NICK OF TIME: AN ADVENTURE THROUGH TIME; Ted Bell; New York: St. Martin's, 2008; Children's/Young Adult Fiction.
Nick McIver is an old-fashioned young hero, a straight arrow if ever there was one. His adventures in this book take place during the years just before the beginning of World War II, and as he toggles back and forth in time, on a British ship of the line during the Napoleonic Wars. When Nick and his faithful dog Jip find a sea chest on the shore of Greybeard Island where Nick's dad is the lighthouse keeper, they find a curious object apparently bequeathed to Nick by his great-great-ever-so-great grand uncle. The mechanism, designed by Leonardo da Vinci enables Nick to travel back and forth through time. Unfortunately, some ill-favored pirates are after the prize as well. Sea battles, German submarines, mysterious goings-on at the Hawke's Castle fortress make for a breakneck adventure in two centuries. Sometimes bloody, filled with nautical talk and lore, this British tale honors two century's of English valor in the sturdy life of a schoolboy, his grown-up companions, and his little sister, Kate. Well done.
Comments
the evocative and engaging pictures. You'd have to be pretty jaded to look at the cover illustration of this book and not want to see what's inside.