Books for/about - vacations

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards))

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Authors: Jeanne Birdsall

ISBN: 0375831436
List Price: $15.95
Amazon Price: $10.37
Usually ships in 24 hours

Buy this book
from amazon.com
or from
amazon.co.uk

Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
Reviews:
Summary: Fun, ginger bread, and waltzing!
The Penderwicks is my favorite book in my collection of hundreds of books.
It is a story about the Penderwick sisters, and thier summer vacation in the creamy yellow cottage behind Arundel mansion.
There, Skye bumps into Jeffrey Tifton, and then a marvelous friendship occours.
The Penderwicks is full of humor, and is the right book for anyone.
But just to be safe, I recomend this book from ages 8 and up. Even adults I know like it!

Summary: The best book ever!!!!!
This is my favorite book!! I found out about it when we were going on a vacation, it was a 10 hour drive and I asked my mom if we could go to the bookstore, she said yes. I saw the book read the first page and knew I would like it right away. If you like snappy,funny, and heart warming adventure books then you will like this one. This book is about 4 sisters who go on a vacation and rent a cottage in an estate called Arundel. There is Rosalind the pratical,and oldest Penderwick, Skye the smartest and stubborn one, Jane the writer who writes the "Sabrina Starr" books and often narrates her life aloud, and Batty the shy one who always wears her beloved butterfly wings,and of course Hound Penderwick. They meet a boy named Jefferey on the estate who becomes their companion on each adventure,as well as Cagney the gardener, Churchie who makes the best gingerbread in the country, two rabbits named yaz and carla, and unfortunately Mrs.Tifton and her Boyfriend Dexter. I hope this review helps you READ THIS BOOK!!

Summary: My Favorite Adventure Book
Candy Lane Craze is a really funny story. It was written by a funny author named David E. Spencer. He is one of the funniest authors I ever read. I first read this book online and then I told my mom to buy some books for my family. And then she said I could write some book reviews for other children and kids. I recommend this book to boys and girls that like reading funny stories. It's about Johnny, Sara, and Sabrina and they receive some magical candy from their grandmother, and then they magically disappear from her house when they eat dinner there. They disappear to a strange planet and they find a city called Sweet Little. It's a city where the people love candy and they like to build there houses with cookies and sweet stuff and they like to grow trees that grow candy. The kids meet Gloria and Gloria takes the kids to all the interesting sites around the city and there's candy and sweets everywhere they go. The city has a giant bug problem and the people have to fight the bugs when they search around the city for the candy. That is where the funny stuff happens in the book. This book will make great gifts for kids like me that read silly stories and fantasy stories.

Summary:

search for vacations at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, google.com

Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha! (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Authors: Barbara Park

ISBN: 0375834036
List Price: $11.95
Amazon Price: $9.20
Usually ships in 24 hours

Buy this book
from amazon.com
or from
amazon.co.uk

Avg Cusomer Rating: 4
Reviews:
Summary: Great book for kids of the right age
Junie B. Jones is an irrespressible young girl (around seven years old?) who sees the world in her own special way. Continually getting in trouble and constantly feeling awkward, Junie forges ahead and takes her chances, facing life with a heart-winning combination of clumsiness and bravado. Here, Junie and her family go to Hawaii for a week, with predictably chaotic results.

The actual time spent in Hawaii is kind of brief -- the first half of the book is taken up with Junie's classroom hijinks before the vacation begins... But it's her entertaining, malaprop-laced internal monologue that matters most, not the actual plot. It's hard not to identify with and root for this little gal -- fans of Ramona The Pest and Harriet The Spy will a kindred spirit here with the bold, goofy Junie B.

Recommended! You'll want to read all her other books as well.

Summary: enough Junie B. Jones
I have read all of the Junie B. Jones books, both to my own children and to the children who visit my library. After 25 HILARIOUS books, Junie B. Jones' antics in Aloha-ha-ha are no longer funny---just plain annoying! Maybe 25 books would have been a good stopping point.

Summary: One of my favorite Junie B.s
Junie B. Jones is back and she is so excited she is spinning in her seat because she is going on a <strike>vakashum</strike> vacation to Hawaii.

