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The Day I Found a Wormhole at the Bottom of the Garden
Nine-year-old Billy is digging for buried treasure when he finds a wormhole in the garden! And to make matters worse, all sorts of people from the past begin to clamber through it. Now Billy – aided by his pet dog, Shakespeare – is in a race against time to close the wormhole and round up all the people who have slipped through it, before history is changed for ever! No pressure then…
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 4, 2019
3 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Tom McLaughlin
106 books26 followersI write pictures and doodle words for Bloomsbury, Puffin, Oxford University Press, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, The Guardian, Disney, Nickelodeon. After leaving art college in ’97, I spent nearly 10 years as a political cartoonist for The Western Morning News before going freelance.
I’ve been published both as a writer and an illustrator for a number of publishers, had my books translated across Europe and South America. Apart from publishing, I’ve also spent time script writer and a character designer for several animation channels.
I live in Devon, spend most of my days drinking tea and dreaming up new stories.
I’ve been published both as a writer and an illustrator for a number of publishers, had my books translated across Europe and South America. Apart from publishing, I’ve also spent time script writer and a character designer for several animation channels.
I live in Devon, spend most of my days drinking tea and dreaming up new stories.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 13, 2019
Nine-year-old Billy’s Grandmother has come over to his home to watch him whilst his parent go shopping. Billy loves to go exploring and loves his metal detector even more and he’s had his eye on a spot at the very back of the garden for a while.
He knows that his Grandmother can’t watch the TV show Antiques Roadshow without falling asleep, so he has recorded numerous episodes for her and waits until she is snoring, then he grabs his metal detector and his spade and is excited about what he might find.
As he arrives at the back of the garden he notices a strange orange glow so he uses his metal detector to see if the glow is from something metal and soon is starts buzzing. Reaching down he grabs the item and is shocked to discover it is a crown, he even more shocked to find that it is still attached to someone’s head and they are not happy, especially when he seems to be trying to steal Queen Victoria’s Crown.
As the day goes on more and more people from history make an appearance and Billy doesn’t know how to return them to their time and close the hole up, but with the arrival of Einstein, can they work together to send everyone back to their rightful time?
The Day I Found a Wormhole at the Bottom of the Garden is the third book in ‘The Day I found’ series. Each book features a different child in a different scenario, all can be read as standalone’s.
The plot is amazing, not only does it contain a fun adventure but it also contains factual information on the characters that appear through the wormhole, such as the Romans and Shakespeare. Billy aptly has a dog with the same name too.
It is a quick read and was entertaining throughout. The story had plenty of scenes that will make children giggle such as historical figures watching a toaster make toast.
This is a book that will keep kids interested from beginning to end. It would be a fantastic choice for a child that likes daft stories and stories that will make them laugh via not only the words but the black and white illustrations throughout too.
He knows that his Grandmother can’t watch the TV show Antiques Roadshow without falling asleep, so he has recorded numerous episodes for her and waits until she is snoring, then he grabs his metal detector and his spade and is excited about what he might find.
As he arrives at the back of the garden he notices a strange orange glow so he uses his metal detector to see if the glow is from something metal and soon is starts buzzing. Reaching down he grabs the item and is shocked to discover it is a crown, he even more shocked to find that it is still attached to someone’s head and they are not happy, especially when he seems to be trying to steal Queen Victoria’s Crown.
As the day goes on more and more people from history make an appearance and Billy doesn’t know how to return them to their time and close the hole up, but with the arrival of Einstein, can they work together to send everyone back to their rightful time?
The Day I Found a Wormhole at the Bottom of the Garden is the third book in ‘The Day I found’ series. Each book features a different child in a different scenario, all can be read as standalone’s.
The plot is amazing, not only does it contain a fun adventure but it also contains factual information on the characters that appear through the wormhole, such as the Romans and Shakespeare. Billy aptly has a dog with the same name too.
It is a quick read and was entertaining throughout. The story had plenty of scenes that will make children giggle such as historical figures watching a toaster make toast.
This is a book that will keep kids interested from beginning to end. It would be a fantastic choice for a child that likes daft stories and stories that will make them laugh via not only the words but the black and white illustrations throughout too.
July 14, 2022
It’s crazy that there’s 2 scenes and time travel
September 25, 2019
This is another brilliant and funny book by Tom McLaughlin (I still love the emphasis on the word ‘laugh’ in the name on the cover!). ‘The Day I Found a Wormhole at the Bottom of the Garden’ is a hilarious and silly story featuring lots of black and white illustrations along with easy to read text. Billy loves to dig up his back garden using his metal detector in search of treasures, but there’s one part of the back garden he hasn’t explored yet, right at the bottom of the garden past a prickly bush. When he finally starts to dig there he thinks he’s found treasure, but picking up the treasure and pulling it from the ground brings up a person with it too and then more and more people and things start to appear in Billy’s back garden.
