Pink Pear Bear lifestyle blog Cornbury 2017
“The other person I really want to mention is a very very nice man called Graham Jones who was there promoting his book series, Time Travelling Toby. The reason I mention him is because he put so much effort into his show, he did 3 or 4 half hour shows with only a short break in between each one, which he spent out and about chatting to everyone, and was as enthusiastic, engaging and animated each time. He genuinely kept both small boy age 2 and big girl age 4 totally rapt for the full 30 minutes, I have never seen this before, ever!
He really brought history to life for the children, (I was very interested too and history was my worst subject at school, think I came away with more knowledge then all of my GCSE left me with!!), big girl loved it so much she went to all 3 shows on the last day and spent the 50 minute drive home giving her imaginary audience a very enthusiastic and factually interesting account of the battle of fafalgar, (Trafalgar)! I think the most admirable thing is that he does this as a sort of hobby to get children interested in history and goes around schools for free to do his wonderful talks. (He’s based near Cheltenham but I’m not sure how far he travels).”
The best 3 letters written to Graham Jones by pupils of Gretton School after a recent workshop
Dear Mr Jones,
I am writing to say how great your book is. I really like it! I also like the website it’s brilliant!
Thank you for coming in and giving us our amazing bookmarks and cool planes. I loved the workshop it was great!
I was wondering how long does it take to write a book? What will be your next book? How many books will you write?
I wish I would be a good writer like you!
Yours sincerely
Emma, Gretton School, year 3
Dear Graham,
I am writing to tell you how great your book is. I read it every day because it is amazing. I’ve already recommended it to one of my cousins and they enjoyed it so much.
When you came to our class to a workshop it was very interesting and I loved how we got to make our own planes. I got a spitfire.
I was wondering how your getting on with your book how Lord Nelson and Toby first met? Do you know when your book is going to come out. I’m really looking forwored to reading it. Would it be possible to come in and show us the next book.
Cant wait to see the next book.
From
Polly, Gretton School, Year 4
Dear Graham
I’m writing to tell you how great your book is. I love the picture. If I saw that in a shop I would have a look and buy it. It is great. Also it has a very catchy title.
Thank you for the awesome workshop, and I love the bookmark you gave me. I use the bookmark in my book. I think you are an amazing author.
I cant wait until your new book come out. I bet it is definitely as good as your first. I’m definitely going to buy it. I can’t wait to hear what the next one is? The Battle of Trafalgar.
I’m wondering if you got your book in any shops? I think if you keep writing you could be as good Roald Dahl and Dick King-Smith. How long did it take you? You could do the battle of France, it will be great!
How many books are you writing?
From
Alex, Gretton School year 4
Time Travelling Toby and the Apollo Moon Landing
16th October 2015 Over 40 and a Mum to OneBook Reviews, Reviews
I love books that really spark the imagination. One’s that provoke discussion and a whole ream of imaginative play ideas with my nearly 6-year-old Monkey. We’ve been waiting anxiously for the release of Time Travelling Toby and the Apollo Moon Landing, as Monkey has loved the previous two books so much. Toby has been a busy boy, visiting the Battle of Britain and the Battle of Trafalgar and now he’s off into space.
Time Travelling Toby and the Apollo Moon Landing is written by Graham Jones, illustrated by Neil Parkinson and has a foreward from Maggie Lieu, the famous space expert and astronomer!
For those of you who haven’t discovered the adventures of Time Travelling Toby yet, the little boy has a wonderful time travelling car which takes him and his brothers on amazing adventures. Monkey has visited the National Space Centre in Leicester and the Science Museum in London and loves anything space themed. The story mixes fact with fiction in a fun way that Monkey loves.
Can Toby help the American astronauts win the race to the moon? Even his dog gets to land on the moon and wear a special spacesuit! The story has led to lots of space themed conversations and Monkey was impressed to hear that I’d watched the moon landing on TV with Granny and Gramps. Sadly I was only One at the time so don’t remember it, but I did see it.
As with the previous books, Time Travelling Toby and the Apollo Moon Landing includes a great diagram of the Space going time travelling car as well as factual information about the space race, the Russian and American missions and the Astronauts who were the first to land on the moon.
Monkey really does love this series, and I know the latest edition will be as well-studied as the previous two in the months ahead.
Imagine his delight when we first reached the end of the story, Mummy Toby’s meeting the dinosaurs next! Our wait for the next installment of Time Travelling Toby begins, but we’ll be well entertained in the meantime.
Time Travelling Toby and the Apollo Moon Landing is priced at £6.99 and is available in all good bookstores as well as Amazon (I’ve included my affiliate link below). We both give this book a big thumbs up.
disclaimer: we were sent this book in exchange for an honest review
Time Traveling Toby by Graham Jones
by Tina Mansfield | Soup Dragon book reviewer.
Posted on February 10, 2014
Time Traveling Toby by Graham Jones and illustrated by Neil Parkinson is a new book available online for RRP £6.99. With the aim to bring English history to life, the first book in a series, Time Traveling Toby visits the battle of Britain.
