Pictures from Our Vacation: A Gentle Picture Book for Kids (Ages 4-8) About a Brother and Sister and the Memories That Matter

by Lynne Rae Perkins

Snap!

With their new cameras

Snap!

a brother and sister

Snap!

take pictures of their vacation.

But when they look at their photographs they see:

1. The back of Dad's head
2. Feet
3. A container of noodles

That's it?

Does 1 + 2 + 3 = summer vacation?

What about how it felt to swim in the lake? What about the stories their cousins told and the taste of a just-invented strawberry and whipped cream dessert?

For those memories—the memories of summer and the memories of family that mean the most—they need to look someplace else. Someplace deep inside. Someplace permanent.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Summer, Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Travel

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2007

About the author

Lynne Rae Perkins is the author of several novels, including her most recent Newbery Award winning book, Criss Cross. She enjoys working in her studio, being with friends, watching her kids grow, and watching her husband, Bill, chase their dog around town.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much about the vacation, but about how memories are made. Even if the kids had taken better photos, the most important memories, Perkins argues, are in their hearts.

Well, ok. But I dunno. If there aren't some cues, like conversations, and the captions for the pictures, and souvenirs, most of the memories will be lost, and that would be a shame. I sure wish that we'd worked harder to preserve memories of my childhood; I have so few relative to all the enriching experiences I had. A little camera would have helped; at least it would have helped me focus my attention.

Still, it's a fascinating & fun little philosophical fable for all ages to share and reread, so, high marks.
---
Reread. This time I also observed that everyone knows enough to just go with the flow, make the best of a bad situation, all those platitudes. It's a subtle lesson, but an important one, because there are a lot of disappointments and challenges in life and it is necessary to have an optimistic attitude.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though things don't turn out exactly as expected, everyone has a good time on the family vacation. Who needs pictures when you've got memories?

[Bookishrealm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this one at all. I didn't understand the purpose of it and I feel like the "meaning" that is demonstrated at the end is slightly forced and doesn't necessarily come across as genuine. While I did appreciate the artwork the story-line was not interesting in the least bit.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good little book about keeping your memories close to you. A sweet little read for the older (5-8 year old).

[538AM_Steph]

As a family embarks on a vacation to visit their great aunt’s lake-house, the mother gives the narrator young girl and her brother cameras and notebooks to record their vacation as they see fit. The narrator girl of the story describes new situations she encounters, which reveal the inquisitive and imaginative mind of a child as the reader is taken through every thought. After traveling along with the girl, the reader partakes in the enlightening moment where the girl understands that memories of experiences are much more rewarding than anything a camera can capture.

"Pictures from our Vacation" provides many opportunities to allow first or second grade students to make predictions, to explain what they’d do in a similar situation, and other story line events that could engage students to practice reading comprehension strategies. In addition to literacy work, "Pictures from our Vacation" could supplement a social studies lesson tying the narrator’s experiences to map work or discussion about encountering new places.

Although this story details exploration of new places and encounters of new experiences, the theme of women empowerment is evident as the narrator girl discovers that her great aunt lived an interesting and adventurous life and was a pioneer in women’s rights. Her father suggests that she has the ability to do the same and the young girl is inspired by this. Overall, I think that "Pictures from our Vacation" would connect well with students because of the voice and tone of the young girl narrating paired with the illustrations showing her thoughts that together emphasize the inquisitive mind of a child. Having the children relate to this story would help them to reflect on what can be revealed about people, places, and oneself by reflecting on these thoughts.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library today.

I know that I was supposed to like this book -- it did win a Newbery Medal -- but I just didn't. I wonder how well it would have fared against some of this year's Newbery contenders.

I found this book long, uninteresting, and, quite frankly, a bit schizophrenic. It started off with an excellent premise, but then seemed to sink quickly into the quagmire preachiness, story morals and all-round good intentions. And nothing kills the enjoyment of a book faster than that quagmire cocktail.

The illustrations were good, but seemed anachronistic against the text. Maybe author/illustrator team were striving for a timeless quality. They missed.


Actual rating: 2.5 stars, but I round up.

[Kay Prell]

The kind of vacation we've all had at least once: "What just Happened?" "Why are we here?"

And the kinds of pictures we have all taken: "Huh?"

Also, a very basic introduction to map skills. A and J seemed to enjoy being ahead of the book's Dad on how to find the lake, tracing the paths, etc.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:
NOT a read-aloud, but a fun look-through on your own book

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was the point of this book? It felt like it had a rambling feeling to it. I didn't enjoy it at all.

[Rachael Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an interesting mix of thought-bubbles, detailed pictures and everything going wrong on a vacation. I am not quite sure what the author intended in writing this piece.

[Jessica Blonder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pictures From our Vacation
By Lynne Rae Perkins
Newbery Medal
Grades: 1-5
Summary: A little girls and her family head out on a vaction to the family’s old farm house. It takes 2 days by car to get there and the vacations isn't very enjoyable. It turns out that a family member has passed away and there will be a memorial service. Everyone from the family turns up at the farmhouse for the weekend. The old farm house finally feels full.
Review: This book is hard to follow story wise and reading-wise. the author was trying to do something clever with the placement of the words on the page but it just looks like a mess and it's hard to follow.
Activities in the classroom:
Get a few cheap disposable cameras and have the students take one picture each. Once developed, the students can caption them and hang them around the classroom
Writers workshop: Where did you go on your favorite vacations? or : where have you always wanted to go on vacation?
Have the student design their own vacation cottage, let their imagination go wild.

[Kelli Stonebreaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this picture book 3 stars because I thought it was really boring and didn't push any boundaries. The illustrations in the book was the only thing that kept me interested. The mother gave her daughter and son cameras and a notebook so they could take pictures and write about their vacation. I would not use this book in my future classroom because I don't think it would benefit the students but I will have it in my classroom library so students can look through it on their own if they would like. I think I wouldn't have minded it so much if it was a lot shorter because it just kept on going on and on and I didn't know what direction the book was going in. The illustrations have bright colors and the layout on some pages is like an actual scrap book such as caption written under the picture. I thought it was a little much how the text was bent and not just written out because I felt like there was too much going on.

[Megan Visele · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrator is the young girl who went on vacation to their grandparent’s farm. She and her brother were given new notebooks and cameras to use as souvenirs for the trip. When going to see their grandparents, the two children took pictures of everything. Throughout the book, the children noticed that their best memories were the activities captured on camera. The way the book was laid out was fantastic. They were traveling through the illustrations. The illustrations were very detailed and colorful, caught my eye immediately. The illustrations are as if you are viewing their vacation from above in a plane. This book gave me a weird feeling at first, but I quickly grew into the book. I would recommend this book to any little one who is getting ready to go meet new family or who is going on a nice adventure.

[Alyssa Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a family's vacation to their family farm. It is from the point of view of a young girl and before their trip their mother gave everyone cameras to take pictures of the trip. The girl realizes that some of the best moments are not able to be photographed, which presents the theme of living in the moment and that things may not be what they seem like at first. The illustrations in this book were super colorful and added more details to the story. However, sometimes the word placement in the illustrations were difficult to read. I would use this book as a transition when students are coming back to school. Students always want to talk about their summer when school starts, so this book will be a great way to start that discussion. I think any elementary school student would enjoy reading this book, but it probably is best for children around second grade.

[Kyle Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pictures from our Vacation by Lynne Rae Perkins is a story about two kids who were both given instant cameras on their family vacation. The book is organized around the pictures that the two children took, even though they both took no traditional vacation photos. Their family vacation is not a traditional family vacation, but both children seemed to enjoy it. The illustrations in this book were interesting.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story about a family going on vacation to the daddy's childhood home where much has changed. There's a family gathering when his children get to meet some family members for the first time. A disappointing vacation turns into a great one. Lovely illustrations.

[Maddie Van Lith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how this book demonstrated that pictures are great, but sometimes it's best to just live in the moment rather than to capture everything, because we always have our memories. There was a lot going on in this it felt like but overall was a good book.

[Tam Newell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used as a mentor text for gathering ideas for paragraph writing.

[Kirsten Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

TOPICS:
* family
* relatives
* family history
* memories

BOOK CONNECTIONS
* The Relatives Came

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too involved to be a good group read aloud, this is still a nice story about a family making memories on vacation and the importance of family.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. It captures what it feels like to visit the past and realize how much it has changed, what vacations are like for kids, and the memories that stand out when it’s over.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book and how it emphasized how important time spent with family is.

[Aneesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This reminded me of The Secret Remedy Book.

[Sam McKillop]

