Review by New York Times Review
I COME FROM a people pathologically afraid of being lost. One missed exit off the Garden State Parkway and you'd swear my mom saw the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse filling her rearview mirror. It's a lineage that inspired neither breeziness nor wanderlust, and very likely explains why we all still live within spitting distance. Now that you're clear on my formative potholes, let's hit the road already. Because school is history. Summer without child care has washed ashore. And like salmon swimming upstream to die (I mean spawn), it's time for us to visit Grandma Again. And again. And again. "Are We There Yet?," written by Nina Laden and illustrated by Adam McCauley, starts next to the garage. "Are you ready?" Mom asks. From the look on her son's face, and ample evidence strewn about the room, the answer would appear to be "No." But with Laden (of "Peek-a Who?" fame) and McCauley (of Time Warp Trio renown) sharing the wheel of this bright red gumdrop of a ride, we as readers definitely are. Because, unbeknown to us, everything from the butterflies outside the garage to that mysterious pair of eyes hiding under the couch will be making the trip with us. In some form or another. At first blush this wee jaunt to Grandma's might seem as dull as the recurring deadpan exchange between Mom and son: "Are we there yet?" "No." But as we merge onto a pale blue highway and wend our way into ever odder environs, we soon spy that mysterious pair of eyes again . . . and again . . . and again: hiding in the smile of a cow skull; skirting the lips of a giant oyster; dotting the maw of a topiary Minotaur. Along with the cowboy, and the dinosaurs, and the surfer and every other seemingly incidental object from that opening spread. McCauley's illustrations nimbly steer our attention outside the window and through the space-time continuum, while Laden's poker-faced text sits nicely in the passenger seat. Each spread unfurls like a vibrant beach towel, offering countless roadside delights to anyone willing to linger. It's no surprise we finally wind up at Grandma's. "How was your trip?" she asks. "Boring," her grandson replies. The joke, of course, is that the ride was anything but. Yet it raises the question: What is the boy's engagement with his own imagination? Because if he "saw" what we did, wouldn't he have stopped asking "Are we there yet?" way before we came almost to the end? It is, nonetheless, a title worth revisiting. "Are We There Yet?," by the Caldecott medalist Dan Santat ("The Adventures of Beekle"), finds us back inside the same title. (Didn't think we'd be visiting it again so soon, did you?) In a car with a boy and his parents, headed back to Grandma's. It's her birthday today, and we're bringing a present! If our last trip to Grandma's sidled into the slow lane while listening to Steely Dan, a very different Dan is driving now. Santat paints like the caffeinated love child of Delacroix and MacGyver, and with him at the wheel there's little time to figure out the radio. Whether parked on a plank with a span of pirates, or high-tailing it through history on the back of a hurtling T. rex, we are now whizzing in the fast lane. Something about the soft edges and slightly sun-bleached palette of every dashing spot and spread in this book seems to handsomely hum "HURRY!" And Santat wastes no time. Right after the boy grumbles, "This is taking forever!" the narrator hands us the wheel, and trusts we will know how to drive back in time: by following the arrows on the page, flipping the book upside down and turning the pages in reverse. That's how slow this trip feels to the boy. It's a mind-bogglingly clever idea. But I'm afraid I won't be the only one to get a bit lost. If only there were time to describe what happens as we drive through the past: the cinematic skirting of pyramids, the jousting with knights, the fetching dinosaur, or that fleeting second when we're told to "savor the moment" and un-reverse the book. Which leads us into a glowing future of flying cars and talking robots. But we need to get to Grandma's! It's no surprise we finally arrive. Or that Grandma is happy to see us. "Remember," says the narrator, "there's no greater gift than the present." A tired yet seemingly heartfelt old saw which is swiftly ignored by the boy on the following spread. "Can we go now?" he asks at a table full of smiling old people. Grandma beams quietly as she opens her polka-dot gift: a pendulum clock. It's a telling metaphor for what it means to live within a perpetually distracted present, and a restless coda to a book that doesn't really know how to slow down. Although it's raining when we enter the soothing white pages of "The Airport Book," by Lisa Brown, our final trip to Grandma's (Nana and Grandpa's, actually) will prove anything but dreary. With an abundance of open space that encourages deep breathing, Brown follows an interracial family of four (five if you count the sock monkey) on their journey to, through and from the airport, toward happy reunions and more colorful climes. With a stylish wit that