Travels with My Family [Hardcover]

Marie-Louise Gay (Author), David Homel (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Instead of dream vacations to Disney World and motels with swimming pools and water slides, the parents in Travels with My Family insist on obscure destinations — even if it means driving for hours to get to the middle of nowhere, countless back-seat games of Twenty Questions that end badly, and reading aloud the “How to Change a Tire” chapter from the Owner’s Manual. To say nothing of what happens when they arrive: 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. Husband-and-wife team David Homel and Marie-Louise Gay have combined their writing and illustrating talents with their own family memories to produce a very different kind of travelogue. 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 while she seeks out beauty and inspiration in the least likely places; and discourage nearsighted, tone-deaf Dad from pulling out the road map to search for yet another strange destination.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 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 © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

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-white illustrations. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (February 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888996888
• ISBN-13: 978-0888996886
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,536,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Family Read-Aloud, October 15, 2007

By 

T. Hernandez (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Travels with My Family (Paperback)

Full of humor and escapades that families can relate to, this book is a great read aloud! It prompts your "remember when..." vacation stories and inspires "where shall we go next?" plans. Easy enough that my third grade son could read chapters to us.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful bed-time reading, February 23, 2010

By 

M. E. Malakoff (Sierra Madre, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Travels with My Family (Paperback)

We discovered this book, quite by accident. It is a wonderful read-aloud for any age. My 7 year old was so taken with the book that he insisted we search for the sequel as soon as we were done (fortunately, there is one). Not only did we both laugh aloud at the family antics, retold with wonderful humour and illustrations, but we discovered places to visit on future trips. Each chapter tells the story of the family's trip to an out-of-the-way place.