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Vacation: We're Going to the Ocean
Load up the car. We're going to the beach! Nothing is more fun than packing the car and heading off to the shore. In light verse that rings with the sounds of summer, David Harrison captures the excitement and joy—as well as some of the surprises—of a summertime beach holiday.
- GenresPoetry
64 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 20, 2014
When a Dragon Moves in. Moore, Jodi. 2011
When a Dragon Moves in gives a story to what happens at the beach. Students can use information of prior knowledge or hypothesize what might be needed and activities they will do on a beach. Many students have never been to the beach, bringing in sand, might also be a fun hands on way to let them experience the beach.
When a Dragon Moves in enhances Vacation with a story against the background of what people do at the beach. For smaller children, 1st grade, I would use the KWL: What I know, What I want to Know, and What I learned.
The structure of Vacation is a series of poems that tell the sequential story of going to the beach, often with two voices. The Vacation family does different activities than the family in When a Dragon Moves in participate, but some activities are the same.
The fun lesson of Venn app would make this a great lesson to help young students understand by comparing and contrasting the activities of both families.
Bird, Elizabeth ( 31 July 2009) SLJ
http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production...
When a Dragon Moves in gives a story to what happens at the beach. Students can use information of prior knowledge or hypothesize what might be needed and activities they will do on a beach. Many students have never been to the beach, bringing in sand, might also be a fun hands on way to let them experience the beach.
When a Dragon Moves in enhances Vacation with a story against the background of what people do at the beach. For smaller children, 1st grade, I would use the KWL: What I know, What I want to Know, and What I learned.
The structure of Vacation is a series of poems that tell the sequential story of going to the beach, often with two voices. The Vacation family does different activities than the family in When a Dragon Moves in participate, but some activities are the same.
The fun lesson of Venn app would make this a great lesson to help young students understand by comparing and contrasting the activities of both families.
Bird, Elizabeth ( 31 July 2009) SLJ
http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production...
July 26, 2009
How do you get a kid to read poetry? That's something you want to do, right? Inundate them with a fine appreciation for a measured verse right from the get-go? So what's the trick? There are plenty of poetry books for kids out there, sure. But maybe your kids aren't too keen on those big 8" X 12" collections. We always talk about how graphic novels can be gateway books from pictures to prose. So why can't poetry books that tell a single story also be considered gateway books, but this time from fiction to poetry? That's sort of where my mind was going when I read Vacation: We're Going to the Ocean by David L. Harrison. It's a simple story at its heart, but with enough humor (and visuals) to lure in children at just the right age and make them poetry keen. It's worth a shot in any case.
Our unnamed hero is going on vacation and he cannot wait. Heck, he's even excited by the prospect of sitting in the backseat for long periods of time with his sister and baby brother. In forty-five little poems, we hear this epic tale. From running out of gas to camping with a snoring dad. From visiting relatives to getting at long last to the ocean to play. Some things may be good and some things may be bad about vacationing with your family, but as the boy says at the end. "Home at last! / I'm glad we're here, / but I can't wait / until next year!"
David L. Harrison prepares you right from the start for the vertical layout of most of his poems. The first one "Hi!" introduces you to Samuel Scott, or just Sam. The poem runs from top to bottom and it may take a couple reads to realize that you have to finish the first line before moving onto the second. Once the reader (whether child or adult) has figured that out, however, it's just a matter of remembering that for the other poems in the book. Taken as a whole, the poetry here is all about the experience of summer. Kids may be encouraged to write their own family vacation poems after reading the ones they find here. And for the most part they seem to hold together. The only poem that didn't really fit, as far as I could tell, was a rather random one where the family visits a huge fancy museum right after running out of gas. It didn't transition particularly well and was a very odd pairing.
While Harrison is telling one story, the fantastic illustrator Rob Shepperson (whom I have admired for many years) is filling in the gaps with his marvelous illustrations. For example, we haven't much of a sense of the boy's strangely unflappable sister. This is understandable since we're getting all this entirely from the boy's perspective and it wouldn't make a lot of sense for him to suddenly understand the girl's predilection for ballet tutus and tiaras. So it is that Shepperson gives her a fair amount to do visually. This happens when he transitions one poem into another with his pictures. "Shark!" a poem about mistaking a pelican's upturned beak for a watery predator shows the boy pointing out to sea as the girl prepares behind him to dowse him with a bucket of water. If you expect that she's successful then the next poem "Hot Pop" may explain why he felt obligated to shake a hot pop and then spew it on her later.