The story of Toby a boy living in un unremarkable village, with its rhyming text, and a magic time traveling car is an easy to read book. The story tells of Toby and his brothers and their journey back in time. We start with Toby and his brothers facing the German bombers at Dover, can they raise the alarm in time?
The book is full of bright illustrations that the boy loves. He seems to have a fascination with anything to do with the war, and the army. This book gently takes children back to a time of their grandparents, but without anything too scary for younger readers and some great facts for the older ones. As a gentle introduction to a difficult topic, I think this is a great book and the boy enjoyed it too. Plenty of information for him to ask questions about and the right amount of detail. I am sure that Toby will be having lots of great adventures and I wonder where he will end up next?
If you would like to find out more about Time Traveling Toby you can visit the website where you can find out more about the book and its creators, you can also find them on Facebook and twitter.
A review by the Bookbag book review website
Toby lives in an unremarkable village and goes to an unremarkable school – just like millions of other boys – but he has a secret. We’re told it’s humongous and I think that’s right. You see, Toby has (wait for it…) two brother, a Mum and a Dad, a Nanma, two dogs, three fish and two rabbits as well as…
… a time machine that looks just like a sports car.
Take your time having a good look at this car, because it’s special. Study the dashboard and get a feel for how it works, take note of the personalised number plate and spot the Leap Year tyres (let me leave that one with you to think about).
Now how cool is that? There’s even a double-page spread later in the book with all the specifications for the car – perfect for the budding inventor.
Toby’s brothers (one large, one small) know the secret of the car, but no one else does and today they’ve got an adventure planned: they’re going to visit the Battle of Britain. Take another good look at the car now that it’s ready for flight – and then it’s in the air (as all young brothers do, Toby’s little brother wants to know if we’re there yet) and it’s not long before we’re on the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover. In moments the trio (well, actually there are four of them as one of the rabbits came too) are under attack from a Stuka bomber.
Introducing the topic of war to children is always difficult. You don’t want to glorify war, but nor do you want to underestimate the sacrifices which were made by people who lived through the war years. You don’t want to demonise the people we fought – they’re our allies now – but children must learn about our history if we’re to stop it being repeated. Graham Jones does a superb job. We see an attack, then Toby alerts Bomber Command and we see the planes take off from Biggin Hill and get involved in a dog fight. The peril of the situation is obvious but there’s nothing too graphic that’s going to keep kids awake at night. You might think it’s a little simplistic but at the back of the book there’s a double-page spread of facts about the Battle of Britain, which can be introduced when a child is ready for more information.
The story is superb – as are Neil Parkinson’s illustrations, and it’s largely because of them that this book is going to be one which is read over and over again. There’s something new to be seen even after several readings – I’ve just spotted the mouse peeping out through a hole in the skirting board and I’ve read the book five or six times. There’s plenty for children to engage with, but adults aren’t going to find sharing this book with a child any problem either as there’s plenty to interest even someone who only narrowly missed being there at the time and grew up on the stories. It’s superb stuff: educational without appearing to be so and interesting.
I’d like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
Children of about six to nine will also appreciate Billy the Kid by Michael Morpurgo. everyone should read Refuge by Anne Booth and Sam Usher.
the Battle of Trafalgar – a book review
19th August 2014 Over 40 and a Mum to OneBook Reviews, Reviews
Do you remember that we reviewed the first Time Travelling Toby book a while back – it was all about his adventures in the Battle of Britain. Graham Jones has written the next installment which has just been published. Today we are all at sea with Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Trafalgar.
HMS Victory has a special place in mine and Daddy P’s hearts for different reasons. I can clearly remember the first time I visited Nelson’s flagship in Portsmouth, as a child. Being a history fanatic I was mesmerised by this wonderful ship and its history. Daddy P visited with his elderly father and the ship hold lots of memories for him.
So it was time to read Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Trafalgar to Monkey and explain all about HMS Victory. For those of you who haven’t read my previous review – Toby has a big secret. He has a time travelling car and goes on all sorts of adventures with his brothers.
The boys have been playing with their toy boats at the local lake but would really like to go on a time travelling adventure. Off they go, their amazing car can fly as they zoom back through time and turns into a boat as they land in the sea. They’ve ended up right in the middle of the Battle of Trafalgar and thankfully the car turns into a submarine before they suffer a direct hit from a cannon ball.
Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Trafalgar sees the brothers meeting Lord Nelson on the deck of HMS Victory and they are called to save the day and scupper The Bucentaure; the flagship of the combined fleet. Will they rise to the challenge and save the day?
We’ve been really impressed again, with this installment of the Time Travelling Toby Series. The story has caught Monkey’s imagination. He’s asked lots of questions; he’s a bit too young to understand everything but having a model of HMS Victory has helped to explain some things to him. The back of the book contains the latest blue prints for the time travelling car along with fact about the Battle of Trafalgar. I’m sure we’ll be visiting Portsmouth at some point and this book will be coming with us.
Priced at £6.99 Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Trafalgar is available from selected independent book shops, Amazon (see my affiliate link below) and direct from the Time Travelling Toby website.
We can thoroughly recommend this book, the series is a fun introduction to historical topics for younger children.
disclaimer: we were sent this book in exchange for an honest review.