Time Like A River
by Randy Perrin

ISBN: 978-1-57143-061-8

"Unforgettable" is the word best used to describe Time Like a River by Randy Perrin and his young daughters, Hannah and Tova. This book has several themes. The first illustrates the friendship between 13-year-old Margie, who is Jewish, and her best friend, Isabel, who is Catholic. The second is about Margie's mom, a vet, who has become dangerously ill with an unknown disease. The third is about a school history project the girls are working on which takes them to an historical archive where they find a diary written by a Chinese man 100 years before. The book then takes an eerie turn when Margie travels back in time to visit the Chinese man who recently lost his father to a mysterious malady. Through this experience Margie figures out the disease her mother has and helps the doctors save her life. The characters in this well-written novel have depth and sensitivity. The book also teaches children that history is fascinating. Social Studies teachers can also learn how much more important it is to emphasize how people lived, thought, and felt in the past, rather than make children memorize isolated facts. I recommend this book for everyone 4th grade level and above. -Independent Publisher