The Time Machine

Because it's never too late to apologize

Children - Picture Book
32 Pages
Reviewed on 04/24/2023
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Tricia Gardella for Readers' Favorite

In this story, Pauline David-Sax shares with us the reason why Bailey feels compelled to build The Time Machine. But not just any time machine. A time machine that only needs to go back to last Thursday. The day Bailey said that awful thing that hurt her best friend Nia’s feelings. Every child, every adult, can relate. And as with most of us, the words needed for apologizing might form in the mouth, but for some reason can be so difficult to push out. Bailey tries everything she can think of and finally comes up with the time machine idea. She asks her family for help, but everyone is too busy. Then the help she needs comes from a very unexpected source, Nia. Soon the girls are back to how things were before that awful thing. Even more satisfying, The Time Machine comes with a surprise ending.

What I love most about The Time Machine by Pauline David-Sax is that I never once felt preached to. The message is the story. You might mentally chastise Bailey for hurting her friend, but we feel empathy and are cheering Bailey on from the get-go. Illustrations add a whole new dimension. In a picture book, writing and illustration should be a seamless collaboration. We see this in The Time Machine. We can see “a lump formed in Bailey’s throat” by the look on her face as she watches her retreating friend. And we know how Nia is feeling, too. The solution to the girls’ problem is also handled satisfyingly. We only know that the author planned this as a cautionary tale because of the different front-and-back material that teachers and parents will love.