Travels with My Family

Travels with My Family

by Marie-Louise Gay, David Homel

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.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Geography, Travel, Humor, Canada, Chapter Books

80 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 2006

About the author

Marie-Louise Gay is the illustrator of many award-winning children's books. She is from Montreal, Canada.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Marie-Louise Gay's and David Hamel's Travels with my Family was recent and cost-effective three dollar impulse purchase at a local used book store (basically because the book description, the entire premise of a young boy, an older brother, relating the rather unorthodox vacation plans and destinations of his rather nonconformist family seemed both interesting and possibly humorous). And yes, while many of the featured anecdotes encountered in Travels With my Family are certainly both funny and at times even hair-raisingly so (albeit also more than a bit short on both description and information) I honestly do not and cannot at ALL appreciate how massively and even dangerously irresponsible both mother and father are constantly depicted as being (almost to the point of over-exaggeration, and seemingly only so that the narrator, the older son, can shine as the hero, as the only responsible member of the family, who so often has to step in and save the day). But that all being said, I was still seriously considering rating Travels with my Family with at least a high two star ranking, but sadly, the rather problematic and infuriating lack of textual geographic knowledge with regard to especially some of the featured and encountered United States of America destinations is and remains really and truly galling and grating (I do know and realise that the authors are Canadian, but come on, everyone knows that Disneyland is NOT located in Florida, but in California, and since the family is driving to Florida, the Disney theme park that the two brothers are with no possible luck hoping to visit would of course be Disney World and NOT as stated in Travels With my Family Disneyland). A fast read and often a fun read, but Travels With my Family is really not memorable by any stretch of the imagination and thus not in any way all that recommendable either (and because of the narrational geographic mistakes, only a one star book for me).

[Kate Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book for a summer reading booklist! Kids will be able to identify with the crazy parents, the car boredom, and all of the joys of traveling together. It's the journey, not the destination, right? HA!

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of these Charlie and Max travel books although probably still highly enjoyable to kids. As an adult, the humor of children saving the day from parents that are irresponsible and unprepared is overdone but I'm sure kids will love that part! Where they chose to travel bothered me a bit too. How can you decide that the experience of the Grand Canyon or the Carlsbad Caverns can be replaced by other smaller sights? I know, I know, it's just fiction..

[Lindsey Carnicella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally loved this book, perhaps because we were reading it while adventuring and planning vacations ourselves. Helpful to view our own personal mishaps or unplanned complications through the lense of story. Fun read. Recommend. Would be fun to have a child write their own version of this book from our own travels.

[mitzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty silly and good enough for Kayla to be busting her gut at the random thoughts the little boys have. Plus, she's learned quite a bit about the different places the family vacations to. I still love all the STELLA books that she has written more though. Those are cute!

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book series.
This is the first book in the series and I have read the third book as well. They are stand-alone books, as I assume the other two would be, as well.
I have never laughed so hard while reading a book. Every page is hysterically funny.
It's told from the viewpoint of a young boy who is both inexperienced in some ways and wise beyond his years (and his parents) in others.
His parents love taking the family on vacations, however their criteria for great and interesting vacations is that it be something usual, somewhere that the masses don't go and there always ends up being some element of danger involved, planned or unplanned, which the father doesn't seem to recognize. Did I mention that their car has no air conditioning? The parents, while well-meaning and genuinely loving, are short-sighted in more than one way.
The chaos that ensues on these vacations and the boy's interpretation are both on point and off kilter at the same time. The younger brother and their cat, Miro make up the rest of the primary characters.
The illustrations are so cute and funny - perfectly complementing the story.
The publisher recommends this for children "ages 9 to 12 / grades 4 to 7".
I would also recommend this for adults who enjoy good quality children's book and or a good laugh.

[Cala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Travels with My Family aloud to my six year old son. We both were laughing at every turn of the page. This family - Mom, Dad, two brothers, and sometimes the cat - takes the strangest, most out of the way vacations. The older brother/narrator saves the day repeatedly and a bit unbelievably at times. But this book is a hilarious, clean, enjoyable read aloud for families. I'll be looking for the sequels to enjoy too.

