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Oh Yeah
Two boys with very big imaginations camp out in the backyard and compete to show their courage in the face of imagined nighttime dangers.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2003
10 people want to read
About the author
Tom Birdseye
28 books20 followersI grew up in North Carolina and Kentucky, an ardent fan of anything that smacked of sports, crawdads, mud balls, forts built in the woods, secret codes, bicycles without fenders, butter pecan ice cream, and snow. I was, however, decidedly uninterested in writing-or any academic aspect of school, for that matter-never imagining that at the age of thirty-five I would become a published author. And yet after two unrelated college degrees, a year living in Japan, and ten years of teaching experience, that is what happened. Life, it seems, is full of who'd-a-thought-its.
I live in Corvallis, Oregon, with my wife, Debbie. Our two daughters, Kelsey and Amy, are both off on their own, living and working in Portland. When not writing, working at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in creative writing, or in classrooms talking with children and teachers about the writing process, I enjoy rock climbing, alpine ascents, scaling big trees, ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, backpacking, mountain biking, running, playing the string bass, and reading.
Even after many books published and awards won, at times it still amazes me that writing is my profession. It was such a difficult process for me when I was a kid; I can really identify with the reluctant writer in school today. Everything seemed to get in the way of my completing stories: from being left-handed, to my poor spelling skills, from punctuation woes, to especially a lack of ideas. Fortunately, the right people came along at the right time and helped me see past the hurdles, emphasizing instead the joy of the work and the satisfaction to be had in trying to uncover the important truths that can come out of fiction. Now I carry a small notebook at all times and am always on the lookout for material I can use in a story: ordinary people that would make good characters, the funny, telling, or poignant glimpses of life that are triggered by what I see and hear, and the wonderfully wise things people will say at the most unexpected times.
True, I still labor through my stories, wrestling with the spelling beast and the punctuation monster, writing and rewriting, then rewriting some more, until I glean my best, but the process has become one of pleasure instead of pain. I love doing it, and I love sharing it with others. The boy who couldn't imagine himself a writer, now can't imagine himself anything else.
I live in Corvallis, Oregon, with my wife, Debbie. Our two daughters, Kelsey and Amy, are both off on their own, living and working in Portland. When not writing, working at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in creative writing, or in classrooms talking with children and teachers about the writing process, I enjoy rock climbing, alpine ascents, scaling big trees, ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, backpacking, mountain biking, running, playing the string bass, and reading.
Even after many books published and awards won, at times it still amazes me that writing is my profession. It was such a difficult process for me when I was a kid; I can really identify with the reluctant writer in school today. Everything seemed to get in the way of my completing stories: from being left-handed, to my poor spelling skills, from punctuation woes, to especially a lack of ideas. Fortunately, the right people came along at the right time and helped me see past the hurdles, emphasizing instead the joy of the work and the satisfaction to be had in trying to uncover the important truths that can come out of fiction. Now I carry a small notebook at all times and am always on the lookout for material I can use in a story: ordinary people that would make good characters, the funny, telling, or poignant glimpses of life that are triggered by what I see and hear, and the wonderfully wise things people will say at the most unexpected times.
True, I still labor through my stories, wrestling with the spelling beast and the punctuation monster, writing and rewriting, then rewriting some more, until I glean my best, but the process has become one of pleasure instead of pain. I love doing it, and I love sharing it with others. The boy who couldn't imagine himself a writer, now can't imagine himself anything else.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 31, 2008
This cute book stars two little boys, old enough to have a sleepover in a backyard tent, but not old enough to have jettisoned their favorite stuffed animals.
As the night goes on, the boys begin a game of "can you top this?" Each boy insists he wouldn't be afraid of various wild creatures if they decided to ambush the boys' tent. Before too long, it becomes clear that there's one creature neither boy wants to face.
The book has a fun cumulative element (in trying to outdo one another, each boy repeats the entire litany of monsters each time he's about to add a new one onto the end) and an uplifting ending with little notes of bravery and devotion to a friend.
A fun little read for any kid age 4-8, but especially boys, and maybe even reluctant-reader boys.
As the night goes on, the boys begin a game of "can you top this?" Each boy insists he wouldn't be afraid of various wild creatures if they decided to ambush the boys' tent. Before too long, it becomes clear that there's one creature neither boy wants to face.
The book has a fun cumulative element (in trying to outdo one another, each boy repeats the entire litany of monsters each time he's about to add a new one onto the end) and an uplifting ending with little notes of bravery and devotion to a friend.
A fun little read for any kid age 4-8, but especially boys, and maybe even reluctant-reader boys.
February 2, 2009
Hilarious example of "one-upping" your friends to show your bravery when you don't actually feel very brave at all.
March 25, 2017
We're not afraid of anything right - not even hairy, kid-eating monsters! A great read aloud that reminds you of how much fun camping out in your back yard with your best friend can be.
April 11, 2023
Alright
June 12, 2011
As we are preparing for summer and all that summer holds around my house, I picked up this book because I plan on taking my kids for an overnight camping trip this summer. They love tents and the idea of camping, so I wanted to read this book to my son for that content.
I really liked this book because the two little boys want to be big boys, but are ultimately still young in the way that little kids are. I love that they have their stuffed animals. I love the use of "Oh Yeah" the way kids do, and my son loved the menacing idea of something lurking in the bushes that isn't revealed until the end when there are tons of acutal scary things revealed throughout.
Great book!
I really liked this book because the two little boys want to be big boys, but are ultimately still young in the way that little kids are. I love that they have their stuffed animals. I love the use of "Oh Yeah" the way kids do, and my son loved the menacing idea of something lurking in the bushes that isn't revealed until the end when there are tons of acutal scary things revealed throughout.
Great book!
December 22, 2011
Two friends, camping out in the back yard, compete with each other over who could stay out with an ever-increasing number of creepy and scary creatures. They dare each other to brave huge spiders, slithering snakes, giant crocodiles, saber-toothed tigers and fire-breathing dragons. At some point, both boys give up their good luck charms (a stuffed hippo and bunny). But the thing that gets them both is the "big, hairy, kid-eating monster!" This monster actually turns out to be Merietta, the family dog. Both boys decide that they are each very brave.
July 11, 2012
When two boys decide to camp out in the backyard, they begin to scare themselves silly! Each boy tells what they wouldn't be afraid of and then of course the other has to best him. It's a great one since it shows what they wouldn't be afraid of and the illustrations are wonderful. It's better for older audience as there's a lot of text and the book isn't easy to shorten cleanly.
April 16, 2009
This is a fun book to read aloud. Each boy tries to one up the other and show how brave he is. Although both of them are scared, neither will admit it. It's a great story to start a conversation with children about being scared. We've read this one a couple of times.
July 13, 2011
Summary:
Two boys boast while camping how they are not afraid of things such as kid-eating monsters all while clutching their stuffed animals.
Two boys boast while camping how they are not afraid of things such as kid-eating monsters all while clutching their stuffed animals.
November 7, 2012
Two boys who "one-up" each other about how scared they're NOT going to get sleeping in a tent outside. Liked illustrations more than the book as a whole.
March 6, 2016
Pretty standard, but my son enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews