Join Grace and her family as they hit the road camping, experiencing, and meeting all the people and places that make up Australia.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2–Eight-year-old Grace describes a three-month trip around Australia with her Mum; Dad; older brother, Luke; and younger brother, Billy (he's the one who keeps up the refrain of the title). Hitching up Poppa's old camper trailer behind their car, this amiable family takes a winter term off from school to experience the remarkable diversity of their country. The varied layout, with text judiciously interspersed among the appealing illustrations, gives readers the experience of browsing through a family album. This is more than just a sightseeing tour as the family members react and interact, often humorously, on their journey. (Mother is afraid of heights–until that scary bungee ride at Surfers Paradise, which she loves). The text assumes local knowledge, (e.g., the Nullarbor Plain, Quokkas, or the Bungle Bungles) without benefit of a glossary, though a detailed map on the front endpapers clearly labels locations and sights. Young armchair travelers interested in Australia may be limited in number, but those who embark will find this an enjoyable trip.–Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Eight-year-old Grace, her parents, and her two brothers embark on a six-month-long journey to tour their country, Australia. Driving around the perimeter of the continent (except when they plunge into the Outback to visit places such as Alice Springs and Uluru) they drive, swim, hike, enjoy zoos, museums, and tourist sites; observe the changing landscape; play Monopoly on rainy days; and visit relatives. Written in Grace's voice, the text has a colloquial lilt and a consistently childlike point of view, giving the book an appealing informality lacking in more conventional treatments. Readers can refer to small maps throughout the book as they chart the family's progress. Lively and detailed, the colorful ink-and-watercolor artwork creates visual impressions through dozens of individual pictures. Evidently based on Lester's own travels, this brightly illustrated book makes an attractive and effective introduction to Australia. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a wonderful way for kids and adults alike to share a journey around Australia. The descriptions and illustrations are wonderful and typical of Alison Lesters style. Anyone planning a long car ride with kids should read this book together.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a fantastic book for fostering a child's interest in the world outside their own community. It doesn't matter that the topic is a trip around Australia - it could just as easily be any part of the world. The point is that this is a family of five that goes out and has an adventure together. In doing this, they are spending time together and discovering more about the country they live in.
There is a lot of information about Australia in the story, taken from a kids-eye-level which engages preschoolers to primary age children.
Young Billy's chant 'Are we there yet' is not a yearning for home, rather it's every child's boredom with the seemingly endless driving on a 10,000km+ road trip around a continent. All children can identify with this!
This book is definitely a favourite in our house!
There is a lot of information about Australia in the story, taken from a kids-eye-level which engages preschoolers to primary age children.
Young Billy's chant 'Are we there yet' is not a yearning for home, rather it's every child's boredom with the seemingly endless driving on a 10,000km+ road trip around a continent. All children can identify with this!
This book is definitely a favourite in our house!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you and your children are thinking of moving/holidaying in Australia this is the best book to buy. My nephew in the US absolutely loves it, and cant wait for his next trip. Buy it, you cant make a mistake with this one!!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Non-fiction
Great to use for teaching non-fiction features. There are at least two features on every page. Colorful and informative. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Meg Scovil
5.0 out of 5 stars
AUS-some!
I teach a unit on Australia and this is a wonderful book to take a class on a journey. I just went to Australia and it's exciting to see many of the places I visited mentioned in... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Cindy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great road trip story
I've read this book many times to my son. He loves the family and their adventures driving around Australia. Read more
Published on July 2, 2008 by Mr. Stacey E. Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars
the varied landscape of Australia for children
A trip by a family with three children around Australia takes in wildlife, seacoasts, natural formations, and deserts, different inhabitants, tourist spots, and other points of... Read more
Published on February 28, 2005 by Henry Berry
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