TIME OUT

by Helen Cresswell ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1990

Allowed a rare holiday by their employer--Mrs. Vexhall-Smith of London's Cardigan Square--Wilks the butler, his wife, and Tweeny, their child, have an unexpected adventure. In the little-used Vexhall-Smith library, the normally impassive Wilks has found a book of spells, and has not only frightened the cook by turning the cat green but has secretly been practicing traveling 100 years forward, to 1987. After some comic false starts, the whole family joins him in a visit to the same house, only slightly changed. They are mystified by TV, astonished by automobiles, and outraged at short skirts; about to become a media event, they escape with the help of a lonely orphan, leaving Tweeny's parrot with him as thanks, consolation, and a birthday gift. As with Cresswell's Bagthorpe stories, it's the telling that amuses here--the delightful turns of phrase, the comic juxtapositions, the impeccable, wry logic. Brisk and funny, a good read-aloud introduction to time fantasy. Illustrations not seen.

Pub Date: March 1, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990

Categories: CHILDREN'S