Shepperson also offers a counter-perspective to one poem or another. When Harrison writes the too familiar cry of "I Gotta Go!" it's Shepperson who shows the boy surrounded by about five empty liquid containers. Shepperson also works in a lot of tiny details that parents will appreciate but will sail clean over their children's heads. For example, the poem "Are We There Yet?" shows the boy squirming in his seat in boredom while his sister quietly reads a book, her arm resting on another that appears to be One Hundred Years of Solitude. That title's probably wishful thinking on her part. Later she seems to have A Year in Provence in her possession. A well read child, no?
The weird thing is that in a lot of ways this book is already a historical document. There aren't any cell phones or electronic devices (the back seat of the car is bereft of handheld games of any sort), just books and toys. Most telling of all, however, is the poem "Taking Pictures" where the boy complains that the gulls are refusing to hold steady and "I'm nearly out of pictures already!" Out of pictures? There will be more than one child who reads this line and shakes their head in confusion. How can you be out of pictures? Do you mean out of memory? Why not delete the pictures that aren't as good? The old film-based camera is bound to become a teachable moment for more than one parent out there.
Maybe the most telling poem in this book is "In the Backseat". As Harrison writes it, the boy is thinking about all the places he'll see from his backseat. But it is Shepperson who has drawn the picture in such a way that you can see a highway stretching far and away into the horizon magically within that back seat. It's not something you'd necessarily notice on a first read, but that's a lot of the charm of this book. Consider it the perfect read aloud title for those kids vacationing, about to vacation, or having just vacationed. Slight, fun, and a great introduction to the world of free verse.
Ages 7-9.
Our unnamed hero is going on vacation and he cannot wait. Heck, he's even excited by the prospect of sitting in the backseat for long periods of time with his sister and baby brother. In forty-five little poems, we hear this epic tale. From running out of gas to camping with a snoring dad. From visiting relatives to getting at long last to the ocean to play. Some things may be good and some things may be bad about vacationing with your family, but as the boy says at the end. "Home at last! / I'm glad we're here, / but I can't wait / until next year!"
David L. Harrison prepares you right from the start for the vertical layout of most of his poems. The first one "Hi!" introduces you to Samuel Scott, or just Sam. The poem runs from top to bottom and it may take a couple reads to realize that you have to finish the first line before moving onto the second. Once the reader (whether child or adult) has figured that out, however, it's just a matter of remembering that for the other poems in the book. Taken as a whole, the poetry here is all about the experience of summer. Kids may be encouraged to write their own family vacation poems after reading the ones they find here. And for the most part they seem to hold together. The only poem that didn't really fit, as far as I could tell, was a rather random one where the family visits a huge fancy museum right after running out of gas. It didn't transition particularly well and was a very odd pairing.
While Harrison is telling one story, the fantastic illustrator Rob Shepperson (whom I have admired for many years) is filling in the gaps with his marvelous illustrations. For example, we haven't much of a sense of the boy's strangely unflappable sister. This is understandable since we're getting all this entirely from the boy's perspective and it wouldn't make a lot of sense for him to suddenly understand the girl's predilection for ballet tutus and tiaras. So it is that Shepperson gives her a fair amount to do visually. This happens when he transitions one poem into another with his pictures. "Shark!" a poem about mistaking a pelican's upturned beak for a watery predator shows the boy pointing out to sea as the girl prepares behind him to dowse him with a bucket of water. If you expect that she's successful then the next poem "Hot Pop" may explain why he felt obligated to shake a hot pop and then spew it on her later.