I found this book really funny, and just loved all the historical characters that appeared throughout the story. As the story goes on, the hole, or rather wormhole, at the bottom of Billy’s garden spits out more and more historical chracters from different time periods. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but the story becomes very silly and manic as Billy is trying to figure out how they all got there and how to get them back to where they belong. The different figures from history are all funny to read and I like the references to each of them and the way Billy actually seems to have an effect on history having said something to them which later the famous person becomes iconic for – my favourite one being about the 2B pencil!
The illustrations throughout the story make this all the more funny and I like the author’s style of drawing which just adds so much humour to every page. All the historical characters are instantly recognisable and I love the added humour of Billy’s dog Shakespeare, especially near the end. The ending is very good and very silly too, but somehow it just fits and makes for a satisfying end to the hilarious tale. Each chapter of the book is also fun, rather than having a title or being called ‘chapter 1’ the first chapter is ‘1pm’ then the next is ‘2pm’ etc. Something about it just makes the story more fun and urgent. At the back of the book are some fun activities for kids to do which include a quiz and how to make your own quill! I love these added extra activities which keeps kids engaged for a while after the initial story is over.
This book is so funny and is so far my favourite from Tom McLaughlin. It’s definitely a book so many kids will enjoy reading and the references to all the historical chracters are an added bonus for anyone older who might try reading this too as you’ll get all the subtle references. It’s certainly a book I’d recommend, especially if you liked the other two books in this series: ‘The Day Aliens (nearly) Ate Our Brains’ and ‘The Day I Became the Most Wanted Boy in the World’
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
I found this book really funny, and just loved all the historical characters that appeared throughout the story. As the story goes on, the hole, or rather wormhole, at the bottom of Billy’s garden spits out more and more historical chracters from different time periods. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but the story becomes very silly and manic as Billy is trying to figure out how they all got there and how to get them back to where they belong. The different figures from history are all funny to read and I like the references to each of them and the way Billy actually seems to have an effect on history having said something to them which later the famous person becomes iconic for – my favourite one being about the 2B pencil!
The illustrations throughout the story make this all the more funny and I like the author’s style of drawing which just adds so much humour to every page. All the historical characters are instantly recognisable and I love the added humour of Billy’s dog Shakespeare, especially near the end. The ending is very good and very silly too, but somehow it just fits and makes for a satisfying end to the hilarious tale. Each chapter of the book is also fun, rather than having a title or being called ‘chapter 1’ the first chapter is ‘1pm’ then the next is ‘2pm’ etc. Something about it just makes the story more fun and urgent. At the back of the book are some fun activities for kids to do which include a quiz and how to make your own quill! I love these added extra activities which keeps kids engaged for a while after the initial story is over.
This book is so funny and is so far my favourite from Tom McLaughlin. It’s definitely a book so many kids will enjoy reading and the references to all the historical chracters are an added bonus for anyone older who might try reading this too as you’ll get all the subtle references. It’s certainly a book I’d recommend, especially if you liked the other two books in this series: ‘The Day Aliens (nearly) Ate Our Brains’ and ‘The Day I Became the Most Wanted Boy in the World’
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
October 15, 2019
Zany, quirky, manic - makes no sense but will be lapped up!
Tom McLaughlin has many talents - picture books, novels for older children, he illustrates his own work (our favourites are A Home for Mr Tipps and The Accidental Prime Minister).
Here he also proves he can do BONKERS. This story has only the smallest vestiges of sense about it. Billy digs for treasure, opens a wormhole and... out come people (or otherwise) from history. Can they fix things in time to stop history being altered forever?
With large text, regular illustrations, fast moving action, jokes and silliness, a fairly confident 8 year old reader will race through this, giggling all the way.
A small amount of knowledge of the figures - Shakespeare, Queen Victoria, Einstein - might help, but a few facts are built in to the story that help give context.
It's an informal style of writing, lots of contemporary references, and it's easy to speed through the pages. Billy is the 'smart protagonist', amusingly more so than the famous figures of the past. It's pretty off-the-rails, but will keep interest.
One for ages 6-10, a good gift idea and standalone story.
With thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
Tom McLaughlin has many talents - picture books, novels for older children, he illustrates his own work (our favourites are A Home for Mr Tipps and The Accidental Prime Minister).
Here he also proves he can do BONKERS. This story has only the smallest vestiges of sense about it. Billy digs for treasure, opens a wormhole and... out come people (or otherwise) from history. Can they fix things in time to stop history being altered forever?
With large text, regular illustrations, fast moving action, jokes and silliness, a fairly confident 8 year old reader will race through this, giggling all the way.
A small amount of knowledge of the figures - Shakespeare, Queen Victoria, Einstein - might help, but a few facts are built in to the story that help give context.
It's an informal style of writing, lots of contemporary references, and it's easy to speed through the pages. Billy is the 'smart protagonist', amusingly more so than the famous figures of the past. It's pretty off-the-rails, but will keep interest.
One for ages 6-10, a good gift idea and standalone story.
With thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
May 12, 2023
What to do when you open a portal while digging for treasure and famous historical characters appear. Lucky there are rock hard scones to save Billy from catastrophe. Mildly funny very British.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews