time travelling with a hamster characters

Ross Welford

• The Monkey Who Fell From The Future
• Into the Sideways World
• Time Travelling With A Hamster
• What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible
• The 1,000-year-old Boy
• The Dog Who Saved The World
• The Kid Who Came From Space
• When We Got Lost in Dreamland
• Schools & Festivals

My dad died twice.

Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve..

On Al Chaudhury’s twelfth birthday his beloved Grandpa Byron gives him a letter from Al’s late father. In it Al receives a mission: travel back to 1984 in a secret time machine and save his father’s life.

Al soon discovers that time travel requires daring and imagination. It also requires lies, theft, setting his school on fire and ignoring philosophical advice from Grandpa Byron.

All without losing his pet hamster, Alan Shearer…

Time Travelling With a Hamster is a funny, heart-warming race-against-time and across generations adventure that you will won’t be able to put down.

There’s a bit of the Geordie dialect in all of my books. I thought it would be helpful for some readers  – especially non-Brits – to get an idea of how this actually sounds.

(Don’t worry: it’s not written in dialect.  It’s perfectly comprehensible as it is, with only a few hints at the accent in the text.  But if you do know what the Geordie accent sounds like, you might enjoy the book even more!)

Only one Geordie word was changed for the US edition, and that was “ha’way”.  Ha’way, or “howay” is heard everywhere in the northeast of England, and means simply “come on”.  All the ha’ways in the US book were replaced with “come on”.

It’s a very distinctive accent, and – among Brits at least – famously difficult to imitate.  Poor attempts at Geordie accents usually end up as a cross between a Welsh accent and Anglo-Pakistani: there’s an -up-and-down quality to it that is shared by the others.

Non-Brits often have trouble understanding Geordie.  It’s said that the singer Cheryl Cole was dropped from the US edition of  The X-Factor because audiences had trouble with her accent.

Turns out there are loads of guides to speaking Geordie on YouTube.   Here is one of the better ones.  (Check out her part two as well: it starts with a perfect rendition of the “eee” favoured by Al’s mum in the book!)

(And why “Geordie”?  It’s a regional nickname for people called “George”, in a similar way that Scots can be called “Jocks” or Irish “Paddies”.)

From our point of view, well into the 21 st century, it’s hard to imagine that not so long ago time travel did not exist.

We all know that time travel cannot happen really but it’s strange – to me anyway – to think that it’s a fairly new idea, especially since it is all around us. Doctor Who, Back To The Future, Interstellar, Star Trek, About Time, Bill & Ted, Looper, Life On Mars, Goodnight Sweetheart : these are all TV shows or films centred around time travel (and I didn’t even have to think very hard).

But it is the celebrated Victorian writer Charles Dickens who is often hailed as the first writer to send a character back and forth in time. The book is A Christmas Carol, published in 1843. In it, Ebeneezer Scrooge is haunted by a ghost who whisks him back in time to witness a Christmas in the past, and then forward to show him a Christmas in the future.

In 1888, the American writer Mark Twain wrote A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court in which the hero is knocked out and wakes up in the court of Camelot.

As for a “time machine,” such a thing did not appear in fiction until 1895, in a book by H G Wells. The Time Machine was the first to use a mechanical device to make time travel possible. Wells was the first to use the phrases “time machine” and “time traveller”.

So it was slow to catch on. Even the original 1960s Star Trek, although set in the future, was sparing in its use of time travel. (The BBC’s Dr Who was – and remains – very keen on time travel.) Really, it was not until the 1980s – and specifically with Terminator and Back To The Future – that time travel became firmly established as a fictional crowd-pleaser.

I hope that Time Travelling With A Hamster can takes a small place in the history of fictional time travel. At the very least, it is – so far as I know – the only time travel story to incorporate a small pet rodent.

I love the names of the people on this poster for a play of A Christmas Carol. (right) They are all exactly like names from a Dickens novel. Dame Gwendolyn Flapstock! Madge Wardrobe!

