Product Description
Eric Rohmann's Caldecott Honor-winning debut is now available as a Dragonfly paperback. It is at once a wordless time-travel adventure and a meditation on the scientific theory that dinosaurs were the evolutionary ancestors of birds.

Time Flies , a wordless picture book, is inspired by the theory that birds are the modern relatives of dinosaurs.  This story conveys the tale of a bird trapped in a dinosaur exhibit at a natural history museum.  Through Eric's use of color, readers can actually see the bird enter into a mouth of a dinosaur, and then escape unscathed.

The New York Times Book Review called Time Flies "a work of informed imagination and masterly storytelling unobtrusively underpinned by good science...an entirely absorbing narrative made all the more rich by its wordlessness." Kirkus Reviews hailed it as "a splendid debut."

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 5 reviews)

A Teacher's Perspective...

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.

September 09, 2008

When you're having fun

I wonder what the process is behind author/illustrators of picture books making their very first wordless title. Is it something they all secretly want to do but only a few dare to? Does everyone make one and then publishers get scared and refuse to publish them? Why are there only a few on the market today? Obviously when Eric Rohmann's, "Time Flies" won the Caldecott Honor it probably raised the status of wordless picture books everywhere. I'm not suggesting that it was the first book of its kind or even the best but since its publication we've enjoyed other wordless titles like fellow Honor, "The Red Book" by Barbara Lehman and "The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, and the Bard" by Gregory Rogers. Eric Rohmann would later go on to garner the full Caldecott Award for, "My Friend Rabbit", a book done in a style entirely different from that of most of his work. By and large Rohmann feels more comfortable with gentle surrealism as in, "Cinder-Eyed Cats" and "Clara and Asha", though he's not afraid to go off and make a "Pumpkinhead" for the heck of it. In "Time Flies" we are taken on a wordless trip back and forth through time with a creature that may well be visiting his own ancestors.

On a dark and stormy orange-skied night, a small bird flies into a natural history museum of some sort. As the bird glides, perches, and looks about the hall full of bones, things begin to change around it. A bolt of lightning lights up the scene and before you know it the bird has been sent back in time to when dinosaurs weren't macabre displays but living breathing creatures. The bird flaps about brontosaurus, flies just in front of pterodactyls, and finally (in a surprise move on Rohmann's part) is snapped up by the T-Rex. Don't fret for the birdy, though. Suddenly we're with it, flying down the T-Rex's throat. An increasingly bony throat. The bird flies out of the back of the skeleton and into a half-past half-present world. As it escapes into the night a pterodactyl statue views it keenly from its perch.

Though the book makes no reference to this, I did like the juxtaposition of a bird with dinosaurs. The theory that birds are descended from the dinos is more than convincing and it would have been nice if Rohmann had slipped in a clever allusion here or there. To be fair though, this book came out in 1994 and the theory was hardly as widespread then as it is now. Rohmann plays with light and shadow in this book, conjuring up horror films and dark noirs with his use of dark tones and flickers. I give him great kudos for the moment in which the bird gets snapped up. One minute it's there. The next a T¬-Rex is looking mighty pleased with itself as some feathers float gently to the forest floor. The thrill of shock kids will feel will be immediately alleviated by the safe n' sound feathered one booking it to the back of the monster's throat. Still, it's the moment that counts. And it's lovely.

The book bears some slight similarities to "Fledgling" by Robert J. Blake in that both books offer lush views of a small bird flying through unbelievable perils. A pairing of the two together would make for an excellent bird-centric private storytime. Of course the obvious pairing here is with anything made by David Wiesner. "Sector 7" or "Tuesday" (both wordless) perfected this kind of realistic surrealism in mute picture books. Rohmann does a nice enough job, but "Time Flies" lacks Wiesner's panache and oomph. It's just an awfully nice title with dinosaurs for the ancient-reptile-centric. All in all, I would not hesitate in the least to recommend this book to every kiddie that clamors for it. A great book and an enjoyable ride.
January 13, 2006

A LANDMARK DEBUT IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

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.
April 04, 2004

Imaginations will flow!

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!
January 15, 2001

Images of dinosaurs-Time Flies

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.
March 08, 2000

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

The Cinder-Eyed Cats
by Eric Rohmann

Tuesday
by David Wiesner

Sector 7 (Caldecott Honor Book)
by David Wiesner

The Red Book (Caldecott Honor Book)
by Barbara Lehman

The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher
by Molly Bang