Bonus feature: geography teaching/review by following their crazy travels on a map!

[Jordan Bloomquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

My children thought this book was HILARIOUS. There is no funnier phrase to my 3 and 5-year-olds than “HURRICANE BOB!” They cracked up through the whole thing and would have listened to it in one sitting if I let them. I loved that it made them think beyond Disney World when it comes to travel ideas.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two young boys have to vacation with their parents who like to go to the unusual places most tourists don't visit. The family experiences adventures, mishaps, and learning opportunities in this funny story. Chapter book for middle grade readers. Fun illustrations.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read! We had lots of productive discussions about geography, and landscapes, and creatures while reading. If you've ever traveled with your family, there's something relateable in every adventure!

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out fantastic (Hurricane Bob), but as it progressed it lacked the hilarity of the first chapter. Funny things happened, but I never snorted with laughter after we left Maine. Still a good read.

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The boys’ parents aren’t interested in seeing the vacation spots that everyone else sees, so they take their kids to unusual, or boring, or outright dangerous locations instead. My kids enjoyed the story, but I didn’t find myself very engaged in each chapter.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to believe this is a SL book! Didn’t care very much for it. Lots of negativity. The only reason I have the 3 stars is it did have me looking some things up and yes, they are real. But I did not care for the plot (or lack of it.) 2.5 stars rounded up. Level K.

[Richelle Dane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a little kid! Would read again too as an adult.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things always go wrong on family vacations, but the adventures make the memories. ;) Kept my 5 yo's attention for the most part.

[Robyn Klepfer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I will really enjoyed this book. We want to get the rest of the series to keep the fun going! 😍😍

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book for showing your children about the adventure of traveling off the beaten path.

[KatieK · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read aloud! Even my older kids stopped in their tracks to listen in.

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really great following this family around on their (non-traditional, educational) vacations!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent as usual

I like the way the story is easy to read and the solutions that the family can find. And the fact that those kids are having a wonderful time always.

[Faith Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun vacation adventures most people never go on! My daughter and I decided we’d rather just go to the beach for vacations. Ha! *homeschool read

[Angelina Kettula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our family loved this book! Hilarious at times & educational tidbits thrown in. Sometimes it was to read aloud because of sentence structures, but overall, a fun read!

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is entertaining and - at times - laugh-out-loud funny, although I think much of the humor went over the head of my 5 year old. Despite that, he enjoyed it too. There are a few serious notes as well - such as the revolution in Mexico, and the wave in California - but overall, it's light-hearted fare that should appeal to most kids. The "our parents are not normal" tension is resolved somewhat at the end.

Having lived most of my childhood in Roswell, NM, I liked that they spent a little time there (in modern, alien-rabid Roswell, not the Roswell of my youth!) I must make one correction, however: there is NO little train shuttling people around in Carlsbad Caverns, and never had been as far as I can remember. Minor quibble in the grand scheme of things, but I can't let one of my favorite places be maligned like that! :^)

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about a family's unconventional vacations. My 6 year old really enjoyed this book. The trips the family takes are real places and the describe the food they eat and the different places they go. It was fun after each chapter to Google the places and the foods with my daughter. We plan on visiting some of the places and doing some of the activities. It was a fantastic read and promoted continued discussion.

[JennLynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read about a family's unconventional holidays. Getting caught in everything from a hurricane to a revolution in Mexico are part of life for two brothers. Disneyland and the Grand Canyon would be just too boring! B

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fianlly, a family vacation travel book where the kids are not snarky with their parents or each other - I gave it an extra star just for that!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read aloud.

[Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.; It is fine for my age.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great travel stories for kids, written from a kid's perspective. Each chapter is a different journey. You can travel without leaving home. Cool!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me of my young travels with my family, I may actually have been on some of these trips--only with more kids and more car trouble.

Another good book talk SRP book.