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THE BACKWARDS WATCH by Eric Houghton

THE BACKWARDS WATCH

by Eric Houghton & illustrated by Simone Abel

Pub Date: Aug. 1st, 1992
ISBN: 0-531-05968-5
Publisher: Orchard

Time travel for tots: ``When I was your age,'' says Granddad, ``I kept myself clean and neat''—unlike Sally, who's covered with leaves and twigs after climbing a tree. Not really annoyed, he lets Sally play with his watch; when she accidentally winds it the wrong way, Granddad suddenly grows younger and younger until he is ``George,'' a boy Sally's age. Together, they explore an enticing junkyard where they construct a dragon, have a mock battle, and get genuinely filthy. George's dad arrives to scold, and Sally finds herself back in the lap of a Granddad who remembers the long-ago day with a girl who ``never came again, but we had a wonderful time...'' The attractive pen-and- watercolor illustrations are as warm and cheery as the satisfying text. (Picture book. 4-8)