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Stardust Classics
Kat the Time Explorer
Stranded in Victorian England, Kat tries to locate the inventor who can restore her time machine and send her home.
- GenresMiddle Grade
109 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 15, 2025
Stardust Classics was another '90s doll-and-book line, chasing after anything American Girl might have left on the table. At the time, I never got any further to this line than the catalog, but with eBay at my fingertips, now I can humor my curiosity.
Where AG was straight history, and Magic Attic Club centered around a group of contemporary girls, Stardust Classics started in full-out fantasy mode with characters who are literally a fairy and a princess. Kat here is their third girl, and she is a time traveler.
Kat lives with her aunt, a physicist, in a house that previously belonged to their great uncle, a genius inventor. Turns out he left behind an actual time machine, and the girl power team of Kat and Aunt Jessie figure out how to make it work. And before you know it, there they are in Victorian London.
And with that set-up, suddenly we're in territory that shares a lot in common with Magic Attic and American Girl. The history here is better than we usually get from Magic Attic, but doesn't make the past feel quite as believable as AG does.
The closest comparison is MAC's Heather, Belle of the Ball: our protagonist befriends a servant girl and attends a ball, but here we don't attempt to bring the servant girl to the ball, and generally there's just a lot more substance. We get to go to the Great Exhibition, we meet Prince Albert, we get a whole tour of Covent Garden and the servant girl's life, but also learn a lot about our host, who runs a boarding house. It's not as immersive as what American Girl does, but it's not a bad introduction to the period. I definitely would have been into this when I was eight.
Where AG was straight history, and Magic Attic Club centered around a group of contemporary girls, Stardust Classics started in full-out fantasy mode with characters who are literally a fairy and a princess. Kat here is their third girl, and she is a time traveler.
Kat lives with her aunt, a physicist, in a house that previously belonged to their great uncle, a genius inventor. Turns out he left behind an actual time machine, and the girl power team of Kat and Aunt Jessie figure out how to make it work. And before you know it, there they are in Victorian London.
And with that set-up, suddenly we're in territory that shares a lot in common with Magic Attic and American Girl. The history here is better than we usually get from Magic Attic, but doesn't make the past feel quite as believable as AG does.
The closest comparison is MAC's Heather, Belle of the Ball: our protagonist befriends a servant girl and attends a ball, but here we don't attempt to bring the servant girl to the ball, and generally there's just a lot more substance. We get to go to the Great Exhibition, we meet Prince Albert, we get a whole tour of Covent Garden and the servant girl's life, but also learn a lot about our host, who runs a boarding house. It's not as immersive as what American Girl does, but it's not a bad introduction to the period. I definitely would have been into this when I was eight.
July 1, 2017
I don't remember ever actually finishing this one as a kid. And it wasn't my favorite series of the stardust classics. But for some reason now it is the series that is interesting me the most! I like stories that take place in a different time and place that I can learn from. I liked this one.
April 12, 2011
Good introduction to 1850's Victorian life appropriate for children. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed both the story and the style of writing. Though geared for girls, I don't see that a boy would have a difficult time reading it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews