A Handful of Time

by Kit Pearson

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When Patrick's mother sends her to her cousins' cottage for the summer, Patricia doesn't want to go. She doesn't know her cousins at all, and she's never been good at camping or canoeing, let alone making new friends. When she arrives at the cottage, her worst fears come true: her cousin Kelly teases her; Aunt Ginnie and Uncle Doug feel sorry for her. She doesn't fit in. Then Patricia discovers an old watch hidden under a floorboard. When she winds it, she finds herself taken back in time to show more the summer when her own mother was twelve . . . show less

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6 reviews
Patricia is sent to spend the summer on a lake with cousins she doesn’t know while her parents work through the conditions of their separation and divorce. Her cousins find her snooty and incompetent - she can’t even manage a canoe! - and Patricia finds *them* mean and exclusionary. It is shaping up to be a terrible summer, until she finds an old pocket watch that somehow transports her back to the same family cabin on the same lake, but at a time when her own mother was 12 years old, just like Patricia herself…. Kit Pearson is a well-known Canadian children’s writer; I’ve only read a few books by her, but have enjoyed each of them for their portrayal of childhood relationships between adults and kids, and between kids show more themselves. While the lessons of each book are quite obvious (here, learning to accept each person as they are rather than striving for perfect parent-child relationships), the way in which the main character is led to those lessons is entertaining and well plotted; mildly recommended. show less
½
Good story! Great for a child to realize that their parent was once a child, too! I enjoyed watching this child grow.
I love this as much now as I did when I read it in seventh grade for a book report. Memories of childhood abound!
I think that this book was a really good book.Once i read it i did not want tp put the book down... i finished the book in 2 days
Patricia is twaalf en haar ouders gaan scheiden. Ze moet de zomervakantie doorbrengen bij haar tante Ginnie en oom Dough en hun kinderen, in een vakantie huisje aan een groot meer. Patricia voelt zich niet thuis bij haar familie. Dan vindt ze een oud horloge dat haar terug brengt in de tijd, toen haar moeder twaalf was.
Een mooi boek over familie, vriendschap en hoe het verleden invloed heeft op het heden.

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Backx, Patsy (Illustrator)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
A Handful of Time
Original title
A Handful of Time
Original publication date
1987
People/Characters*
Patricia Reid; Ruth Reid; Tante Ginnie; Kelly; Trevor; Maggie
Epigraph
"You might say," Tom said slowly,..."You might say that different people have different times, although of course, they're really all bits of the same big Time." - Philippa Pearce, Tom's Midnight Garden
Dedication
In memory of my aunt, Mollie Mackenzie
First words
Patricia knew she had made a mistake as soon as she got the canoe into the water.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Then time settled into the present and Patricia paddled towards the shore.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Kids, Children's Books
DDC/MDS
813.54Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991945-1999
LCC
PZ7 .P32Language and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettres
BISAC

Statistics

Members
457
Popularity
66,728
Reviews
6
Rating
(3.89)
Languages
Dutch, English
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
11
ASINs
3