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 620 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.
A bird flies into a natural history museum, and every skeleton quietly puts its flesh back on.
A boy afraid of tomorrow is driven back through every day his grandfather was afraid too.
One bend in a river, drawn again and again, as centuries rise over it and wash away.
A magic treehouse drops two children onto a doomed ocean liner with only hours to find what will break a spell.
A birthday present yanks three friends into the Middle Ages, where a very large knight intends to kill them.
A mouse travels back in time to fix a mistake, but lands 80 years too early.
A father's journey through time and space to get milk for his children's breakfast
A boy who travels through time by touching baseball cards lands in 1947—and arrives as a Black child.
A boy is thrown back five years to the day his best friendship started falling apart, with every mistake still ahead of him.
A boy races back to 1984 to prevent a tragedy and save his father's life.
A clock chimes thirteen, revealing a secret garden and a mysterious friendship across time.
Two former best friends stopped speaking after a school shooting—until one of them starts looking for a wormhole.
A girl bored by remembering opens the door for Elijah at the Seder and steps into Poland in 1942.
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.
A failed sports hero gets a second chance to redeem himself. Can he succeed?
Can you find Waldo as he travels through time and space?
A young rabbit must travel back in time to prevent a villain from taking away his superpowers
A group of dragons are in crisis when their taco supply runs out, prompting a journey through time to restore their favorite food.
Paintings come alive, leading to mischief and adventure in an art gallery.
Time-travel to a medieval castle and defend against invaders.
A joyful day of adventure and friendship unfolds for a group of boys.
Trapped in the past, can they escape dinosaurs without altering the future?
Travel back to Ancient Egypt and uncover its secrets with a daring guide.
Two dinosaurs time travel to the modern world, facing hilarious challenges and wonders.
A music box transports Ella to a magical world where she witnesses the Sleeping Beauty tale unfold.
Dinosaurs in Egypt face chaos when aliens reveal their true identity.
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.
Two siblings travel through time to the age of the dinosaurs
Siblings must solve a scroll's mystery or risk being trapped in biblical history forever.
Two cousins travel back in time to the Viking era and meet Erik the Red and his son Leif Eriksson.
A boy discovers a baseball card that lets him time travel to meet legendary players.
Two siblings travel back in time to Camelot to retrieve a magical water that will save the kingdom from a terrible curse
A stormy night, a mysterious stranger, and a quest through time to find a missing father.
Two siblings travel back in time to the Revolutionary War to help a magical librarian save Camelot
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.
Two siblings travel through time to the Middle Ages and find themselves in the middle of a castle feast
Two siblings travel through time and space to solve a mystery in the Wild West
Two siblings travel through time and space to find four special things to free a magical librarian from a spell
A girl discovers a library that holds all knowledge and must protect it from a dark threat.
