Pictures from Our VacationWritten by: Lynne Rae Perkins
Brief Summary: A family of four goes on a vacation to visit their grandparents at an old family farm. Before heading out on their journey the mother and father give their two kids, one boy and one girl, a camera to take pictures with. Their cameras are used along their two day drive as well as once the reached their vacation destination. This seemingly 'boring' vacation unexpectedly spices up a bit when their father's Great Aunt Charlotte's memorial takes place. Their cameras prove to be useful; however, the children realize that the best tool for taking pictures with is their own mind.
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A main theme that runs throughout this story is that the best of times can come when you least expect them to. One positive aspect of this book, that I noticed right away, is that this book is told in 1st person P.O.V. First person P.O.V. allows the reader to feel more of a connection with the main character, and this may prove to be an attractive quality for young, reluctant readers. I believe that both girls and boys would find this book to be an interesting read. The main character is female however the illustrations within the book, as well as the word choice used by the main character, is gender neutral. The cover of the book displays a boy and girl running down a dock with one another. Similarly, due to this I feel that both boys and girls wouldn't be hesitant to pick the book up off of a shelf. The large, detailed illustrations and text of the book work well together. Although I don't think it was the author's intention, I feel that this book could easily be seen/read as a graphic novel. I really enjoyed reading this story and I would be happy to recommend it to my students. I believe this would be a good book to read to an entire class to start a unit on family or vacation destinations. This book would also be a good choice for an individual read. The book recommends that its ideal audience be between the ages of 5 and 8. I would argue that this book could be used for most elementary students (K-4). The language is simple however if a 4th grader was assigned to read this book they shouldn't be offended by the word choice.
