Stuck in the Stone Age by Geoff Rodkey - ADVISABLE

Stuck in the Stone Age by Geoff Rodkey, illustrated by Hatem Aly, 267 pages. Yearly Books (Penguin Random House), 2020. $8

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE: AVERAGE

Two kids make the mistake of pulling a lever in a time machine and end up in the stone age where all sorts of dangerous situations ensue. They are chased by a tiger and even become a source of worship for the people they encounter. They do eventually make it back and along the way the author drops tips on how to write your own science fiction story. The writing lessons are all located in the back of the book, but there are prompts to turn to those pages throughout the story. 

I waited a bit between reading this book with my 8 year old and writing the review and while I didn’t remember much about the story, my son could recount all of the details. This speaks well for the story and the author’s claim of being master storytellers. This book offers a lot of different experiences for different readers making it an asset on the shelf. Some readers may be primarily interested in the story while others may lean into the lessons on how to write a story. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher