It’s the summer so I’m back on my summer reread. Which is a lot of kids book, mainly from the late 90s. Yes, they’re generic and cliche but they’re also very comfortable like an old. . . like an old book. Anyway, let’s get to it.

The premise follows 10 year old Kat and her physicist aunt who find an incomplete time machine from the late, great-uncle Malcom. With a litte tinkering, they manage to make it work and end up in Victorian England for the Grand Exhibition. That’s only the first of their many adventures where they find history needs a little helping hanf to come out right every once and awhile. Also the illustrations as you can see above are amazing!

1. Secrets of the Nile: Maybe it’s because I was reading Samantha Knox earlier this year but the archeological scene in the 1920s is just fascinating and Kat’s inadvertant adventure on the Nile is just as fun when she helps a little boy find the real archeological thief and release his innocent father from jail.

2. The Emperor’s Gift: Nostalgia is probably what puts this one in second place sincce it’s slower than the others but it is a time period that doesn’t get much love in fiction. China during Marco Polo’s travels. And Kat and her aunt accidentally impede Marco’s journey with their presence as magicians in the Khan’s court so it’s up to them to get the Polo’s back on track and save the princess from her arranged marriage. I enjoyed how Aunt Jessie and Kat used a bit ingenuity and “magic” to save the day and cover their tracks in the history books. Plus it hints at a greater mystery regarding the time machine’s medallion power sources.

3. Kat the Time Traveler: The first book in the series creates a delightfully intriguing introduction when Kat and her aunt end up in Victorian England. Then a mix up with their bags threaten that they may stay stuck in time if they don’t find the two inventors with their missing machine. Unlike other time travelers, I appreciated that Kat and Jessie were smart in not trying to radically change beliefs and ideals that wouldn’t fit in the era but find work arounds like encouraging their room renter to take interest in her servant’s education.

The Missing Notebooks: The final book in the series is just another adventure for the duo when they arrive in Florence and meet Leonardo di Vinci whose art and his strategies end up in the hands of a Pisa spy. While it’s a nice story and has some high flying action, showing young readers why Leonardo is considered such a Renissance man (he coined the term after all with his multi talented hyphanate), I found the others more enjoyable.