Time for Horatio [Hardcover]

Penelope Colville Paine (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Children's picture book set in London, promoting a vision of a peaceful more compassionate world for young children. Itoko Maeno's illustrations include Big Ben's clock, the Tower of London, the Thames and Greenwich.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

This book is a typical example of a work in which the whole is much less than the sum of its parts. Oliver, a young British boy, finds a lost kitten and names it Horatio. Despite his callous father's objections, Oliver takes Horatio on their tour boat to Greenwich, and he is mistreated by the children on the cruise. Once in Greenwich, Oliver treats Horatio to a tour of the city, explaining the Greenwich meridian and mean time. But alas, the only "mean" Horatio knows is a lack of kindness. As soon as they arrive back in London, Horatio jumps ship, runs to Big Ben, and stops "mean" time. His unusual act receives immediate international attention, and people the world over are inspired to create a kinder, gentler place. Oliver wakens to find it was all a dream, but once he tells others about it they vow to take the message to heart. The convoluted plot has no focus or flow. The peace/cooperation theme is obvious and heavy-handed. Factual information about English historical sites also seems like an awkward add-on rather than an integrated part of the narrative. Watercolor illustrations are of uneven quality. Horatio is predictably adorable, and some city scenes are quite effective. Other scenes are nondescript. Portrayals of human figures are amateurish at best. Appended historical information, suggested activities, and discussion questions may earn this title a place in some peace units, but this literary hodgepodge doesn't belong in most library collections. --Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A timely and captivating story." -- Coors Foundation for Family Literacy, February 1998

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Paper Publishing Company (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970794479
• ISBN-13: 978-0970794475
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,390,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Time For Horatio-an opinion, April 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Time for Horatio (Hardcover)

I bought this book for several reasons. I enjoy cats and my son was in the air force in London, where I was fortunate enough to visit him. The illustrations are beautiful and brought back memories of my trip. I enjoyed the story line and the peace/cooperation theme certainly needs to be stressed today. I will use the book to share what I enjoyed in England with my granddaughters, they love cats too. I will use the illustrations to talk about our world today.

5.0 out of 5 stars A charming and timely book, September 23, 2001

By 

beth adams (Ventura, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time for Horatio (Hardcover)

"Time For Horatio" is a delightful book for children with a valuable lesson about the importance of kindness and understanding in making the world a better place. The book also offers a delightful tour of London, and the illustrations are wonderful. I'm using it with my second grade students and they love it.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The editorial review above is MEAN!, April 4, 2007

By 

Talessen "Talessen" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time for Horatio (Hardcover)

I got this cute book for a present (I'm friends with an art lover who likes cats as much as I do, especially brown tabbies) and was really surprised to read the Library journal review when I came to Amazon to buy more copies for my neices and nephews. The fact that Amazon would leave that review right up front ahead of LATER reviews by real people, tempts me to buy elsewhere. Why is that Amazon??

Further, I can't believe a sincere library editor would pick apart every bit of the book like that - the pictures, the story, the history, the lessons! Why shouldn't a kitten be "predictably adorable"? Since when can't a children's book have humans that look "ameturish"? This isn't intended for a gallery. And how many kids picture books are "literary" works? This plot works just fine. Heidi is just one more person being mean and I hope she never screens books at our public library!

The National Be Kind to Animals Week is coming up next month and I think this book has a perfect message (though the exercises could be more explicit in this context). The illustrations are lovely, and I think it is just wonderful to give kids a pictoral tour of another country. It makes me want to go there, myself! They even learn something quite interesting about 'mean time'!

The world is getting smaller and people need to be more compassionate and conscientous in general; and we - in the USA - do not have the advantage that European youngsters have, living a short hop from a multitude of other countries where art, history, architecture, and culture go back over a thousand years. I think this book is a timely message and a good education for kids in more ways than one. Thank you Ms. Paine! I'm going to be giving it out for alot of birthdays this year.