Age: 3rd-5th grade
Good when combined with supplemental material

James just wants his own identity away from the confines of his parents' own dream lives working in music. While on an unwanted trip to England where his mother begins her European tour as a singer in a band, James stumbles across a mysterious portal to 17th century England. Here he is forced to join the Children of the Chapel Royal, a stage and choir group that performs before the queen.

This book may be good as a classroom novel studying the Elizabethan Era because it introduces several people of that age, architecture, food, and prominent thought of the time. This book is unique in that it presents a biracial (black and white) protagonist. His race is discussed in a genuine way that informs/connects with the reader regarding the attention that it garners. Unfortunately, as soon as it is presented it is not discussed again except to mention the underlying negativity that 17th century English people had against the "blackamoors."

My problem with this book is the confusing storyline that assumes the reader understands what is happening. Also the lengthy description of minor historical location that take up precious space in the book have a detrimental effect. Furthermore, the book dives right into the portal aspect without fully understanding the character and then teeters on the mystery of the portal for another 40 pages. It feels like this book was slaughtered in the editing process in order to get it to a reasonable length for the audience.