“Al’s journey back in time to save his father will delight young adventurers and young scientists alike.”

The Guardian

“The gripping suspense truly makes time fly… the book’s heart and humour are hard to resist."

Piers Torday, author of The Last Wild

“Extremely clever and totally engaging.”

The Irish Times

“Intelligent, well crafted and impressive."

Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times

"Touching, silly and exciting by turns, this thrilling little book is an inventive take on time travel for children. Sure to be a hit with fans of R.J. Palacio's Wonder… an unforgettable, madcap story from a bright new talent in children’s fiction."

Waterstones

“A touching tale of family, grief and love.”

The Daily Express

Buy Your Copy Today

Time Travelling with a Hamster – Planning Overview

Written by Dan

Last updated December 15, 2023

Do you ever feel like taking a break from reality and travelling to the past? If so, Ross Welford’s Time Travelling with a Hamster may be just the escape you need! This heart-warming time travel novel follows Alfie Edison, an 11-year-old who takes an unexpected journey 200 years into the past.

But before launching into this adventure of a lifetime, let’s first look at what makes time Travelling with a Hamster such a fantastic looking forward to planning tool for teachers.

From high-appeal activities encouraging participation and response to skill-building projects that should challenge even the most advanced young readers, discover why this book is perfect for exploring literature in any classroom!

Related : For more, check out our planning overview on  The Hobbit  here.

Table of Contents

The Storyline of Time Traveling With a Hamster

Time Travelling with a Hamster follows the story of twelve-year-old Alvin Hooper as he uses his grandad’s particular time-travelling device to return to 1982. When he arrives, he meets his younger self, who has just lost his pet hamster, Socks.

To save Socks from certain death, Alvin and his younger self must travel back in time one more time to correct past mistakes and prevent disaster in their futures.

Along the way, they meet various characters that teach them important lessons about friendship and courage. Ultimately, Alvin must decide between preserving the future or protecting the present.

The story culminates as Alvin, and his younger self travel back in time again to save Socks and set things right. They learn the power of friendship and teamwork by confronting obstacles such as bullies and runaway bulldozers—ultimately keeping the day!

Key Themes in Time Travelling With a Hamster

The importance of friendship is one of the central themes in the book. It is highlighted through Alvin’s relationship with his younger self and his newfound company with characters such as Wilson, who teach him lessons about trust, loyalty, and compassion.

Alvin has to confront both physical obstacles and emotional difficulties on his journey. He learns to be brave and face these challenges head-on, helping him overcome adversity.

Alvin must decide between preserving the future or protecting the present. His willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good teaches us valuable lessons about selflessness and puts his courage to the test.

Key Characters in Time Travelling With a Hamster

Alvin hooper.

The story’s protagonist, Alvin, is a twelve-year-old who travels through time with his younger self to save the future. He learns the importance of friendship and courage through his experiences and ultimately discovers the power of selflessness by making difficult choices for the greater good.

Alvin’s beloved pet hamster. He is a significant motivation for Alvin and his younger self to go back in time to try and save him from certain death. His unconditional love brings out the best qualities in all those he meets throughout the story.

An older man who befriends both Alvins during their journey. A driving force behind Alvin’s development, Wilson teaches him important lessons about trust, loyalty, and compassion that shape the outcome of their adventures.

The Importance of Friendship in Time Travelling With a Hamster

Friendship is one of the central themes in Ross Welford’s ‘Time Travelling With a Hamster’. It is first highlighted through Alvin’s relationship with his younger self and their journey together to save the future.

Through this experience, Alvin learns important lessons about trust, loyalty and compassion that help him to grow and develop.

He also makes new friendships with characters such as Wilson, an older man who serves as a mentor figure for both Alvins and teaches them how to rely on each other during tough times.

