Time Travellers: Adventure Calling

In this historical adventure story for children, three school children travel back in time to 1911, and learn about social injustice and the women who fight against it. Suhana finds school difficult. She is curious, intelligent and sociable but, sadly, Mr Hayes – her headteacher – does not value these attributes. He is far more concerned with courtesy and obedience, and frequently scolds Suhana for calling out in class or offering opinions that aren’t needed. Suhana knows that her head teacher dislikes her. She feels a hot sense of resentment about this; it stings the scars that she suffered when her mum abandoned her. Suhana’s gloominess about schools is interrupted when – against all odds – she wins a trip to visit the Houses of Parliament with two other children, Mia and Ayan.

Unfortunately, Mr Hayes also attends the trip, and his constant put-downs make it hard for Suhana to enjoy the fascinating history of the building. This changes, though, when Ayan and one of the tour guides warm to Suhana’s enthusiasm and sense of humour. The charitable words she receives from them give Suhana a new confidence, which is just as well because – seemingly out of absolutely nowhere – her phone starts vibrating and Suhana, Mia and Ayan are transported through time to 1911.

The trio take this extraordinary shock in their stride and soon take advantage of such an impossible learning opportunity. It is a perfect time for Suhana to travel back to: the women’s suffrage movement is in full swing, with vociferous crowds of demonstrators gathering outside Parliament. Suhana empathises with their struggle to be heard: she knows what it’s like to have a man (Mr Hayes) deliberately exclude you from things. She’s inspired, too, by these courageous women who reject social norms and are brave enough to speak their minds. Suhana, Ayan and Mia meet new friends and are delighted to learn that early 20th century London was not the all-white monoculture that their schooling had led them to believe, and that the crucial women’s suffrage movement included women from a similar Asian heritage to Suhana.

As an adventure story, Time Travellers: Adventure Calling feels a little slow, and readers looking for an exciting science fiction tale about racing through time are likely to be disappointed. There is no shortage of children’s fiction featuring time travel to different historical periods, but Ahmed’s new series offers an original perspective in its efforts to open readers’ minds to the often-overlooked fact that people from all over the world, of all types of culture and heritage, have played key roles in famous events in history. The English women’s suffrage movement is an engaging place to start, and Suhana’s new secret society of time travellers will surely share lots more enlightening historical discoveries in future episodes.