1. This book won the Newberry Medal.
2. This is appropriate to be read by first and second graders.
3. A family went on vacation to an old family farm and the mother gave her children a polaroid camera to keep track of everything that happened on this vacation. But the children did not take many pictures after a great aunt's memorial service with all cousins, aunts, and uncles that the children did not even recognize. The older child realized that even though pictures are cool to have, pictures cannot capture the feelings that were experienced at that exact moment, but memories include pictures and feelings.
4. This book is a good way to remind students of what is easily forgotten; not everything has to be captured by a picture and that everyone should experience life and not waste their time trying to take pictures of it. Not everything has to have a picture to go with it and not everything has to be shared on social media. This book is just the beginning of this idea.
5. As a teacher, I would have my students read this right after a break (either summer, winter, or spring break). One activity to go along with it is to have them share what they did on their vacations and to draw what think was the most fun part or the most memorable part of the vacation.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. The genre of this book is picture book-traditional literature.
2. This book is about a family that goes on vacation to their grandparent's farm. The kids, a young boy and girl, were given new cameras and notebooks for taking pictures and a place to stick them in. Through their travel they took random pictures of hills, motels, noodles on the ground, a racquet, etc. Also, they swam in a big lake, played games, listened to stories from their families, and tasted a new strawberry and whipped topping dessert for the first time. These types of things were not photoghraphic. Those types of memories that mean the most were kept in their mind.
3. A) The layout of writing.
B) Even though the story was good, I think the layout of the writing threw me off a bit. At one point there were words traveling along top a path in the lake. I can see how the author was trying to twist it up a little, but I feel it was inapppropriate and confusing. Though i tmay be something I am not a fan of, I think this may be a type of style that would work for a more complex reader.
C)On pages 19 and 20 it is a big picture of the lake and a long pth with a gazebo in the middle that is displayed along both pages. The left page writing leads to the right page writing by words along the path. "...and then we ran all the way out to the end of the dock," is the passage that connects the two pages and then after "dock" it leads further into the story.
4. I am not too fond of this book, but I would have it in my classroom library. It would be something good to use after spring break so the students could share their picture or stories with the class. There are also a few other curriculum connections with geography because of the pages show small map keys in the corner for some places the family went, and for science there are some pictures of poison ivy and a walking stick bug that was mentioned. These are great connections to other sbjects.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Title: Pictures from Our Vacation by: Lynn Rae Perkins

Short Description of the Book:
This book is about a family that goes on vacation to their grandparent's farm. The kids, a young boy and girl, were given new cameras and notebooks for taking pictures and a place to stick them in. Through their travel they took random pictures of hills, motels, noodles on the ground, a racquet, etc. Also, they swam in a big lake, played games, listened to stories from their families, and tasted a new strawberry and whipped topping dessert for the first time. These types of things were not photoghraphic. Those types of memories that mean the most were kept in their mind.

FOCUS: Narrative Features I would Use in a Mini-Lesson:

*Narrative Structure: Memorable beginnings are an important part of narratives. The author begins her story by saying the important small action that then leads into the fact the children are taking pictures with the camera. The beginning starts us out with an important object (the camera) given to the kids. This object, helps them learn a valuable lesson. I would teach my kids about opening up my writing with a significant beginning (a beginning that really means something and that captures the readers attention).

TEACH: CCSS Connection (4th grade):

4.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
a.Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

[Desiree Schirg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a family that goes on vacation to their grandparent's farm.
The narrator is a young girl and she has a brother. The two children were given new cameras and notebooks for taking pictures and putting them in the notebook to use as souvenirs. While traveling, the children took random pictures of their trip but realized that their most fun times could not be captured by pictures, but were left as memories of their activities. I thought the layout of the text was unique. At times, the text was traveling along the illustrations. The illustrations in the book are very colorful and very detailed. As a reader, you feel like you are over looking their vacation from above. You could use this book as a mentor text for many things such as: point of view, writing narratives or bold beginnings, sequencing, speech bubbles, etc. You could also tie in social studies to talk about maps and how we use maps and how to make our own map. I think many students could make a personal connection to this book. Many students have been on some type of vacation and have good and bad things to say about it.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a really nice picture book, filled with warmth, truly funny humor, a good central story, and characters and ideas with which the reader will easily be able to identify.
Lynne Rae Perkins has a real way with the formation of words and how that relates to the telling of a good story. Some books are very good but I don't necessarily find myself enjoying the read the whole time; with Lynne Rae Perkins, you get a good story that is also very much enjoyable each step along the way.
"Pictures from Our Vacation" is, in some ways, like an early version of Marla Frazee's "A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever". The writing dynamic is similar in all positive ways, and of course the subject matter is closely linked.
I like this book, and would recommend it to the picture book set or for fans of Lynne Rae Perkins.

[Rebekah]

Vacations as a young child are always a good memory. Pictures help us capture the memories we made on vacation and this is exactly what Pictures from Our Vacation does. This book has a creative twist that can be adventurous for children. This book includes maps and drawings that can be really fun for young readers. This book also sends a creative message that was unexpected. The pictures do not come out perfect and most of the pictures taken were scenery, not people. The father explains how memories can still stay with us even if there is not a picture. The children use their imagination and guess what they will see along their trip.

The creativity in the illustrations in this book makes this book fun for all readers. It tells a fun story about a family on vacation but also has creative maps, pictures, and map keys explaining what is in the illustrations.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mom and Dad give their children Polaroid cameras with sticky film so they can take pictures on their family vacation. With fun, colorful drawings and a childlike imagination, Perkins tells the tale of the vacation – the anticipation of a hotel with a pool, a (mis)adventure to a favorite swimming lake, and a full house of cousins and relatives. The tale isn’t backed up by the pictures the children end up with – when they really start having fun they forget to stop and take photos. Luckily for them, they have all of the pictures they need to really remember their vacation locked away in their memory.