So I remember reading this book not so long ago, and thought that it would be good for my younger brother to read. However, I cannot for the life of me remember the title or the character names!
The plot (what I remember of it) is that there is a boy who lives with his father in the city (somewhere in Europe). His father works a lot and doesn't do much with his son. The mother lives/works in the US. For some reason, the boy is sent off for the summer to this farm in the country where he meets a girl whose father is a scientist of some sort and who has a golden retriever. They don't like each other immediately, but there is a scene with a cow/calf (I think) that helps them grow closer. One day the children are in the girl's father's lab (I believe they were chasing the dog?) when they see a blue glowy thing and decide to go see what it is. It turns out that it's a machine that takes them both back in time (although they don't know that at the time). They black out when they arrive, and there is a scene with a bad guy seeing them and the main good guy observing the whole thing. The story continues in the past with the children wondering where they are, etc. and trying to find a way back home/trying to find the machine. At some point in the story their dog comes back in time, as does the girl's father. The book culminates in a race to a building where the machine is supposedly held, and the eventual return of the machine to the children. However, for a reason that escapes me at the moment, when the children are returning to their time, the boy stays behind.
I can't remember the why for a lot of these things, and I know that there's a lot to the story that I left out or forgot, but does someone happen to know what book it is? It is a children's/young adult's book, the hardcover version has a tannish cover with a "rip" in the corner (or in the middle) with an eye looking out. Thanks much!
If you know what the book is, please PM me.