Ultimately, friendship plays an integral role throughout the book by teaching valuable life lessons that stay with Alvin long after his time travelling adventures are over.

How Alvin’s Relationship with His Younger Self Impacts the Story

Alvin’s relationship with his younger self is a vital driving force in the story of ‘Time Travelling With a Hamster’. It allows Alvin to learn important lessons about trust, loyalty, and compassion that help him grow and develop. Their bond inspires other characters like Wilson to open up and share their experiences.

Through their journey together, both Alvins are reminded of how powerful friendship can be and how it can help them face even the toughest challenges. Ultimately, this relationship allows Alvin to discover the power of selflessness and sacrifice for the greater good.

Learning Opportunities From ‘Time Travelling With a Hamster’ for Teachers

• The importance of trust and loyalty in friendships
• How compassion and understanding can help us heal from difficult situations
• The power of selflessness and sacrifice for the greater good
• Taking responsibility for our actions, even when it’s daunting
• Using our resources wisely and making wise decisions
• Appreciating the beauty and value of old-fashioned traditions
• Understanding how individual choices can affect our broader communities

Lesson Plans

Students will learn why trust and loyalty are essential in friendships.

Introduction:

Share the story of Time Travelling With a Hamster to introduce the concept of trust and loyalty. Discuss how Alvin and his younger self rely on each other throughout their journey, despite difficult times.

Main Teaching Points:

• Explain why trust is essential to friendship or any relationship, outlining specific examples from the story.
• Highlight the importance of being trustworthy and loyal. Emphasize how it can lead to stronger relationships with others.
• Provide examples of how betrayal can hurt relationships.
• Discuss how we must actively create trusting relationships for them to be meaningful, successful, and long-lasting.

Key Questions:

• What does it mean to be trustworthy and loyal?
• Why is it essential for us to build trusting relationships?
• What can we do if someone breaks our trust?

Reflection :

Ask students to consider their relationships and evaluate how much trust and loyalty exists between themselves and their friends, family, or peers. Please encourage them to think about what they can do personally to strengthen these relationships in meaningful ways.

Lesson Plan 2

Students will learn how compassion and understanding can help us heal from difficult situations.

Share the story of Time Travelling With a Hamster to introduce the concept of compassion and understanding. Discuss how Alvin’s younger self can take charge, even in the face of uncertainty, because he understands what his older self is going through.

• Explain why compassion and understanding are essential for healing, outlining specific examples from the story.
• Highlight how even small acts of kindness can make a big difference during a difficult time.
• Provide examples of how a lack of understanding can lead to further pain or isolation in distress.
• Discuss how we need to actively strive for greater connection and empathy with others to heal during challenging times.
• What does it mean to be compassionate and understanding?
• Why is it essential for us to show love and support during challenging moments?
• Are there any risks involved when we offer our comfort or performance?

Reflection:

Ask students to think about their experiences dealing with hardship or demanding times and evaluate if they felt comforted by someone else’s compassion or understanding. Please encourage them to consider what they could have done differently in those moments to create lasting change and healing within themselves and their communities.

Summary of Resources

Time Travelling With a Hamster (Teacher’s Hub):  This page offers lesson plans and activities based on the book Time Travelling With a Hamster by Ross Welford. The website provides Teachers’ Notes, film resources, discussion and writing activities for literacy, and drama exercises. It also includes an essay on empathy and suggests ideas for further study  Link .

Time Travelling With a Hamster (Scholastic):  This page provides teachers with a complete guide to the book, which includes an introduction to the characters, a discussion about themes of loyalty, trust and understanding, and study questions and answers for each chapter.  Link

Time Travelling with a Hamster (TES):  TES offers a booklet that guides teaching students aged 10 to 13 about the key themes of Time Traveling With A Hamster, such as life lessons, family loyalty and time travel paradoxes. The booklet also includes worksheets with thought-provoking questions and activities related to these themes.  Link

Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford review – heart, humour and a dash of existentialism

A t a time when the government is attempting to drive a wedge between the teaching of science and arts subjects, it’s a relief to be reminded that children’s authors suffer no such silly prejudices. This year has already seen the publication of not one, but two excellent adventures for primary age children that explain complex key scientific theories in straightforward and comprehensible ways, but use them to create adventures that will hook either a young putative storyteller or a young putative scientist with equal fascination. First came Christopher Edge’s heart-warming The Many Worlds of Albie Bright , exploring quantum physics as a way to tackle grief, and now comes Ross Welford’s ambitious and satisfying debut, which does the same with time travel.

Al’s (short for Albert, as in you know who) engineer father Pye (short for Pythagoras, naturally) is dead, but he has left his son a letter inviting him to alter history by using a time machine he has constructed in an old bunker, and voyaging back in time to warn the young Pye about an impending go-kart accident which will eventually bring about his death. Al follows his father’s instructions, accompanied by the intrepid and eponymous hamster, excellently named Alan Shearer. Of course, Al soon discovers that changing the past is not as straightforward as it might first appear.

Anyone familiar with the Back to the Future films will not be surprised by some of the unintended consequences – such as the possibility of creating rogue doppelgangers, or the dangers of the “grandfather murder” theory (if you go back in time and kill your grandfather how can you still exist?). But, despite some knowing references to the films, this book is far less predictable. And unlike the movies and their cod science, this story – even if the time machine is a laptop wired to a zinc tub – relishes making the bigger philosophical questions about time engaging and accessible. Pye teaches his son Einstein’s popular reduction of his own theory: “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.” Fortunately the many existential twists provoked by this notion and their resolutions are always inventively engineered, and the gripping suspense truly makes time fly.

The many twists, though, do also make the book is a bit longer than the story demands. Overwritten and over-explained in places, it takes a while to get going, and there is a lot of complication required to resolve all the loose ends. And perhaps we should all consider a brief moratorium on lists in children’s books as well as Capitalising Important Ideas or Objects. But the book’s heart and humour are hard to resist. It is set with great affection on an often unloved stretch of the northeast coast, and features a delightful supporting cast, including a grandfather who builds memory palaces. Just like Marty McFly, and indeed Albie Bright, Al is destined to discover that while new dimensions of time and space offer novelty or adventure, the bonds of family and love remain constant, wherever you travel.

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Time Travelling with a Hamster Paperback – 28 Jan. 2016

Purchase options and add-ons.

For readers who loved Wonder and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time this extraordinary debut will make you laugh and cry.

A story that crosses time and generations, for adventure-loving readers young and old.

“My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve.”

On Al Chaudhury’s twelfth birthday his beloved Grandpa Byron gives him a letter from Al’s late father. In it Al receives a mission: travel back to 1984 in a secret time machine and save his father’s life.

Al soon discovers that time travel requires daring and imagination. It also requires lies, theft, setting his school on fire and ignoring philosophical advice from Grandpa Byron. All without losing his pet hamster, Alan Shearer…

Time Travelling With a Hamster is a funny, heart-warming race-against-time – and across generations – adventure that you will won’t be able to put down.

• Reading age 9 - 12 years
• Book 1 of 2 Al Chaudhury
• Print length 400 pages
• Language English
• Dimensions 12.9 x 2.54 x 19.81 cm
• Publisher HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks
• Publication date 28 Jan. 2016
• ISBN-10 000815631X
• ISBN-13 978-0008156312
• See all details

Frequently bought together

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From the Publisher

Into the Sideways World

The whole world was heading for war when Manny Weaver and I went through a ‘grey hole’ to another world.

Till then, I didn’t believe in magic. Fairies, witches, magic spells, strange lands with talking animals, monsters with three heads and potions to turn you into a giant?

