Time Travel Books for Kids · 636 titles considered

The Best Time Travel Books for Kids

By the Bookroo Editors
Updated July 25, 2026

Sooner or later every child asks the question that starts the whole genre: what would it actually have been like to be there? Not to read about the Titanic or a Roman arena or the year a grandfather was small, but to stand in it, in the wrong clothes, with no way home. Children’s books answer with a treehouse, a hamster cage, a clock that strikes thirteen—and then, quietly, with the harder part of the bargain, which is that the past does not rearrange itself to be survivable for a visitor.

Drawing from Bookroo’s collection of 636 time travel books, our editors chose the funny ones and the frightening ones: wordless museum escapes for preschoolers, series adventures that carry newly independent readers through a hundred volumes of history, and middle-grade novels that use a wormhole to say something true about grief. Start with our fixed shortlist of 13 favorites, then browse by age and reading stage below.

The Shortlist

Our 13 Favorite Time Travel Books

Time Flies
Sale price
$858
Picture Book · Ages 3–7 · 1994

Time Flies

A bird flies into a natural history museum, and every skeleton quietly puts its flesh back on.

32 pages
Best for
A first time-travel story before a child can read
3.8 Goodreads · 1,864 ratings
Paperback
Big Papa and the Time Machine
Sale price
$1697
Picture Book · Ages 4–8 · 2020

Big Papa and the Time Machine

A boy afraid of tomorrow is driven back through every day his grandfather was afraid too.

40 pages· 743 words· Est. 6 min read-aloud
Best for
Family history and first-day nerves
5.8/7 Bookroo·4.1/5 Goodreads · 410 ratings
$17.99Save 6%
Hardcover
The Tree and the River
Sale price
$1797
Picture Book · Ages 5–9 · 2023

The Tree and the River

One bend in a river, drawn again and again, as centuries rise over it and wash away.

32 pages
Best for
Deep time, and looking rather than reading
4.3 Goodreads · 1,095 ratings
$18.99Save 5%
Hardcover
Tonight on the Titanic
Sale price
$674
Chapter Book · Ages 6–9 · 1999

Tonight on the Titanic

By Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illustrator) · Book #17 in the Magic Tree House series

A magic treehouse drops two children onto a doomed ocean liner with only hours to find what will break a spell.

96 pages· 5,129 words· Est. 57 min read
Best for
Newly independent readers ready for a real series
7.0/7 Bookroo·4.1/5 Goodreads · 17,464 ratings
$6.99Save 4%
Paperback
Knights of the Kitchen Table
Sale price
$674
Chapter Book · Ages 7–9 · 1991

Knights of the Kitchen Table

By Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith (Illustrator) · Book #1 in the Time Warp Trio series

A birthday present yanks three friends into the Middle Ages, where a very large knight intends to kill them.

64 pages· 6,222 words· Est. 1 hour read
Best for
Reluctant readers who want jokes, not homework
3.7 Goodreads · 3,988 ratings
$6.99Save 4%
Paperback
Einstein
Graphic Nov.
Sale price
$2090
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2020

Einstein

A mouse travels back in time to fix a mistake, but lands 80 years too early.

128 pages
Best for
Children who want the machine explained
4.5 Goodreads · 732 ratings
$22.00Save 5%
Hardcover
Fortunately, the Milk
Sale price
$958
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2013

Fortunately, the Milk

By Neil Gaiman, Skottie Young (Illustrator)

A father's journey through time and space to get milk for his children's breakfast

114 pages· 7,668 words· Est. 1 hour read
Best for
A read-aloud that makes the whole room laugh
5.3/7 Bookroo·4.0/5 Goodreads · 68,151 ratings
$9.99Save 4%
Paperback
Jackie & Me
Sale price
$958
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 1999

Jackie & Me

A boy who travels through time by touching baseball cards lands in 1947—and arrives as a Black child.

160 pages· 29,048 words· Est. 4 hour read
Best for
Sports fans meeting civil rights history
4.2 Goodreads · 3,502 ratings
$9.99Save 4%
Paperback
Operation Do-Over
Sale price
$1697
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2022

Operation Do-Over

A boy is thrown back five years to the day his best friendship started falling apart, with every mistake still ahead of him.

