A Mighty Fine Time Machine by Suzanne Bloom

32 p., Boyds Mills, 2009.

With imagination and persistence, all kinds of things are possible. Grant the aardvark and Antoine the armadillo have a do-it-yourself time machine, otherwise known as a cardboard box. With Samantha the anteater, they turn the box into a time machine and try to launch it, but it won't blast off. Samantha's persistence is important: she responds to this with, "Back to work, boys." The friends decide that maybe it isn't a "rockety" kind of time machine, but a rolling one. And they make it roll. When it falls over, Grant and Antoine are discouraged, but Sam encourages them to keep going. While they're distracted, she fixes the time machine, making it into a bookmobile - which, of course, allows the friends to go backward and forward in time through stories. With amusing, colorful illustrations, and positive messages about reading, this story supports kids in both imagination and perseverance.

Ages 4-7