Even when I was very little, I knew all that stuff wasn’t real. Then I encountered Manny, and the strange animal we called a ‘cog’, and the brother who I’d never met because he died before I was born. I rode through a lightning storm on a flying jet ski, and lived in a World Without War.

And so now, if you ask me if I believe in magic? Let’s just say I’m not so sure.

Praise for Time Travelling with a Hamster

'The gripping suspense truly makes time fly… the book’s heart and humour are hard to resist.' Piers Torday, author of The Last Wild

'Extremely clever and totally engaging.' The Irish Times

'Intelligent, well crafted and impressive.' The Sunday Times

'Touching, silly and exciting by turns, this thrilling little book is an inventive take on time travel for children. Sure to be a hit with fans of R.J. Palacio's Wonder … an unforgettable, madcap story from a bright new talent in Children’s fiction.’ Waterstones

'A touching tale of family, grief and love.' Daily Express

'With intriguing twists from start to finish, this story is a real roller coaster of emotions. It warmed my heart and filled my head with wonder! A fast, funny and really satisfying read that sparks your imagination.' Joseph, 10

Product description

‘The gripping suspense truly makes time fly… the book’s heart and humour are hard to resist.’ Piers Torday, author of The Last Wild

“Extremely clever and totally engaging.” The Irish Times

“Intelligent, well crafted and impressive.” Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times

‘Touching, silly and exciting by turns, this thrilling little book is an inventive take on time travel for children. Sure to be a hit with fans of R.J. Palacio's Wonder… an unforgettable, madcap story from a bright new talent in Children’s fiction.’ Waterstones

“A touching tale of family, grief and love.” Daily Express

‘With intriguing twists from start to finish, this story is a real roller coaster of emotions. It warmed my heart and filled my head with wonder! A fast, funny and really satisfying read that sparks your imagination.’ Joseph, 10

From the Author

From the inside flap, from the back cover, about the author.

Ross Welford was a journalist and television producer before becoming a full-time writer. He lives in London with his wife, children, a border collie and several tropical fish.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks (28 Jan. 2016)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 000815631X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008156312
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12 years
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 2.54 x 19.81 cm
• 12 in Time Travel Fiction for Children
• 25 in Fiction About Death & Dying for Children
• 77 in Children's Books on Difficult Discussions

About the author

Ross welford.

Ross Welford was a magazine journalist and television producer in the UK before becoming an author.

Time Travelling With A Hamster was his first book, and was nominated for every major award in children's books, winning the Awesome Book Award in 2017. It was followed by a second book, What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible.

A new, standalone book has followed every year since, all achieving critical and popular acclaim, and frequently gaining best-seller status. Ross is firmly established as one of the UK's most popular and original voices in children's books.

His eighth book, The Monkey Who Fell From The Future, is published in 2023.

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TIME TRAVELING WITH A HAMSTER by Ross Welford: A Time Travel Project Review

The Time Travel Project is a new regular feature in which Ana reads Time Travel novels, new and old. More on the feature here . Passenger is the first in a duology by Alexandra Bracken and Ana’s first official read for The Time Travel Project.

Title: Time Traveling with a Hamster

Author: Ross Welford

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Kidlit, Time Travel

Publisher: Harper Collins Publication Date: February 4 2016 Paperback: 400 Pages

A truly original debut novel from an extraordinarily talented new voice in children’s books. Laugh, cry and wonder at this race-against-time story of a boy who travels back to 1984 to prevent a go-kart accident, and save his father’s life… “My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve. The first time had nothing to do with me. The second time definitely did, but I would never even have been there if it hadn’t been for his ‘time machine’…” When Al Chaudhury discovers his late dad’s time machine, he finds that going back to the 1980s requires daring and imagination. It also requires lies, theft, burglary, and setting his school on fire. All without losing his pet hamster, Alan Shearer…

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

How did I get this book: Bought

Format (e- or p-): print

Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury’s dad was thirty nine years old when he died for the first time and twelve when he died for the second time. The former happened due to a dislodged piece of metal that caused brain haemorrhage, a leftover from of an accident he had when he was a kid.