304 pages· 54,617 words· Est. 7.5 hour read
Best for
Readers stewing over something they wish they’d done differently
4.3 Goodreads · 2,746 ratings
$17.99Save 6%
Hardcover
Time Traveling with a Hamster
Sale price
$958
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2015

Time Traveling with a Hamster

By Ross Welford · Book #1 in the Al Chaudhury series

A boy races back to 1984 to prevent a tragedy and save his father's life.

448 pages
Best for
Middle graders who like their time travel with rules
4.1 Goodreads · 5,716 ratings
$9.99Save 4%
Paperback
Tom's Midnight Garden
Sale price
$958
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 1958

Tom's Midnight Garden

A clock chimes thirteen, revealing a secret garden and a mysterious friendship across time.

320 pages· 56,032 words· Est. 8 hour read
Best for
A classic for patient, atmospheric readers
4.0 Goodreads · 28,311 ratings
$9.99Save 4%
Paperback
The Shape of Thunder
Sale price
$1697
Chapter Book · Ages 9–12 · 2021

The Shape of Thunder

Two former best friends stopped speaking after a school shooting—until one of them starts looking for a wormhole.

275 pages· 57,218 words· Est. 6.5 hour read
Best for
Ages 10+, with a grown-up nearby
4.1 Goodreads · 5,823 ratings
$17.99Save 6%
Hardcover
The Devil's Arithmetic
Sale price
$858
Chapter Book · Ages 10–15 · 1988

The Devil's Arithmetic

A girl bored by remembering opens the door for Elijah at the Seder and steps into Poland in 1942.

170 pages· 37,942 words· Est. 3.5 hour read
Best for
Upper middle grade and Holocaust units, ages 10–15
4.0 Goodreads · 62,906 ratings
Paperback
Browse by age

Time Travel Picture Books

Museum skeletons that come back to life, a grandfather’s car that drives into the past, and first trips to the age of dinosaurs, for ages 3–8.

Casey Back at Bat
Sale price
$799

Casey Back at Bat

Ages 4–8 · 2007

A failed sports hero gets a second chance to redeem himself. Can he succeed?

Sale price
$1999

Dragons Love Tacos 2

Ages 4–8 · 2017

A group of dragons are in crisis when their taco supply runs out, prompting a journey through time to restore their favorite food.

Sale price
$999

Katie's Picture Show

Ages 4–8 · 1989

Paintings come alive, leading to mischief and adventure in an art gallery.

Medieval Castle
Series
Graphic Nov.
Sale price
$1699

Medieval Castle

Ages 4–8 · 2002

Time-travel to a medieval castle and defend against invaders.

Bros
Sale price
$1799

Bros

Ages 3–6 · 2024

A joyful day of adventure and friendship unfolds for a group of boys.

Sale price
$1699

T. Rex Time Machine

Ages 3–5 · 2018

Two dinosaurs time travel to the modern world, facing hilarious challenges and wonders.

Sale price
$1699

T. Rex Time Machine

Ages 3–5 · 2019

Dinosaurs in Egypt face chaos when aliens reveal their true identity.

Browse by age

Time Travel Chapter Books & Middle Grade

Magic treehouses, baseball cards, and talking mice for newly independent readers—then the heavier journeys into wartime Europe and gardens that only exist at night, for ages 6–12.

Sale price
$699

The Beginning

Ages 6–9 · 2017

Siblings must solve a scroll's mystery or risk being trapped in biblical history forever.

Sale price
$899

Honus & Me

Ages 8–12 · 1997

A boy discovers a baseball card that lets him time travel to meet legendary players.

Sale price
$699

Christmas in Camelot

Ages 7–9 · 2001

Two siblings travel back in time to Camelot to retrieve a magical water that will save the kingdom from a terrible curse

Sale price
$899

A Wrinkle in Time

Ages 9–13 · 1962

A stormy night, a mysterious stranger, and a quest through time to find a missing father.

Sale price
$699

Pirates Past Noon

Ages 6–9 · 1994

Two siblings discover a mysterious treehouse that transports them back in time to the age of pirates, where they encounter a parrot who leads them on a treasure hunt.

Sale price
$699

The Knight at Dawn

Ages 6–9 · 1993

Two siblings travel through time to the Middle Ages and find themselves in the middle of a castle feast

Sale price
$699

Midnight on the Moon

Ages 6–9 · 1996

Two siblings travel through time and space to find four special things to free a magical librarian from a spell

Sale price
$1299

The Library of Ever

Ages 8–12 · 2019

A girl discovers a library that holds all knowledge and must protect it from a dark threat.