Shepperson also offers a counter-perspective to one poem or another. When Harrison writes the too familiar cry of "I Gotta Go!" it's Shepperson who shows the boy surrounded by about five empty liquid containers. Shepperson also works in a lot of tiny details that parents will appreciate but will sail clean over their children's heads. For example, the poem "Are We There Yet?" shows the boy squirming in his seat in boredom while his sister quietly reads a book, her arm resting on another that appears to be One Hundred Years of Solitude. That title's probably wishful thinking on her part. Later she seems to have A Year in Provence in her possession. A well read child, no?
The weird thing is that in a lot of ways this book is already a historical document. There aren't any cell phones or electronic devices (the back seat of the car is bereft of handheld games of any sort), just books and toys. Most telling of all, however, is the poem "Taking Pictures" where the boy complains that the gulls are refusing to hold steady and "I'm nearly out of pictures already!" Out of pictures? There will be more than one child who reads this line and shakes their head in confusion. How can you be out of pictures? Do you mean out of memory? Why not delete the pictures that aren't as good? The old film-based camera is bound to become a teachable moment for more than one parent out there.
Maybe the most telling poem in this book is "In the Backseat". As Harrison writes it, the boy is thinking about all the places he'll see from his backseat. But it is Shepperson who has drawn the picture in such a way that you can see a highway stretching far and away into the horizon magically within that back seat. It's not something you'd necessarily notice on a first read, but that's a lot of the charm of this book. Consider it the perfect read aloud title for those kids vacationing, about to vacation, or having just vacationed. Slight, fun, and a great introduction to the world of free verse.
Ages 7-9.
November 29, 2016
Great beginners poetry book with short poems. Fun and easy to read each page contains a new poem about the ups and downs of a families vacation.
September 27, 2019
Adorable poems for children. A different take on the "how I spent my summer vacation" theme.
April 23, 2024
I was hoping for some lovely ocean poems. However, this was a kids' road trip book in poem form. It was cute, but not what I was hoping to get when I checked it out of the library.
July 1, 2011
45 short, illustrated poems for kids are presented in small format, perfect for introducing poetry to new readers. Each poem addresses a different moment on Sam's family vacation to the ocean, beginning with packing the car and ending with them safe at home at trip's end. In between, his family visits an art museum, spends the night with relatives and in a motel, camps out, goes horseback riding, and more, all seen through Sam's eyes. In a poem titled "Hiking", Sam says:
Every poem is short and funny enough to hold a child's interest, with accessible vocabulary and humorous cartoons. This would make a nice addition to elementary libraries.
What a / cool / place / to hike.
I see tons / of stuff / I like.
Wish / I had / a bigger / jar.
I'd take / these / scorpions / in / the / car.
Every poem is short and funny enough to hold a child's interest, with accessible vocabulary and humorous cartoons. This would make a nice addition to elementary libraries.
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October 21, 2013Vacation We’re Going to the Ocean by David L. Harrison
This book is funny and very witty the short poems captivate the fun spirit. Each chapter is a short poem about the adventures of the family as they head to the beach. This book would be ideal for any classroom as they are ready to leave for the summer. The poems are wonderfully constructed and the different forms they are displayed in is wonderful and playful. The illustrations capture the fun filled moments and complement the poems very well. Any young audience would love this book it has simple vocabulary and it is easy to identify the rhyme scheme.
This book is funny and very witty the short poems captivate the fun spirit. Each chapter is a short poem about the adventures of the family as they head to the beach. This book would be ideal for any classroom as they are ready to leave for the summer. The poems are wonderfully constructed and the different forms they are displayed in is wonderful and playful. The illustrations capture the fun filled moments and complement the poems very well. Any young audience would love this book it has simple vocabulary and it is easy to identify the rhyme scheme.
July 6, 2012
What a delightful book full of cute, fun poems about going on vacation! This book will
remind adults of their childhood vacations and entertain children. I loved it! The black and white illustrations by Rob Shepperson are also lots of fun!
remind adults of their childhood vacations and entertain children. I loved it! The black and white illustrations by Rob Shepperson are also lots of fun!
May 24, 2010
Very amusing. The illustrations are really attractive, but I wish some of the inside pictures were in color.
July 27, 2012
Terrific book! I loved it. It made you feel like you were at the ocean with the family. I'm buying a copy for my library!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews