LoveReading4Kids Says
Winner of the Younger Readers Category (8-11 Years) Scottish Children’s Book Award 2013
A pacy, time-travelling adventure from the award-winning author Janis Mackay (Magnus Fin series). Agatha Black has somehow time-travelled from 1812 to 2012 and Saul and his friends need to find a way to return her home. Filled with funny misunderstandings due to Agatha's confusions and wonder at the modern world. A cleverly written novel which will appeal to boys and girls.
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The winners of each of the categories - 3-7, 8-11 and 12-16 - of the Scottish Children’s Book Award 2013 are voted for by children and will be announced in March 2014. If you would like to register to vote, visit www.scottishbooktrust.com. You can also add a review on their site and here at Lovereading we would also be delighted to receive reviews of any of the shortlisted titles, which we will load on to the site. Just email your review through to bookreviews@lovereading.co.uk
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The Accidental Time Traveller Synopsis
One ordinary day, Saul is on his way to the corner shop when a girl appears suddenly in the middle of the road. She doesn't understand traffic, or the things in shops, and she's wearing a long dress with ruffled sleeves. Her name is Agatha Black. Agatha Black is from 1812, and Saul needs to find a way to get her back there. With help from his mates Will and Robbie, he tries to work out how to make time travel happen. This pacy, time-travelling adventure from Janis Mackay, author of the Magnus Fin series, is full of funny misunderstandings and gripping action.
Click here to visit the Janis Mackay's author page and read a Q&A all about the inspiration behind the book.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780863159541 |
| Publication date: |
21st February 2013 |
| Author: |
Janis Mackay |
| Publisher: |
Kelpies an imprint of Floris Books |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
208 pages |
| Series: |
Kelpies |
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Janis Mackay Press Reviews
'Janis is a clever teacher. Rather than explain the differences between life then and now, she uses humour and misunderstandings to provide a gentle history lesson in the midst of an exciting adventure. As well as forging a good plot, Saul is an engaging hero; he wants all the things boys want at Christmas but has a sense of integrity that wins through in the end as he and his friends overcome prejudice and bullying.' Lothian Life
'This book had a great story line. The characters in the book felt and acted their age. There was a good character arc throughout the book. I read this book in a fairly short time because the story just sucks you right in. Very smooth writing for an easy read ... The themes in this book were very good (themes such as: family, courage, standing up to bullies, acceptance of others).' Rantings, Ravings and Ramblings blog
About Janis Mackay
Janis Mackay was born and grew up in Edinburgh, but moved to London to study journalism. She has an MA in Creative Writing and has held writer-in-residence posts in both Caithness and Sutherland. She currently lives in Edinburgh, where she teaches creative writing and works as a writer and storyteller. She is the author of the Magnus Fin series.
A Q&A with the author about the writing of The Accidental Time Traveller....
Q. did you always want to be an author?
A. YES
Q. How long did this book take to write?
A. Probably a year in all. I finished it while spending a month on an island in Finland in the spring of 2012.
Q. When did you first get the idea to write about time travel?
A. In 2011 I went to a theatre show about Marjory Fleming. She lived in Edinburgh 200 years before. At the age of 8 she kept a diary and wrote poems and observations of life, and of herself. She was a wonderful writer. She died before her ninth birthday, but the diary was kept and later published. This gave me a Scottish child’s insight into life 200 years ago. It was Marjory that inspired the theme.
Q. This book is very different to Magnus Fin. What is your favourite thing about this new book?
A. I love Agatha Black’s way of speaking, and her innocence and response in meeting the modern world.
Q. Do you have a favourite character in this book?
A. They are all very real to me. Agatha and Saul of course are favourites, and Agnes, and the pet monkey – and poor old Albert Black!
Q. If you met someone who had time travelled from the past what would you ask them?
A. How they did it!
Q. What do you like best about being an author?
A. All the money you make! Ha ha – joking! I like teetering on the edge in front of possibilities then jumping in and making someone that didn’t exist before.
Q. What was the hardest thing about writing a story involving time travel?
A. to make it seem like this could really happen. I like to write fantasy, but to write in such a way that this could be true.
Q. In the book Agatha has a performing pet monkey. Have you ever had unusual pets?
A. I had a tortoise that never woke up from its shoebox under my bed. Then, when I lived in France we had a yellow talking parrot called Jaco who was extremely annoying. Now I have a collie dog called Flora.
Q. If you lived in 1812 what job would you want to do?
A. Well, to be honest, I think I would like to be a man and be a travelling player.
Q. If you could travel to any point in history where would you go?
A. Way back, to Pictish times to see the land and the wild animals and to sit around a crackling log fire and see what people looked like 1000 years ago, and how they spoke.
More About Janis Mackay
