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Travels with My Family

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel combine their writing and illustrating talents with their own family memories to produce a very unique travelogue.

Family vacations are supposed to be something to look forward to. Unless, that is, your parents have a habit of turning every outing into a risky proposition — by accident, of course. So instead of dream vacations to Disney World and motels with swimming pools, these parents are always looking for that out-of-the-way destination where other tourists don't go. Their adventures involve eating grasshoppers in Mexico, forgetting the tide schedule while collecting sand dollars off the coast of Georgia, and mistaking alligators for logs in the middle of Okefenokee Swamp.

Travels with My Family is told from the point of view of a long-suffering big brother who must fulfill many roles in this eccentric family: keep little brother out of trouble, humor artist Mom, and discourage Dad from pulling out the road map to search for yet another off-the-beaten-track destination.

Husband-and-wife team Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel and have combined their prodigious writing and illustrating talents with their own family memories to produce a very different travelogue.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

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  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      August 1, 2006
      Gr 3-6 -In short, amusing chapters, a boy describes his family -s trips to off-the-beaten-path locations in North America and Mexico. Though he and his little brother would prefer to go to Disneyland, their parents insist on avoiding tourist areas and taking the road less traveled -usually with unexpected, sometimes hair-raising results. For example, the family remains steadfast in their Maine beach cottage during Hurricane Bob, is stalked by alligators in the Okefenokee Swamp, is pummeled by tumbleweeds in an Arizona sandstorm, and encounters revolutionaries during a drive through Mexico. Although there is very little character or plot development, these brief adventures are sprinkled with humor, moments of discovery, and an appreciation for the beauty and diversity of less-lauded destinations. Written with simple language and adorned with amusing cartoon sketches, this title is a good choice for those new to chapter books or for struggling readers." -Corinda J. Humphrey, Los Angeles Public Library"

      Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      May 15, 2006
      Gr. 3-5. For a boy and his younger brother, family vacations are tough because rather than visits to amusement parks or sunny beaches, the family encounters alligators in the Okefenokee swamp, eats grasshoppers, and dodges New Year's gunfire in Mexico. What's more, if things can go wrong, they will. Even so, there are unexpected rewards, such as seeing beautiful rock formations in caves. The family's episodic adventures, relayed by the older brother in a droll, first-person narrative, are often comical and sometimes suspenseful as they offer glimpses of natural wonders, extreme weather, and exotic locales. The family members are never named, and some ironic comments and events will resonate more with adults than with young readers. But the family dynamics still ring true, and kids will relate to being dragged along with little say, and even come to appreciate the family's unusual vacation experiences. Gay, author-illustrator of such delightful picture books such as " Stella, Star of the Sea" (1998), provides several black-and-whiteillustrations(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:630
  • Text Difficulty:2-3

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