Her teacher tells her she will have to keep a photo journal of her trip which seems like homework to Junie B. ("Teachers and children do not have the same kind of brains.")
Sandwiched between two grumpy ladies on the plane she keeps up with the hilarious exchange from her backpack, between her stuffed elephant Philip Johnny Bob and her new Hula Barbie aka Hula Delores.

Some aspects of Hawaii are great (pineapple and coconut pancakes) and others are not to a first grader's taste (tour buses.) Entries in her photo journal cleverly chronicle events and Junie B.'s mood.

Barbara Park taps into the child's psyche with these books because they ALL know a kid like Junie B. (or they ARE a kid like Junie B.)

Her humor also reaches grown ups as she demonstrates that sly knowledge that makes Junie a favorite read aloud in classrooms. After negotiating a truce with Junie B., her teacher, Mr. Scary, re-orients yet another student and Junie B. reflects, "Teachers spend a lot of time adjusting people."

This is one of my favorite Junie B. Jones books. Hilarious.

Summary:

search for vacations at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, google.com

	Punctuation Takes a Vacation Publisher: Holiday House Authors: Robin Pulver Lynn Rowe Reed
ISBN: 0823418200 List Price: $6.95 Amazon Price: $6.95 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 5 Reviews: Summary: optimistic I agree with many of the comments that stated that we should CELEBRATE DIVERSITY. As a mother of a seven-year-old and a one-year-old, as well as over 13 years of teaching kindergarten in the inner-city midwest, I am so happy to hear that other readers embraced this book as I did. I am optimistic about the world I intend to grow old in when I look at what my colleagues and I teaching in our public schools. It was interesting that several other reviewers also spotted the spelling errors in a response written by someone that home-schools. Summary: Simplistic, funny, and FUN introduction to grammar for the younger audience. My son (5 years old) received this as a book club selection, and we both love it. He's a little less enthusiastic about it than I am, but with parental guidance it does a wonderful job of introducing young readers to the basics of punctuation. My complaints: as an introduction to punctuation it is VERY basic, and young readers may not understand the "point" of the book without some explanation because of the way it is presented. This is definitely a book that needs to be read with a parent or other adult. My other complaint is very shallow, and that is that Mr. Rongo is dark-skinned and Mr. Wright happens to be fair-skinned. Why the racist undertones? (Maybe I'm reading too much into it.) What I like: the text is very simple and fun to read, the format of the letters from the punctuation marks really helps the reader understand what the punctuation marks are doing, Also, the punctuation marks are characterized in a way that also reinforces their jobs, such as the Quotation Marks always talking. I definitely recommend this book, but don't expect a younger reader to understand it without guidance or explanation. Summary: Cute concept, slightly disturbing illustration choices I take a middle of the road approach to this book -- the concept is cute enough, if a tad cloying, to justify bringing it into an elementary classroom -- but only if the teacher is willing to discuss the obvious fact that "Mr. Wright" is white and "Mr. Rongo" is black. I don't think the author or illustrator intended to perpetuate racist stereotypes, which is why this book makes a great launching pad for kids to have really thoughful discussions. Third grade students and I have had terrific conversations about unintended consequences, institutionalized racism, confirming and disconfirming stereotypes, and even the fact that there are more ways to use a colon [...]. As for stereotypes, kids always point out that yes, there are two male teachers! (Hooray!) But the one who can use punctuation is white, while the one who can't control it at all is black. (Deep, heavy, profound sigh...) On the whole, I don't own this book, but I borrow it from the school library every year. My students and I always end up discussing a lot more than punctuation by the time I return it. Summary:

search for vacations at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, google.com

Assassination Vacation

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Authors: Sarah Vowell

ISBN: 074326004X
List Price: $14.00
Amazon Price: $10.78
Usually ships in 24 hours

Buy this book
from amazon.com
or from
amazon.co.uk

Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
Reviews:
Summary: An excellent book
This is an excellent book. I started reading it and I could not put it down. Sarah Vowell is a gifted writer that makes history and current events interesting. I am now reading some of her other books and they are also superb. Keep up the good work Ms. Vowell!

