Space and Time

What if time isn’t as steady as a clock?

What if we could travel through space to distant galaxies?

Alexander, Lloyd. Time Cat. New York : Puffin Books, 2004, c1963.
“Jason and his magic cat Gareth travel through time to visit countries all over the world during different periods of history.” – CIP.  A highly imaginative classic that takes readers to Egypt in 2700 BCE, to Roman Britain in 55 BCE, to Ireland in 411 CE, to Japan in 998 CE, to Italy in 1468, to Peru in 1555, to Isle of Man in 1588, to Germany in 1600, and to America in 1775. Highly recommended for readers 11 years old and up.

Buitrago, Jairo. Cave Paintings. Toronto: Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press, 2020.
A young boy – on summer vacation – travels across the universe to visit his grandmother on Earth. Stunningly beautiful full-page coloured pencil illustrations by Rafael Yockteng help tell this brilliantly imaginative story highly recommended for readers 7 to 12 years old. Translated from the Spanish by Elisa Amado.
P.S. A great introduction to a unit on space travel or the history of technology.
P.P.S. A lovely addition to a unit on stories from countries around the world. The author lives in Mexico and the illustrator in Columbia.

Edge, Christopher. The Many Worlds of Albie Bright. New York: Delacorte Press, 2017.
What happens when people die? Could they be living in a parallel universe? Grief stricken Albie, the son of two astrophysicists, embarks on a hunt to find his mother after she dies of cancer.  With the help of a laptop computer, a box and a banana, he starts travelling the universe. Silly but also heartwarming, humorous but also thought-provoking, this British novel is highly recommended for readers  10 years old and up who enjoy science and speculating about the universe. 

Funke, Cornelia. Inkheart. Scholastic, 2003.
Twelve-year-old Meggie discovers that people disappear and strange creatures appear when her father, a bookbinder, reads aloud to her. First in a trilogy. (Space and time; Fathers and daughters; Italy; Fantasy fiction; Books and reading)

Game-ChangerHaddix, Margaret Peterson. Game-Changer. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012.
“While playing in the championship softball game, star pitcher KT Sutton blacks out and awakes to a changed world where the roles of academics and sports at her middle school have flipped, making talented athletes, such as KT, outcasts and brainy nerds popular.” – CIP. Highly recommended for 11 to 16 year old readers with a sense of humour. [Individuality; Schools; Space and time; Sports stories]

Horowitz, Anthony. Raven’s Gate. Scholastic, 2006.
Fourteen-year-old Matt, sent to live in a foster home, discovers ancient evil at the site of a stone circle. First in a series. (England; Space and time; Foster children; Juvenile delinquents; Supernatural; Good and evil; Witchcraft)

Lawrence, Michael. A Crack in the Line. Greenwillow Books, 2003. First published:  Orchard Books, 2003.
Sixteen-year-old Alaric, whose mother has died two years before the story begins, accidentally travels to a parallel universe in which he meets Naia, who look just like him, and his mother who has not died. For speculative thinkers 12 to 16 years old. (Space and time; England; Accidents; Mothers and sons; Family life; Fantasy fiction; Grief)

Lightman, Alan. Einstein’s Dreams. Vintage Contemporaries, 1983.
A collection of short stories imagining alternate worlds as if dreamed by Albert Einstein as he is creating his theory of relativity. A classic for young adult and adult readers. (Space and time; Einstein, Albert; Switzerland; Fantasy fiction; Physics)

L’Engle, Madeleine. Many Waters. Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1986.
Fifteen-year-old twins, Sandy and Dennys, accidentally go back to a time when mythical creatures roam the earth and a man named Noah is building an ark. (Space and time; Fantasy fiction; Brothers) Listen to an excerpt from the story.

L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. Square Fish, 2007.
Meg searches for her missing father, a scientist, with the help of her friends and her younger brother in this classic Newbery novel. For grades six to ten. (Space and time; Fantasy fiction; Love; Friendship; Perseverance)

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Shadows on the Wall.
Fifteen-year-old Dan, on a family holiday in York, England is overwhelmed by inexplicable feelings of dread whenever he visits some ancient landmarks. For grades seven to ten. (Space and time; Vacations; England; Fear)

Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. New York : Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.
What if we could go back and visit ourselves when we were younger? Twelve-year-old Miranda, living in New York City with her mother, discovers mysterious notes from an anonymous person and learns more about friendship and redemption.  “‘Einstein says common sense is just habit of thought. It’s how we’re used to thinking about things, but a lot of the time it just gets in the way'” (51). For 11 – 15 year olds. (Accidents; Friendship; Guilt; New York City; Newbery medal; Space and time)

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