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The Time Garden (Tales of Magic #4)
by
Edward Eager
Four cousins spending a summer in a house by the sea discover a magic thyme garden from which they embark on a number of adventures in time.
Hardcover
Published
1958
by Harcourt, Brace
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As always, Edward Eager's writing left me feeling happy :-) I love his style--it seems so warm and personal, and "The Time Garden" is a delightful fantasy with lots of humor and fun. Plus, it takes place in the summer so this was a good time to read it ;-)
FYI: there are "Little Women" spoilers in this book :-)
FYI: there are "Little Women" spoilers in this book :-)
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I picked this book because the cover reminded of of a Roald Dahl book (which I've loved since I learned to read) and I was slightly disappointed that the story wasn't nearly as magical as Roald Dahl's. Its not that it was a bad story, but I had a set expectation in my mind that it fell short of.
The premise is basically that four children (one who is coming into puberty and finding more interest in girls than adventure) move to their aunt's house on a cliff and discover a garden of thyme. Howeve...more
The premise is basically that four children (one who is coming into puberty and finding more interest in girls than adventure) move to their aunt's house on a cliff and discover a garden of thyme. Howeve...more
My kids and I continue to love Edward Eager's books. In this one, I especially enjoyed playing with the Natterjack's accent while reading aloud, and all of the time/thyme puns. I also love the eye-rolling the other kids in the story do in response to Jack's budding teenager-ness and the intersection of this story with those in other classics (and with Eager's Magic by the Lake) and with historical events. The premise is pretty much the same as in the other books---the kids discover an "in" to ma...more
For me, this is Eager's best book. It contains all of the best features of his work--believable children; magic that combines elements of silliness, unpredictability, risk, fun, and a sense of reality; episodic adventures that build into a larger plot structure; and realistic concerns about parents and family. Eager's tone is affectionate and tongue-in-cheek ("If you have ever been without weight or substance, you will know..."), and his observations are insightful without being overplayed (I di...more
May 18, 2013
Gale
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy-young-adult,
time-travel
A THYME FOR TRAVEL BACK INTO HISTORY
This fanciful book presents 4 children enjoying a seaside summer on the Massachsuetts coast; they meet a curious creature in the garden, who introduces them to the magic and mystery of the thyme plants in the herb garden. These plants are the Vehicle for travel, both in time (American history) and in space (back to England where their parents are vacationing).
On each of their trips they try not to change anything (obeying their own, temporal Prime Directive,...more
This fanciful book presents 4 children enjoying a seaside summer on the Massachsuetts coast; they meet a curious creature in the garden, who introduces them to the magic and mystery of the thyme plants in the herb garden. These plants are the Vehicle for travel, both in time (American history) and in space (back to England where their parents are vacationing).
On each of their trips they try not to change anything (obeying their own, temporal Prime Directive,...more
Four cousins find a garden that allows them to travel magically through time (by sniffing thyme). As in all of Eager's books, however, magic is unpredictable and often uncontrollable. This is a great book to read aloud with a mixed age group because the thrills and danger are not too excessive for younger listeners, but the wit and history based humor will appeal to older kids and adults. Another good thing about Eager is that his characters are realistic and interesting. His girls are often bra...more
Deliberately written to emulate Edith Nesbit, this features four (relatively) modern American children spending a summer in a magical garden that transports them to historical events (which they object to, as being too educational), into 'Little Women', where they are delighted not to meet Amy, as none of them have yet forgiven her for marrying Laurie, and, once, crossing over into one of the author's other books. Hardly a classic, but rather delightful.
This book is the sequel to "Knight's Castle" and it is the best book of the two. Ann and Roger, along with their two cousins, Jack and Eliza, go to stay with an old friend, but magic is what makes the summer NOT boring! This book was fun and it was funny and the last lines are what really get me. "He and the garden were waiting. They were wait-ing for more children. They didn't care how long they waited. They had all the time in the world." If you love magic books, read this!
There's a part where the characters of this book encounter Jo and Laurie from Little Women, and all I got to say is that Edward Eager (well, his characters at least) shares the same opinion concerning those two as me and countless others from the 1860s to the present day. Which makes him a-okay in my book.
This one was about as good as Half Magic, better than Magic by the lake, and not quite as good as Knight's Castle. This book focuses on the same kids from the previous book as they adventure through thyme.
One thing that amused me in this book was that Jack, the eldest of the four, has reached the age where he notices and spends all of his time thinking about girls.
Rating: G.
One thing that amused me in this book was that Jack, the eldest of the four, has reached the age where he notices and spends all of his time thinking about girls.
