The Time Tree - Hardcover

Richemont, Enid

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316744522 ISBN 13: 9780316744522

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1990

Synopsis

The summer after their last year of elementary school brings changes in the friendship of Rachel and Joanna, as past and present worlds seem to merge and a mysterious girl dressed in old-fashioned clothing appears and disappears at their secret place under an old tree.A tall tree in the park is the secret refuge of best friends Rachel and Joanna until one day they are joined there by a deaf girl from another century

About this title

From the Back Cover

Enid Richemont, a former designer of playground equipment for children, lives with her family in London. THE TIME TREE is her first children's book.

From the Inside Flap

"It was extraordinary.

"Suddenly someone was there, and it wasn't Joanna. Someone was helping, holding Rachel, guiding her down. Rachel caught a glimpse of curly brown hair fringing a white lace cap. Intense dark eyes seemed to meet her own - brown eyes under dark lashes...

Then the vision was gone."

Best friends Rachel and Joanna have a secret place on a high branch of a tall tree in the park. And it is here, during the long summer vacation between finishing elementary school and starting junior high, that they are caught up in an extrordinary experience. It begins with a vague prickling at the back of the neck, a feeling of being watched, but soon turns into a magical and moving encounter with a girl from an earlier century. The experience is to have a profound effect on the fortunes of this able but misunderstood girl, as it marks a turning point in the relationship of the two friends.

The Time Tree is a highly imaginative and absorbing tale of the brief but significant meeting of two worlds - one present, one past, both vividly real. It is also a perceptive account of growing up in two very different times and situations.

Reviews

Grade 4-6-- In this British time fantasy, ten-year-olds Rachel and Joanna encounter Anne, a deaf girl from Elizabethan times, in their secret tree house. The two best friends meet in a large tree in the park to play and gossip; Anne retreats to that same tree (a sapling in her time) to escape the taunts of those who call her insane or bewitched. When Rachel and Joanna realize Anne's disability (at first they think she is speaking a foreign language), the girls decide to teach her to write. The use of short episodes, smoothly shifting back and forth in time, keeps the story moving well and will hold readers' interests. The contrast between contemporary life and the Elizabethan era is brought out in both dialogue and description. Even though the story is clearly purposeful, its message is well integrated into the plot. With its simple language, this short, accessible fantasy is a good choice for reluctant readers, as well as for lovers of time-travel tales. --Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Set in present-day London, this quiet novel combines the themes of middle-school friendship, literacy and time travel. One day, while sitting in their favorite tree in the park, Joanna and Rachel encounter a strange girl named Anne. The two modern girls quickly realize that Anne is a traveler from the past and they understand that she is no village idiot, but a clever deaf girl. Persecuted by people in her time, Anne finds safe haven in the tree with Joanna and Rachel, who, in turn, teach their new companion to read. Once Anne has learned to communicate through writing, the cross-time link dissolves. Richemont's gently resonant tale has the ring of truth. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316744522
• ISBN 13: 9780316744522
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 91