Children's books and activities
Time and Time Travel
Do you know any kids who are curious about the science of clocks and sundials, or who wonder what time travel would be like? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about time and time travel.
Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres [6] (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such as telling time and time travel. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge [7], vocabulary [8], and comprehension skills.
How to explore this theme:
- Read fiction and nonfiction books
- Try some hands-on activities
- Build writing skills with these fun ideas
- Dig deeper with kid-friendly websites
- Play and learn with mobile apps
More themed resources:
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Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Print List
Clocks and More Clocks
By: Pat Hutchins
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [17]
Dinosaur Train
By: John Steven Gurney
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Does Jesse travel back in time or is an imaginative jaunt when he boards a train with a...
Purchase book [18]
Telling Time
By: Jules Older
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Time isn't an easy concept for kids to grasp, but young readers will delight in learning all...
Purchase book [19]
The Clock Struck One: A Time-Telling Tale
By: Trudy Harris
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [20]
Time Train
By: Paul Fleischman
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Join Miss Pym's students as they take a memorable train trip across the U.S. to a time and...
Purchase book [21]
Train Leaves the Station
By: Eve Merriam
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [22]
Water in the Park
By: Emily Jenkins
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A catalog of ordinary events that occur in a park between sunrise and sunset, these scenarios...
Purchase book [23]
What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile?
By: Judy Sierra
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [25]
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Print List
Carnival at Candlelight
By: Mary Pope Osborne
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [26]
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House series)
By: Mary Pope Osborne
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [27]
Flotsam
By: David Wiesner
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [28]
Gold in the Hills: A Tale of the Klondike Gold Rush
By: Candice Ransom
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [29]
Haunted Castle on Hallow's Eve
By: Mary Pope Osborne
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [30]
How the Sphinx Got to the Museum
By: Jessie Hartland
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The history of the Hatshepsut sphinx: from its carving in ancient Egypt to its arrival in the...
Purchase book [31]
It's All Greek to Me
By: Jon Scieszka
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In this installment of friends known as the Time Warp Trio, Joe, Fred, and Sam meet key figures...
Purchase book [32]
Just a Second
By: Steve Jenkins
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In just a second, a bat can make 200 calls, a black mamba snake can slither 24 feet, four babies...
Purchase book [33]
Me Counting Time: From Seconds to Centuries
By: Joan Sweeney
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [34]
My First Book of Time
By: Claire Llewellyn
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [35]
Nine O’Clock Lullaby
By: Marilyn Singer
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [36]
Tar Beach
By: Faith Ringgold
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Cassie doesn't have to actually go to the beach; she's got her very own "tar...
Purchase book [37]
The First Drawing
By: Mordicai Gerstein
Age Level: 6-9 years old
An illustration of a contemporary boy with pencil in hand stands in front of a blank piece of...
Purchase book [38]
The Magic School Bus: In the Time of the Dinosaurs
By: Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Everyone's favorite science teacher is back as Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a journey...
Purchase book [39]
The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux
By: Emily Arnold McCully
Age Level: 6-9 years old
While looking for gold, four French boys accidentally discovered what was to be considered the...
Purchase book [40]
Time Zones
By: David Adler
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Why is the time different in New York and in Tokyo at the same moment? How time zones were...
Purchase book [41]
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Print List
A Wrinkle in Time
By: Madeleine L'Engle
Age Level: 9-12 years old
How the Murray children search through time to find and save their missing scientist father...
Purchase book [42]
Anno's Sundial
By: Mitsumasa Anno
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Explains how the earth's movements around the sun and the resulting movement of shadows have...
Purchase book [43]
Knights of the Kitchen Table (Time Warp Trio series)
By: Jon Scieszka
Age Level: 9-12 years old
As a gift from his magician uncle, Joe receives The Book setting into motion a series of...
Purchase book [44]
On the Blue Comet
By: Rosemary Wells
Age Level: 9-12 years old
The Great Depression changed everything for 11-year-old Oscar and his widowed dad. Oscar's...
Purchase book [45]
Secrets of Stonehenge
By: Mick Manning
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Why was this amazing monument erected? How did our Stone-Age ancestors bring such massive stones...
Purchase book [46]
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
By: Brian Selznick
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Image and text combine in a unique presentation to tell the story of an orphan boy who lives...
Purchase book [47]
Hands-on Activities
Build on what you're learning together through books with these family-friendly activities, experiments, and crafts.
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Ancient Stone Circle [48]
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Picture Writing: Hieroglyph Scroll [49]
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Roman Villa [50]
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Stone Sundial [51]
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Sun Clock [52]
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Time Capsule [53]
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Travel the Time Zones [54]
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Viking Helmet [55]
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Viking Longship [56]
Summer Writing
Give kids a chance to flex their writing muscles all summer long. Try one of these prompts, selected from our writing contest archives and other literacy organizations.
Great Websites for Kids
Dive deeper into topics of interest with these media-rich and interactive sites.
- Ancient Egypt [62]
- Drive Through Time [63]
- Fastball Reaction Time [64]
- Hands on History [65]
- Iron Age Life [66]
- Mummy Maker [67]
- Pyramid Builder [68]
- Time Explorer at The British Museum [69]
- Time Warp Trio [70]
- Write Your Name in Hieroglyphs [71]
Mobile Apps
Educational apps recommended by Common Sense Media and other trusted reviewers.
- Britannica Kids: Ancient Rome [72] $
- Hickory Dickory Dock [73] $
- Jungle Time [74] $
- Sky Map [75]
- Tell Time [76] $
- Tillie's Time Shop [77] $
- Timeline Battle Castles [78] $
More Themed Resources
Growing Readers Tip Sheets
Simple activities for parents and kids to do together to build reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Read online or print the PDF.
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Teaching Sequence [79]
Download PDF: English [80] | Spanish [81]
Washington DC for Kids
Places
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C&O Canal Boat Rides [83] $