherri Winston (Little, Brown) In this sequel to PRESIDENT OF THE WHOLE FIFTH GRADE, Brianna navigates her toughest challenge yet: middle school.

Brianna Justice is determined to raise enough money for the big class trip to Washington, D.C., but she’s up against a lot: classmates who all pretend to be something they’re not, a new nemesis determined to run her out of office, and the sinking feeling she’s about to lose her two best friends. But just when she begins to lose hope, she comes to realize that sometimes surprises can turn out even better than the best-laid plans.

November 10:

A BITTER MAGIC by Roderick Townley (Knopf) Everything is in place: the packed theater, the Amazing Thummel, and, center stage, the magician’s mysterious assistant. Some have called her the most beautiful woman in Europe.

Then, in a swirl of light, she vanishes!

An astounding illusion, but she never reappears. All that remains are a bloodstained white scarf and her daughter, Cisley, who lives in a glass castle and walks her pet lobster each morning by the sea.

Enter Cole, a rambunctious boy from town and Cisley’s first true friend. Together they hunt for clues to her mother’s disappearance. They puzzle over broken mirrors, ever-shifting labyrinths, a closet full of whispering ball gowns, and a fatal quest for a pure black rose.

Roderic Townley spins a deliciously spooky tale of one girl’s journey to discover what’s real and what is simply an illusion.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CRAZY HORSE by Joseph Marshall, illus. by Jim Yellowhawk (Amulet) Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy—though you would not guess it by his name: his father is a white man and his mother is Lakota. When he embarks on a journey with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, he learns more and more about his Lakota heritage—in particular, the story of Crazy Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota history. Drawing inspiration from the oral stories of the Lakota tradition and the Lakota cultural mechanism of the “hero story,” Joseph Marshall provides readers with an insider’s perspective on the life of Tasunke Witko, better known as Crazy Horse. Through his grandfather’s tales about the famous warrior, Jimmy learns more about his Lakota heritage and, ultimately, himself.

FINDING FORTUNE by Delia Ray (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Running away from home isn’t as easy as Ren thinks it will be. At least she isn’t running very far-just a few miles to the ghost town of Fortune . . . or Mis-Fortune as everyone else calls it. Mis-Fortune on the Mississippi. Supposedly, there’s an abandoned school on the outskirts with cheap rooms for rent. Ren knows her plan sounds crazy. But with only a few more weeks until Dad comes home from his tour of duty in Afghanistan, she also knows she has to do something drastic so Mom will come to her senses and stop seeing that creep Rick Littleton for good.

From the moment she enters the school’s shadowy halls, Ren finds herself drawn into its secrets. Every night old Mrs. Baxter, the landlady, wanders the building on a mysterious quest. What could she be up to? And can Mrs. Baxter’s outlandish plan to transform the gym into a pearl-button museum ever succeed? With a quirky new friend named Hugh at her side, Ren sets out to solve the mystery that could save Fortune from fading away. But what about her family’s future? Can that be saved too?

NINJA TIMMY by Henrik Tamm (Delacorte) Timmy the cat, his pal Simon the mink, and the pig brothers Jasper and Casper are inventors, and they’re hoping to sell their fabulous new contraption to a local merchant. With high hopes, they haul their machine through the crowded streets of Elyzandrium—and are promptly robbed by a gang of bullies. With the help of two new friends, Alfred, a kindly old toymaker, and Flores, a skilled cat pilot, Timmy and his pals set out to get back what is rightfully theirs. As it turns out, they’re not the only victims of these dastardly criminals. But what can this band of misfits do?

In this action-packed adventure, the intrepid Timmy and his wily friends transform themselves into crime-fighting ninjas—and quite possibly heroes!

BORROWED TIME by Greg Leitich Smith (Clarion) In this time-travel dinosaur adventure, Max Pierson-Takahashi and his friend Petra return to the days of the dinosaurs, where they must survive attacks from mosasaurs, tyrannosaurs, and other deadly creatures, including a vengeful, pistol-toting girl from the 1920s. The fast pace, mind-bending time twists, and Greg Leitich Smith’s light, humorous touch make this an exciting, fun choice for readers looking for adventure and nonstop action.

November 17:

ABRACADABRA: THE STORY OF MAGIC THROUGH THE AGES by H.P. Newquist, illus. by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov (Henry Holt) Magic is a word we use to describe something amazing, awe-inspiring, or spectacular. Truly great magic makes us believe in things we know can’t be real. In the hands of the greatest magicians, even a simple card trick can become truly wondrous.

Now, in this nonfiction narrative of magic through the ages, HP Newquist explains how the world’s most famous tricks were created. From the oracles of ancient Egypt and the wizards of medieval Europe on to the exploits of Houdini and modern practitioners like Criss Angel, this book unlocks the secrets behind centuries of magic and illusion.

Fully illustrated and including step-by-step instructions for eight classic magic tricks, this book will have middle-grade readers spellbound.

ON THE RUN by Tristan Bancks (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Ben has always wanted to be a cop, so he’s intrigued when police officers show up at the door, asking for his parents. Then his parents arrive after the police leave and rush him and his sister into the car, insisting they are going on a vacation. Ben’s a little skeptical–his family doesn’t go on vacations. After they lose the police in a high-speed car chase and end up in a remote cabin deep in the woods, Ben discovers his parents’ secret: millions of dollars were deposited into their bank account by accident, and they took the money and ran off. Ben isn’t sure what to think. Are his parents criminals? And because he ran off with them, is he a criminal, too?

THE HUMAN BODY: THE STORY OF HOW WE PROTECT, REPAIR, AND MAKE OURSELVES STRONGER by H.P. Newquist (Viking) Did you know the first blood transfusions were between people and lambs? Or that the first prosthetic hand with a hook was created so a French soldier could hold the reins of his horse in battle? Or that scientists recently grew a nose?

Invention & Impact, an exciting new series from PYRG-Smithsonian, introduces young readers to experiments, discoveries, and breakthroughs such as these, which have huge impacts on our world. Designed with exciting images from the Smithsonian’s vast collections, each highly visual book in the series starts with a big idea and then explores that concept through specific objects that give kids the micro and meta picture on how inventions and ideas connect over time.

The debut book in the series looks at one of the most complex systems on planet Earth: the human body. From artificial eyeballs to aspirin to 3-D printed body parts, The Human Body profiles the objects that scientists and tinkerers throughout history have invented (or cobbled together) to protect, repair, or improve our physical selves. And there are plenty of fascinating stories behind these objects!

Which of these or other middle-grade titles are you looking forward to reading? Let us know in the comments!