Summary: Finding the fun in presidential assassinations...
Generally, the words "quirky" and "witty" are the kiss of death when applied to books, but Sarah Vowell's has written a book that is both-- and it's a great read. It may be difficult to understand how someone could write a book about the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley that is respectful of the history (and, generally, of the men) but is laugh-out-loud funny in many places, but Vowell pulls it off.

The book is a combination of travelogue, memoir, and history that came out of her travels to numerous sites that are associated with the first three presidential assassinations. On the face of it, that sounds like a bad idea for a book, but what might be deadly dull is not, mostly because of Vowell's witty style. In addition, the book is thoughtful and even moving.

A bonus is the vast store of presidential assassination trivia that Vowell packs in. My favorite: Robert Todd Lincoln was present in the Peterson House when his father died. No surprise there; however, he witnessed the fatal wounding of Garfield in a Washington, DC, train station, and he walked into the building at the Pan American Exhibition where McKinley was shot just minutes after the event. Weird enough, but when he was a student at Harvard, he fell off of a train station platform in Boston and was rescued by a notable actor who happened to be on the scene: Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth.

This is a wonderful book that richly rewards the effort of reading it.

Summary: History in the First Person
Most books detailing historical events are heavy on facts and figures and light on side commentary. Sarah Vowell's approach to her book "Assassination Vacation" is a bit different. Her tale is as much about her and her twisted, sarcastic sense of humor as it is about Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and their killers.

I have wondered lately why it is that a few people I know have suggested this book repeatedly. I regret now that I did not listen to them earlier. I am familiar with her from NPR and "This American Life". The author's voice is distinctive and I have caught snippets of her here and there flipping channels. After reading the book I now understand that the reason I was pointed to "Assassination Vacation" is that my sarcastic sense of humor and ability to link esoteric bits of trivia together into a string of seemingly random connections have met their better in the figure of Sarah Vowell.

Worse yet, after reading about hard to find plaques and assorted adventures on the road researching the sites and historical figures behind these political assassinations, I have a deeper desire to read a bit more. I actually want to find out a bit more about Emma Goldman and the anarchist movement in America. Somewhere, someone has written a bit more about the utopian Oneida community. Also, it seems that Vowell has some more books I have not read yet as well. I think "Radio On" will be next on my list.

Summary:

search for vacations at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, google.com

Family Houses by the Sea

Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Authors: Alexandra D'Arnoux Jerome Darblay

ISBN: 0517591650
List Price: $60.00
Amazon Price:
This item is currently not available.

Buy this book
from amazon.com
or from
amazon.co.uk

Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
Reviews:
Summary: Sumptuous and inspiring
I received this book for my birthday last year and still enjoy looking at it. In fact, I was getting ready to order it for a friend for the holidays when I saw an earlier review of this book that also mentioned another vacation home book called Second Home, I bought it, too. I highly recommend both books. This is wonderful dream book, as is Second Home. Second Home also includes pointers (throughout the book) on deciding where you might want to have a second home, real estate shopping tips, and ideas on building and decorating, too. Second Home is as inspiring as Family Houses by the Sea, but it offers the bonus of being practical and talking directly to me about what I can do to actually realize my dream of having a weekend house.

Summary: One of our favorites
We are accumulating a wonderful little stack of books related to second homes as we plan a getaway of our own. This one is a favorite because of its dreamy photography. I also highly recommend SECOND HOME: Finding Your Place In The Fun, which is a new book that mixes dreamy photos of real homes with some helpful tips on finding a location as well as buying, building, remodeling, or decorating a second home. Like Family Houses, Second Home is a larger hardback book. Gorgeous.

Summary: Family houses - eclectically by the sea
And therein lies the beauty of this book. Yes, some of the homes are older & some are rustic-but there's the sleek & contemporary too. In other words, something for everyone who loves to live by the water (or wishes they did). Buy this book to appreciate the different ways to express loving the natural light & atmosphere in a home that is reflective of the sea. You may not get Decorating Lessons 1-100 - but thats not the point. You can escape thru this book, dream thru it, share it, admire those who have created beautiful spaces in beautiful places - without displaying every obvious "seaside" nic-nac but with much good taste & class. Buy it for those pleasures & of knowing that kind of life does exist & can be lived by those to whom it means the most. To the authors - a beautiful volumn - thank you for seeking these places out & creating an arm chair trip to some incredibly beautiful spots by the water.

