Time Flies

If you are fortunate enough to have a child, grandchild or know of a child (or adult for that matter), who has that creative spark, that is touched with that difficult to define imagination which is becoming so rare, and is blessed with the ability to soar beyond the everyday mundane realities of life, then this is a perfect book to present them. Eric Rohmann more or less was one of the founding fathers of the wordless books for the young. No, he was not the first, but he certainly influenced many wonderful works of this ilk and gave a strong tone of respectability to the genre. A bird, a rather marvelous bird flies into a museum where it encounters a hall devoted to the skeletal remains of dinosaurs, all displayed in somber colors. Our little bird embarks upon a journey of imagination and speculation via the wonderful art work of the author. The bird travels trough times, back through time to the beginnings of his or her species. Gradually the skeletons gain flesh and life and the little bird travels through time to the age of these magnificent beasts. The reader must watch closely as they leaf through this book...watch for the wonderful and imaginative details! Gradually we see, mixed with these extinct creatures, remnants of lost and vanished civilizations which conjure up visions of a lost Atlantis, overgrown with the forefathers of forefathers of our trees and plants. The details of this work are rather amazing. The dark and brooding colors contracted with the constant movement and flashes of brightness have almost a hypnotic effect. I have watch otherwise hyperactive kids be totally engrossed and silent while reading (or I should say gazing) at this work. You can actually see their minds wonder and speculate...their imaginations are captured! This is one of those books that can be read by dozens of children and dozens of adults and when asked what they received from viewing the story, you will get literally dozens of answers. It just does not get much better than this. The reader is allowed the privilege of supplying their own words, come to their own conclusions and be lost for a time in a world which is neither here nor there. I highly recommend this one for your child's library and truly home your child, he or she, is the sort that will be mesmerized by what the author has offered here. If so, you have a very special child on your hands. Don Blankenship The Ozarks

Time Flies is a wordless picturebook. In the story, a little bird is flying through the dinosaur bones in a museum when the dinosaurs suddenly come to life, covered in skin and looking for lunch! In the end, the dinosaurs are changing back to bones and the little bird flies off to safety. This book was difficult for me. I had to really examine the pages to be able to tell the story...but maybe that is the point of a wordless picture book. My own disinterest in dinosaurs probably contributed as well, but I need to try to balance that with the fact that my students and my daughters are very interested in dinosaur books. Reader's response drives me to continue exploring the topic in order to reach children. In the classroom, I might show children photos of the dinosaur exhibits at a museum or actually take a trip to the museum. In addition, supplimenting this book with a variety of informational books about dinosaurs would be interesting. It could even be used as a transition into the human body and our own skeletal system.

Eric Rohmann has made numrous contributions to the annals of children's literature since his estimable debut "Time Flies." I think often of and return to "The Cinder-Eyed Cat" for pure enjoyment. However, "Time Flies" was the beginning - when our eyes were first arrested by the boldness of his vision as he took readers on an imaginary journey to prehistoric times. As exciting today as it was when first published "Time flies" would be a most welcome gift for any child.

I often use this beautifully illustrated book in my classroom of 3-5 year olds. As the children view the pictures they begin talking about what they see happening without any facillitation from me. This is an excellent book to use in the classroom to promote language! Everytime we read it our plot changes a little bit! This book should be in every classroom library!

In this magical wordless picture book, Rohmann does a great job of setting the scene in a history museum. When a bird flies through the area with the dinosaur skeletons, The area suddenly comes to life. The walls become trees and beautiful landscapes. The bird is swallowed by one of the now living dinosaurs and as he escapes Rohmann takes us back to reality of the dinosaur skeletons and fossils. The pictures are amazing! I can see why he won the Caldecott award.