The latter is the result of what sets Time Traveling with a Hamster in motion.

Al’s dad died suddenly when Al was eight years old. When Al turns twelve he receives a mind-blowing present: a letter from his dead father that contains mysterious instructions that Al must choose whether he wishes to follow or not. If he does so, his father’s letter tells him, he will learn everything about time travel just in time to go back to when his father was twelve and prevent his accident from happening, therefore changing his present. Al’s father’s life is thus, literally in Al’s hands as, due to the rules of time traveling, a person cannot be in the same timeline twice. So Al is the only person who can travel back in time and save his father.

And we know this doesn’t go well – for when Al fails to save his father, he alters the space-time continuum, changing everything . And then he needs to find a way to set things right.

Time Traveling with a Hamster is a strange creature. The central relationship in the book came as a nice surprise: it’s not Al and his father or Al and his hamster. It’s Al and his granddad Byron’s and their relationship is sweet and informs most of Al’s actions. His granddad is the true father figure in the novel. I also loved that Al is Anglo-Indian and that his grandad shares his experiences as an immigrant.

Looking at the title and the cover copy though, I was expecting a light, entertaining romp with a kid and his pet hamster. Of the pet hamster, Alan Shearer, there is very little, his presence is inconsequential, almost an after-thought. And even though there are moments of light and fun (hey, time traveling shenanigans are always fun), this book turned out to be darker and more thoughtful than I was expecting. This is not a bad thing per se but the problem with this is that the narrative voice doesn’t quite decide if it wants to sound very young or much older.

Think on this: Al is trusted with a mission that decides the fate of his own father. If you think this is a lot of pressure to put on a 12-year-old kid, bingo. But which kid, given the chance to save his own father’s life, would say no? The problem here is that we see very little on-page relationship between Al and his dad. The first part of the book is all dedicated to Al and his grandad, who by the way, doesn’t even sound like he liked his son very much. Actually, his mom doesn’t seem to have liked his father all that much either. So as a reader, it’s hard to be invested in this mission. As an outsider looking in, I detested Al’s father and wished he had remained dead for the things he put his kid through, and for the horribly condescending, self-serving letters he sent. On the other hand, which person would not try to save their own lives if they knew a way?

This is why I call this book a strange creature. Because the focus here seems to be placed so much on the adults, and a lot of the story asks us to sympathise more with them rather than with the actual kid that is the main character. When Al comes back to a different future after things go horribly wrong in the past (and horribly wrong is a mild way of putting it), it’s his granddad that is changed the most. We get a much richer, deeper description of his granddad’s pain than Al’s, whose life has been altered significantly as well – he is not even supposed to be alive (actually, good question: how is he even alive if his father never met his mother. Time traveling paradox!). Given all this, in fact, when reading Time Traveling with a Hamster , I often wondered if the book was even written as a kids’ book in the first place because it straddles a line between kidlit and adult fiction crossing over and back multiple times.

One thing I liked very much is how Al asks himself about the “other Als”. Do you remember how Marty McFly goes back to the future at the end of Back to the Future to find his family completely altered? What happens to the Marty McFly that that version of his family knew? His family has memories of that Marty and his childhood and this new Marty has none of those memories. So it’s a little bittersweet to think about that and Time Traveling with a Hamster is affecting in that same way.

So: A strange creature. I liked it – but probably not as much as I had hoped and not in the way I had expected.

Rating: 6- Good

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Ana Grilo is a Brazilian who moved to the UK because of the weather. No, seriously. She works with translations in RL and hopes one day The Book Smugglers will be her day job. When she’s not here at The Book Smugglers, she is hogging our Twitter feed.

