The World's Worst Time Machine

The World's Worst Time Machine

Dustin Brady

Andrews McMeel, 2023

185 pages

Grades 3-6

Fantasy/Humor

Liam finds a mysterious box tucked away in the corner of a disappeared neighboring mad-scientist's garage at a lawn sale labeled "the worst time machine ever".  Of course he forks over his last three dollars and brings it home. Liam hopes to connect with Thomas Edison so he can get out of reading his biography book report book. Surprisingly, the machine works! Liam does not go back in time, a historical figure is brought to him-and it is Thomas Edison, only not the right Thomas Edison. This teenager comes from 1933 and prefers to be called "Tommy Twinkles".  Tommy is a wanna-be gangster and tries to convince Liam to help him rob a bank of the future. The situation gets worse when Mom and Dad come down to the basement to investigate the noise and get sucked into time. Luckily, Liam's best pal Elsa is a genius and knows time travel. She runs over to help Liam sort this mess out. Unfortunately, more gangsters arrive and chaos ensues. Will Lia and Elsa be able to send all of the gang back to the 1930's without causing too much disturbance in the universe? And, ever more importantly, will they be able to retrieve Mom and Dad?

Non-stop mayhem and absurdity propel this new series starter right into the hands of reluctant readers. The author of the Trapped in a Video Game and Escape from a Video Game series has a new scenario that will lure in kids who think that they hate reading. Time travel is a cool concept that will intrigue the intended audience and Brady makes this adventure believable and possible. Infused with humor, the plot doesn't stop. Cliff-hanging chapter endings will keep readers moving along. The format is perfect for those struggling with reading. The font is large, the chapters are short, and lots of white space graces the pages. Cartoon-like illustrations are plentiful and will help to suck in the reader. This is a much needed series starter to hand to video-game kids who think they hate to read. It will also be useful for graphic novel readers who need to read something with more text and less dependence on illustrations. Especially since the pandemic, there is an increase in kids who have a hard time sitting still and concentrating on a book. This new edition might be just the thing to turn some of these kids into readers.