RAINBOW REVIEW: 'Time Surfers Space Bingo'

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By Evan Pascal, age 8, Sunrise Valley Elementary School, Reston

Ned Banks thought his life was terrible. He just moved far away from his best friend Ernie and his old house and school. His parents were always telling him to clean his room. He spilled food on himself in front of the entire school. He wanted to disappear.

He learned how to build a communicator from a comic book and made one so he could talk to Ernie whenever he wanted. The first time he tried to call Ernie, there was a big crash in his closet and two kids he never saw came out. They told him his communicator had made them fall through a time hole and they were from the year 2099. They were called "Time Surfers" and their names were Roop and Suzi.

Roop and Suzi took Ned to their home in 2099 and he saw all the cool machines, buildings and gadgets from the future. He also found out that kids solve all the problems in the future and they were trying to figure out how to stop a giant comet from hitting earth. Later in the book, Ned helps them solve the giant comet problem and decides he could have a good day after all.

The best part in the "Time Surfers Space Bingo" is when Ned goes back to the present and has to run through his whole school so he doesn't run into the past Ned. Roop and Suzi told him that this is called the "Zonk Zone" and can make a person go ka-boom!

I really loved all the made-up words the author used in the book. Roop and Suzi called their spaceship a "surfie" and liked to play "bloogball." They wore speed shoes with jets on them and called peanut butter and jelly "zooble and krell."

I definitely would recommend this book to other kids. It was fun and exciting and I loved reading it.

RATING: 3 1/2 stars

BOOK: "Time Surfers Space Bingo"

AUTHOR: Tony Abbott

PUBLISHER: Random House Children's Books (April 2008), paperback, 112 pages

PRICE: $4.99

READING LEVEL: Ages 7-10

INFORMATION: randomhouse.com/kids/