Some kids spend their summer vacation at camp. Some kids spend it at Grandma's house. Wallace Bleff spent his out west...on a ride, a rope, and a roundup he'll never forget.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Her spectacles perched on her nose and her hair coiffed in a Father Knows Best pompadour, Wallace Bleff's teacher looks on as the boy delivers an oral report on that classic topic, How I Spent My Summer Vacation. The classroom setting gives way to an expanse of Western plains, across which a locomotive train rumbles, bringing Wallace to visit his aunt. His parents have sent him there for a reason: "'Your imagination,' they said, 'is getting too wild./ It will do you some good to relax for a while.'" It won't take kids long to realize that Wallace's imagination is as fertile as ever, as he tells of being captured by cowboys, who outfit him in spiffy Western garb and teach him all their "cowboy tricks." When "Kid Bleff" finally calls his aunt (from a phone booth comically plunked down in the middle of nowhere), she invites him to bring his pals to her house for a barbecue-Teague's (The Field Beyond the Outfield) boy buckaroo, however, still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Told in rollicking rhymed verse, this is one rootin' tootin' tall tale. Playful period illustrations brim with droll detail, including some laugh-out-loud funny expressions on animal faces. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2?An original fantasy told in rhyme. Wallace Bleff, who is reporting to his class about his summer vacation, tells of his travels west at the bidding of his parents, who felt his overactive imagination needed a rest. He relates how en route to his Aunt Fern's house, he is kidnapped by cowboys and?voila, Kid Bleff is born. He joins the rawhide crowd; learns to rope, ride, and build fires; and becomes a "first-rate cowhand." In celebration of the end of the roundup, Aunt Fern invites Wallace and new friends to a barbecue. When a cattle stampede nearly ruins the party, the young hero saves the day as he displays hidden talent as a matador and reverses the direction of the herd. The art is done in warm acrylics throughout, first to portray the classroom setting where Wallace's yarn begins against the backdrop of the chalkboard, then segues into the sandy scenes of the Wild West, and back again. Teague strikes again with a unique idea, one teachers would do well to use. An excellent read-aloud choice for back-to-school reading in the classroom or the public library.?Marsha McGrath, Clearwater Public Library, FL
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Frank Murphy
Format:Hardcover
This book IS perfect for starting off the school year! Teague is outstanding! When will the guy win a Caldecott? Every book he does is filled with magnificent illustrations and incredible stories! I met him a few years ago in California...what a gentleman...ALL CLASS!
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By kikiblue
Format:Paperback
I'm a teacher and like to read this book to my students in the first week of school. Then I pose a challenge to them. I challenge them to tell me about their own summer vacation, but like Wallace, start out with the truth, and then let their imagination take over. I get completely ridiculous and fun stories about trips to the lake that end up as coronations as supreme master of planet zoorg. I highly recommend it.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Remember the essay that your teacher always made you write at the beginning of each school year?? "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" is told by the main character Wallace Bleff who stands before the class and weaves an amazing tale of train rides, cowboys, cattle herding and the like while we come along for the ride. (Wallace has quite an imagination.) Loads of fun, beautifully illustrated, and my son's favorite bedtime story.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Favorite Family Book!
My boys' asked for me to read this book to them more than any other. The graphics are outstanding. The story is incredibly imaginiative. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jake
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this book!
Tis is a great book to use for back to school. the students in first grade love to share their own stories after we read this book!
Published 2 months ago by kp
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very cute
This story really captured my 3.5 year old's attention. I have taken it out of the library about 7 times and paid enough fines that I should have bought it but I try not to spend... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Amy Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
I used this as an example of a tall tale/ personal narrative.
I am a teacher at the 5th grade level, and I bought this book to show how you can take a personal story and then make it into a tall tale. Read more
Published 7 months ago by T. Waddell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Art mom
This book was fun to read, but it needed more. Most children enjoyed it but the younger ones didn't understand parts of it. It arrived in good time, and I will try other grades.
Published 8 months ago by Christine M. Heiser
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHY HAS THIS AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR NEVER RECEIVED A CALDECOTT?
I am in full agreement with another reviewer here in that I do not understand why Mark Teague has never received the Caldecott. Read more
Published 13 months ago by D. Blankenship
5.0 out of 5 stars
My kids loved it
My kids are 6 and 8 and I read out loud to them everyday. They thought this book was a blast. The art work is wonderful, too and really helps the story along.
Published 19 months ago by AF
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not for me
This story did not really grab and hold my interest or my 4 year olds. Just missed the mark for us.
Published on September 27, 2010 by SLP2005
5.0 out of 5 stars
For that warm & fuzzy feeling, read this book to your child.
HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION by Mark Teague is a 31-page medium format book. There are 31 illustrations. Read more
Published on May 2, 2010 by Tom Brody
4.0 out of 5 stars
: )
I wish I had a vacation as interesting as this kid!
When giving his BORING report about his BORING vacation... wait, no, that was somebody else. Read more
When giving his BORING report about his BORING vacation... wait, no, that was somebody else. Read more
Published on April 13, 2010 by Ulyyf
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