Summary:

search for vacations at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, google.com

	How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Dragonfly Books) Publisher: Dragonfly Books Authors: Mark Teague
ISBN: 0517885565 List Price: $6.99 Amazon Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 5 Reviews: Summary: Good starting school book I really enjoyed the book. I look forward to sharing this book with my students to start off our school year together. I'm going to use the book to help them get an idea to be creative about his or her own summer vacation to write a great story. Summary: Great fun for back to school 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. Summary: Not as much to this story Nice story about a boy's imagination but not much else to the story. GREAT pictures, as usual by Mark Teague. Enjoyable and worth purchasing (used in good condition) anyway - as I did. Summary:

search for vacations at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, google.com

Summer Boys (Summer Boys)

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Authors: Hailey Abbott

ISBN: 0439540208
List Price: $8.99
Amazon Price: $8.99
Usually ships in 24 hours

Buy this book
from amazon.com
or from
amazon.co.uk

Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
Reviews:
Summary: Summer Love
i absolutley love this book. it was the first actual book i really bought from a bookstore, and i loved it. the second one is just as good. but i can't wait till the third one. this book has, family, friendship, boys, and everything to make it one juicy summer.

Summary: NOT BAD.
this book was pretty good. it has all of the drama of gossip girl (my personal favorite) and the romance. Even though the characters are related it doesnt show much interaction between them. i cant wait to read the sequeal. But anyway this book is perfect for ages 13+ because its a little more appropiate than gossip girl is for a girl my age.

Summary: the summer of secrets
In the Tuttle family, a fairly large group of relatives that vacation in Pebble Beach, Maine every summer where they own a group of bungalows, there are a lot of secrets. Beth, an athletic tom-boy, is in love with her best friend, George, but she doesn't really know it yet, and he's been kind of busy with Claire. Elle, the flirt, has her eyes on many different boys, including her less-flirtatious sister's boyfriend, Peter. While Jamie is concerned with where she stands with her boyfriend from last summer, Ethan. Just tell each other the truth and get over it.

Summary:

search for vacations at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, google.com

Adirondack Home

Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Publisher
Authors: Ralph Kylloe

ISBN: 1586853104
List Price: $60.00
Amazon Price: $37.80
Usually ships in 24 hours

Buy this book
from amazon.com
or from
amazon.co.uk

Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
Reviews:
Summary: Traditional Adirondack Design
"In time the Adirondacks became synonymous with rugged living, fishing and hunting, other outdoor activities and all sorts of rest and relaxation. It was because of the great camps and rustic furniture that Adirondack became a style until its own." ~Ralph Kylloe

After a brief history with pictures, Ralph Kylloe delves into the beauty of Adirondack design. There are magical items in this book you may never see anywhere else like the rustic and romantic bridge design, complete with trolls.

The magical computer desk and chair look like something out of a fairy tale. Contemporary boats rest in luxurious boathouses and small guest houses are nestled beneath the trees. Many lodges and camps are featured and show the ingenuity of design. Chairs made with boat paddles and artistic waterways flowing through wood decks make this a very intriguing read. What is most interesting is how the exterior is brought inside and how artist envision one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture.

This book would be an inspiration to artists, architects and designers interested in this classic style.

~The Rebecca Review

Summary: Dream Away The Hours . . .
imagining yourself in the homes pictured in this magnificent book. Again, Kylloe has outdone himself capuring the pure essence of what a true home in the Adirondacks is all about. No author has a better technique on showing the reader all the rustic beauty thats out there far beyond our imaginations, by taking us on his personal home tours into some of the most gorgous beautiful Adirondack homes, most on lakes. He includes Adirondack history and again shows us in many of the homes the rustic furniture and decorating styles that depicks the true meaning of what life must be like for some to own these truely magnificent homes.

Summary:

search for vacations at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, google.com

Computers and Electronics Books || Automotive Books || Misc Books

| home |