A young boy finds a magic toy boat in a magic shop, and he and his brother and two sisters have all sorts of adventures flying through time in it.
I loved it. A predecessor to The Magic Treehouse books, but much better. I love that the boat turns out to be Frey's, and the encounters between the kids and the Norse gods are great. Definitely recommended. ( )

Delightful! Kids have adventures with a magical ship. 1939 Great Britain ( )

I thought I had read every children's book known to man, how did this slip past me? It's very much an Edith Nesbit pastiche, but gentle and charming. A lovely read. ( )

I looked in LibraryThing's list of Best Loved Children's books and this book was listed. I read it and understand why. It is about a family of 4 children. Their parents are around but play no significant part in the story. Peter, the oldest of the children is sent into town alone to the dentist and on the way home walks down an old street he had never seen before. He goes into an antique store and buys a wonderful miniature ship using all the money he has and a little more. On his way home he is trapped by the tide and wishes out loud that he were home which causes the ship to grow bigger and fly him home. He shares this with his brother and two sisters and together they take many trips back into history. The trips are fascinating and give fairly accurate descriptions of the times they visit. But what I enjoyed most about the book was the love and closeness shared between the siblings, not just for each other and their family but for people in general, as well as the ethical and generous way they treat others. That may make it sound sermonizing but it isn't in the least. I can see why it made the best loved list. ( )

"Peter sees the model ship in the shop window and he wants it more than anything else on earth. But it is no ordinary model."

I first read this wonderful story at age 10, and read it once a year for the next 3 years. I recently came across it again and once again enjoyed the adventures of Peter and his siblings as they venture across worlds and back in time. A lovely story. ( )