Skip to main content

Pictures from our Vacation

By

PICTURES FROM OUR VACATION; Lynne Rae Perkins; New York: Greenwillow, 2007; unpaged. Picture Book

Lynne Rae Perkins is such a genius. She wins the Newbery for Criss Cross and has had a couple of picture books in the running for Caldecott, the most recent of which is Pictures from our Vacation. Nominally about a family's two-day trip to vacation at the old farmstead, this book is most of all about ways of seeing. When the family arrives, the father sees happy memories everywhere; the kids see dust and cobwebs. The Shangri-La Motel where they stay on their way is small potatoes compared to the Blue Motel the young girl sees in her head, identical blue cottages on the outside, but inside filled with wonders: an aquarium room with a sandy floor; the room with a bed that glowed like the sun (though you could turn if off at night); and the jungle room, with a waterfall for a shower. Though each child has a camera to record the vacation, what they see at the farm and out the windows of the car, what they see in their heads, and what their father remembers of his childhood days are more vivid and longer-lasting, as they are in all our lives.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

By
If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.
Post a Comment
Read more

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

By loo
Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.
Post a Comment
Read more

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

By Anonymous
There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...
Post a Comment
Read more