Time portals in fantasy books are devices an author uses to move a character from one place to another. It is a common device in fantasy books. The protagonist uses it to travel to an alternate world or another place in time. Sometimes the time portal just allows travel from one place to another during the same time period.

In C. S. Lewis’ book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the time portal is a wardrobe. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie use the wardrobe to travel from England to an alternate world, Narnia.

In Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s book, The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming, the time portal is a mirror. Anand uses the mirror to travel from contemporary India to several hundred years in the past.

In J. K. Rowling’s book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the bewitched Goblet of Fire is a time portal. It transfers Harry Potter from a maze to a cemetery. The cemetery scene is during the same time frame but at a different location.

Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon use a time portal to transfer the third-graders to the past in the Blast to the Past series. The green time portal is activated by a time travel computer which is simular to a hand-held video game.

The time portals in children books transfer the protagonists back to their places of origin, also. Authors use portals to magically move their characters. This places the reader in a world of fantasy, since these portals do not exist in the real world.

If you are a fan of C. S. Lewis and J. K. Rowling’s children fantasy books, you will enjoy Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni books in the Conch Bearer Series. The fantasy series follow the adventures of Anand, Nisha and Abhaydatta in India. Enjoy a good read while visiting the wonderful country of India. The Conch Bearer and The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming are her two books. The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming is the book that contains time portals.



Other Books Time Portals

Ages 4-8
The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne
Blast to the Past Series by Stacia Deutsh & Rhody Cohon

Ages 8-12
The Breezes of Inspire by Nick Ruth
The Dark Dreamweaver by Nick Ruth
Escape from Treasure Island by Darren Krill
Chronicles of Narnia Series by C S Lewis

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