22 Comments

I want the book

i have the book

Sounds great anonymous.

i read the book and i dont really see these points the reviewer makes

i think its an interesting perspective on such a boring book , how did you come up with all of this from just a meer kid going back in time ??

anonymous is a bad boy

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TIME TRAVELING WITH A HAMSTER

by Ross Welford ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

Nods to classic time travel stories will delight some readers; those merely looking for a page-turning adventure will find...

Can you change time past without losing what is most important about the present?

For his 12th birthday, British Indian narrator Albert Einstein Hawking Chaudhury receives a pet hamster and a letter from his father, written days before his father’s sudden death when Al was 8. Welford’s voice for his protagonist is engaging, pragmatic, and solid—a solitary boy who is brave and perceptive. Al’s dearly loved best friend is his grandfather, a prodigious memory expert, who emigrated from the Punjab to this northeast part of England as a young adult. The letter instructs Al to find the time machine his father built. Al is to go back to his father’s childhood to avert an accident that would cause his father’s untimely death as an adult. The time machine (an old Macbook, black electronics box, and zinc tub) is portable but unfortunately still hidden in the fallout shelter at the house where Al and his family lived before his father’s death. Al makes several attempts at his mission, each fraught with dangers and mistakes. Welford addresses all the complications of time travel, including the impossibility of being in two places at the same time and the threat of obliterating one’s present self.

Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-399-55149-9

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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More by Ross Welford

BOOK REVIEW

by Ross Welford

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the school for good and evil series , vol. 1.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and  her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Pub Date: May 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

More In The Series

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

More by Soman Chainani

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by RaidesArt

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Julia Iredale

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BOOK TO SCREEN

HOW TO SPEAK DOLPHIN

by Ginny Rorby ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2015

Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.

Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?

Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.

Pub Date: May 26, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

More by Ginny Rorby

by Ginny Rorby

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Time Travelling with a Hamster

By ross welford, this title was previously available on netgalley and is now archived., send netgalley books directly to your kindle or kindle app, to read on a kindle or kindle app, please add [email protected] as an approved email address to receive files in your amazon account. click here for step-by-step instructions., also find your kindle email address within your amazon account, and enter it here., pub date 31 dec 2015 | archive date 03 may 2017, harpercollins uk, children's | harpercollinschildren’sbooks, children's fiction | middle grade, description.

For readers who loved Wonder and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time this extraordinary debut will make you laugh and cry.

A story that crosses time and generations, for adventure-loving readers young and old.

“My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine and again four years later when he was twelve.”

On Al Chaudhury’s twelfth birthday his beloved Grandpa Byron gives him a letter from Al’s late father. In it Al receives a mission: travel back to 1984 in a secret time machine and save his father’s life.

Al soon discovers that time travel requires daring and imagination. It also requires lies, theft, setting his school on fire and ignoring philosophical advice from Grandpa Byron. All without losing his pet hamster, Alan Shearer…

Time Travelling With a Hamster is a funny, heart-warming race-against-time – and across generations – adventure that you will won’t be able to put down.

A story that crosses time and generations, for...

Advance Praise

'Time Travelling with a Hamster is an unforgettable, madcap story from a bright new talent in Children’s fiction.' - Waterstones 'An amazing story which is funny, gripping and has a cute hamster in it...

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Time traveling with a hamster

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• Book 1 of 2 Al Chaudhury
• Print length 400 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Harper Collins Children's Books
• Publication date 30 March 2016
• Dimensions 12.9 x 2.54 x 19.81 cm
• ISBN-10 000815631X
• ISBN-13 978-0008156312
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About the author.

Ross Welford was a journalist and television producer before becoming a full-time writer. He lives in London with his wife, children, a border collie and several tropical fish.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Collins Children's Books; Latest Edition (30 March 2016)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 000815631X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008156312
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 290 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 2.54 x 19.81 cm
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ United Kingdom
• Net Quantity ‏ : ‎ 1.00 count
• Generic Name ‏ : ‎ BOOK
• #2 in Humorous Fiction for Young Adults
• #3 in Fiction about Death & Dying for Children
• #6 in Children's Books on Difficult Discussions

About the author

Ross welford.