Rating: G.
Read this book after you've read Magic by the Lake and the Knights Castle. It is about the same 4 kids in The Knights Castle. This time they go to a garden full of thyme. If they rub it between their hands and wish, they can go anywhere any time they like! With help from the Natterjack of course.
Nice call back to one of the previous novels - though this is the second book in a row which relies on tension created by a child sitting there idiotically gabbing out time-related information. There's a complete lack of any sense of danger in the behaviour of these kids.
I loved the Edward Eager books as a child. I'm clearly not alone because I was told a few years back that Stephen Spielberg has had them all optioned for years. Of all of them, this was my favorite. I do recommend that you read them in sequence, but I had to list this amongst my favorites.
Oh, what is it about? Well, it's about children who are staying where there is a thyme garden filled with all different kinds of time, only to discover that it's a time garden, that lets them travel through tim...more
Oh, what is it about? Well, it's about children who are staying where there is a thyme garden filled with all different kinds of time, only to discover that it's a time garden, that lets them travel through tim...more
I think I would have loved this book/series of books when I was younger. Much younger. As an adult, though, reading it for the first time left me wanting something better. Great story idea but poor execution.
Since I am a gardener, I loved this book. I read it out loud to Will, and we were both so excited to pick it up each night. Half Magic is still my favorite by this author, though.
The first time I read this was to my daughter a couple years back. She liked the series a great deal. I would say its definitely written for kids, and appropriate for any age.
Another childhood book visited by... well, not the suck fairy per se. Just the oh-right-this-was-written-in-the-50s fairy. Good to reread, but I wouldn't read it to a child.
I accidentally skipped books 2 and 3 in this series, but not much was lost in doing that. Half Magic is the better of the two books, but this one is still very enjoyable.
After reading Edward Eager's Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, and Knight's Castle, this book completely blew me away as a kid. It really doesn't get any better than this.
May 07, 2012
Kristin Shields
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone!
May 7, 2012: I have read this book and all of the other magic books by Edward Eager more times than I can count. I read this in couple of hours yesterday while taking notes and sketches for another book quilt. This one will be the subject of a quilt for a Children's Literature challenge and I'm really excited about it.
This story combines time (thyme) travel, history and word play to make for a wonderful and timeless story. I won't spoil it except to say that every child deserves to read these b...more
This story combines time (thyme) travel, history and word play to make for a wonderful and timeless story. I won't spoil it except to say that every child deserves to read these b...more
Run-of-the-mill. At end of story, the plan to go to school together in London was too convenient, and unnecessary besides.
Witty, humorous, magical and historical. My roommates and i read this book aloud to each other just for fun :)
Not my favorite so far in the series, but still clever and cute. We really enjoyed the time travel, and how the kids actually run into their parents years earlier on their own magic adventure.
my favorite part was the golden thyme piece. Edward eager had fun with homonyms in this fantastic adventure.
It is about some children who discover a time garden and a strange toad who helps them on their way.
Amazing adventure story of flying through space, by means of a simple plant called "thyme."
Sep 13, 2007
Chicklet
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
children and anyone who would love to step back in time
These children accidently discover that a thyme garden with various types of thyme turns out to be a time garden as well. The children travel through different parts of time by the chapter. Yes, that does make it educational, but please don't read it for that. It's a fantatic work of the imagination. It feels like you're really there. I also like the way that each child's choice of which part of history to travel to is a reflection on them. Imagine how much you would discover about your friends...more
Much better than the previous book in the series.
I liked this book a lot. the natterjack is really funny.
Mar 06, 2009
Arwen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
three-star,
to-read-and-read-to
Not as good as Knight's Castle but still cute.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vecchio Book Club: The Time Garden | 1 | 1 | Aug 16, 2012 04:38pm |
Eager was born in and grew up in Toledo, Ohio and attended Harvard University class of 1935. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he lived for 14 years before moving to Connecticut. He married Jane Eberly in 1938 and they had a son, Fritz.
Eager was a childhood fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he could not find stories he wanted to read to h...more
More about Edward Eager...
Eager was a childhood fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he could not find stories he wanted to read to h...more
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2 trivia questions
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“But in the garden the sun still shone. The innumerable bees hummed. The scent of thyme hung on the air. But only the Natterjack was there to breathe the fragrant essence of it.
He and the garden were waiting. They were waiting for more children. They didn't care how long they waited. They had all the time in the world.
-The Time Garden, Edward Eager”
—
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More quotes…
He and the garden were waiting. They were waiting for more children. They didn't care how long they waited. They had all the time in the world.
-The Time Garden, Edward Eager”
