Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

In The Land of Broken Time: The Incredible Journey is a children’s book written by Max and Maria Evan and illustrated by Maria Evan. Recovering from a cold, Christopher is forbidden to leave the house, but with the circus in town, he sneaks out when his parents are preoccupied, hoping that nobody will notice. As soon as circus security guards realize that Christopher has no ticket, a strange girl, Sophie, also with no ticket, quickly grabs Christopher and they vanish under the side of the circus tent to watch the show. One of the circus performers spots the duo, scaring them from the tent and into the basket of a hot air balloon, which soars off into the clouds. A loud snoring reveals a sleeping dog, Duke, inside the basket with the children. When he wakes, he talks them through how to land the balloon, taking them to a strange land which is surrounded by mountains and an eerie bamboo forest. Although night, the sun still shines brightly in the sky, revealing a sundial.

As Christopher, Sophie and Duke try to use the giant sundial in order to determine the time, a strange clearing appears before them, allowing them to enter the Forest of Chronos where they meet a professor, Temporus Certus, who is excited that the prophesied ones had arrived. With the help of Temporus Certus (and many new-found friends), the trio must try to restore time to the land, all while defeating the professor’s evil brother, Temporus Improbus, who had caused the problem of time through magic and manipulation. When one of them falls under the spell of Temporus Improbus, the children need to decide whether their fear of punishment from their parents or the life of one of their new friends is more important.

In this clever and compelling story, Max and Maria Evan not only pull readers into the enticing and enchanting world of time travel, but also educate them about the different ways in which time has been told over the centuries. With gnomes, talking dogs, and magic versus physics, there is so much fun going on in the life of a boy who initially was very bored and had felt dejected at not being able to attend the circus. Sophie and Christopher are continually challenged, both physically and mentally, having to interpret puzzles and decipher clues which may or may not lead them back to the world where they belonged. No matter how hard I tried, I was unable to put this book down until I had reached the very last page. In The Land of Broken Time: The Incredible Journey is a wonderful book which I enjoyed fully, and I recommend it to readers between the ages of 7-15, or to those who are young at heart and enjoy magic, mystery, fun and fantasy in their educational travels.