Ross Welford was a magazine journalist and television producer in the UK before becoming an author.

Time Travelling With A Hamster was his first book, and was nominated for every major award in children's books, winning the Awesome Book Award in 2017. It was followed by a second book, What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible.

A new, standalone book has followed every year since, all achieving critical and popular acclaim, and frequently gaining best-seller status. Ross is firmly established as one of the UK's most popular and original voices in children's books.

His eighth book, The Monkey Who Fell From The Future, is published in 2023.

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‘The Greatest Hits’: Save your time

A time-travel romance falls victim to generic characters and clunky dialogue.

You know how a pop song from a moment in your past can bring that moment back to life in colors, smells, memories and emotions? “The Greatest Hits” takes that idea and literalizes it right into the ground.

The film is one of those romantic fantasies that enlists time travel as the primary obstacle keeping two people from getting together. Make that one of the obstacles; the others in “The Greatest Hits” are the heroine’s growing collection of vinyl records and her habit of wearing noise-canceling headphones wherever she goes. The course of true love never did run smooth.

Harriet (Lucy Boynton) is mourning the loss of her boyfriend Max (David Corenswet) in a car crash that also delivered a bonk to her noggin that allows her to whoosh back in time — but only when she hears a song that triggers a moment the couple had together. Thus the headphones; otherwise, the tunes streaming from supermarket speakers and other people’s car radios would have her constantly yo-yoing back and forth between then and now. The records she’s obsessively collecting are an effort to find the one song that might give her a chance to alter events and keep Max alive.

Does any of this make sense? Of course not. Time-travel romantic fantasy movies never make sense, and when they’re done right, that’s the source of their idiot charm. 2006’s “The Lake House,” which involves Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock and a magic mailbox, is a personal gold standard in this regard.

Complicating matters is that Harriet has met a cute guy at a grief counseling support group — that sentence alone announces we’re in Los Angeles — and is hesitant to open up and tell him about the whole trying-to-change-the-flow-of-history thing. David, who has lost both parents to either separate illnesses or just plain carelessness, is played by Justin H. Min, a likable actor who was the sensitive android of the little-seen “After Yang” (2022), a movie that you would be strongly advised to watch instead of this one.

What would it take to make “The Greatest Hits” work? For one thing, a music-rights budget that allowed for songs an average filmgoer might recognize, rather than tracks from the back 40 of Spotify or a disco remix of Roxy Music’s “To Turn You On.” For another, a script that avoids dialogue clunkers like “There’s a reason that in some languages, the word for love and the word for suffering is the same.” (I Googled it — didn’t find any.) Shopworn supporting stereotypes like the heroine’s sassy gay Black friend (Austin Crute) don’t help.

The prime offender, though, is writer-director Ned Benson’s inability to create three-dimensional characters, or even believable two-dimensional ones. Harriet is apparently a record producer, but we only know that from one dated reference to Alan Parsons and a brief scene of her telling singer Nelly Furtado to “add a little more compression on the drums”; otherwise, she’s an attractive blank space that Boynton strains too hard to fill in. The dead boyfriend, Max, is even more generic — a genial himbo with all the flavor of a catalogue model.

Benson made a stir with his debut, a three-film project called “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” (2014) that looked at a relationship from his, her and their points of view. His belated follow-up, by contrast, has barely enough personality for one. But he gets points for including the dreadful Kars4Kids jingle as one of the audio jogs that sends Harriet tumbling back in time — for a brief moment, the rest of “The Greatest Hits” seems much less irritating in comparison.

PG-13. Streaming on Hulu. Drug use, strong language and suggestive material. 94 minutes.

Ty Burr is the author of the movie recommendation newsletter Ty Burr’s Watch List at tyburrswatchlist.com .

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