distinguishes many titles she's previously touched ("Mummy Cat," "Emily's Blue Period"), Brown lovingly arranges each traveler and keenly considered cluster of luggage like bright pebbles along the banks of the Nile. From a be-trenchcoated sculptor to that businesswoman forever blathering on her phone, to the hopeful limo driver still waiting for Amelia Ear hart to arrive, this book reads like a Zen travel guide for Martians, Visigoths or any young reader not yet familiar with modern air travel. The drama at the center of this book revolves around a girl's beloved sock monkey, and whether it will safely make the trip too. "Don't forget Monkey!" cautions Mom on the title spread, "I PACK MONKEY!" says the girl to herself. But other than a wayward tail poking out of a poorly zipped suitcase, and Monkey's brief dalliance with a beagle in the cargo hold, there is really nothing to worry about. Except why the parents didn't let their daughter carry Monkey onto the plane with her. Who better to comfort a first-time traveler than a snuggly friend? But there are way too many winks and smiles hidden throughout this book to linger over one dubious parenting decision. It should come as no surprise that they all, including Monkey, safely reach their destinations (except Amelia). Because this is the whole point of Brown's book: Travel needn't feel scary. If only some of my distant forebears had been wise enough to read this book to their kids. ROWBOAT WATKINS is the author and illustrator of "Rude Cakes." His next picture book, "Pete With No Pants," will be published in the spring.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 10, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Following his Caldecott win for The Adventures of Beekle (2014), Santat offers an imaginative account of a boy's car trip to his grandmother's birthday party. What begins in excitement quickly devolves into boredom as minutes stretch into an hour. But then, readers are invited to consider what happens when their brain grows too bored. Let the interactive reading begin! The words begin to spiral around a spread featuring the boy's glazed expression, forcing the book to be rotated and read upside down. Suddenly, the slow-moving time transports the car back in history, placing it alongside a steam locomotive, a pirate ship, a jousting knight, and the newly built Sphinx in Cairo. The whole time, the parents appear startled by the changing scenery, but the boy's complaints (My butt hurts) continue until time stretches all the way back to the dinosaur-filled Jurassic period. Finally, he starts having fun, and time starts to fly; back around the book goes, sending the family to Grandma's at last. The gambit to get kids involved in the story works, and Santat's rich illustrations ranging from double-page spreads to comic-style panels carry it home. The text, on the other hand, reads a bit like greeting-card advice, but the inventive format and engrossing artwork will make kids happy to go along for the ride.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Two parents and their son set out on a marathon car trip, headed to Grandma's house for her birthday. "This is taking forever," the boy groans. Suddenly-is he dreaming?-a steam locomotive appears beside their car, chased by a cowboy on horseback. Following the text around sequential panels, readers end up flipping the book upside down and turning the pages back to front as the family travels into the past. Outside, pirates fight, knights joust, dinosaurs loom. Then, just as suddenly, text and pictures right themselves and the family zooms into the future, arriving at Grandma's house to find a space-age building in its place: "Today is October 24, 2059," a huge screen announces. The conclusion is as neat as the bow on Grandma's birthday gift (a clock). "Be patient," writes Caldecott Medalist Santat (The Adventures of Beekle), dedicating the book to his son. "We have all the time in the world." His own patience is what harnesses the energy of his riotous story and gives it a laser focus. It's a remarkable feat-a turbocharged adventure that's also a meditation on the relative nature of time. Ages 3-6. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-This imaginative take on the never-ending car ride is filled with surprises. Santat, creator of Caldecott Medal-winning The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend (Little, Brown, 2014), begins this story with an invitation to Grandma's birthday party, featured on the copyright page. The kid in the backseat is eager for the trip, but after the first hour, he is tired and cranky. Remarks like "Are we there yet?" and "This is taking forever" serve only to annoy his parents. Despite drawing paper, electronic games, a book, and several toys, including a monkey and dinosaur, the child is bored. "But what happens when your brain becomes.TOO. bored?" This question is spread over the top, down the recto side, and upside down at the bottom of the verso, causing readers to turn the book around as they read. An arrow instructs them to turn the pages in the opposite direction, which is somewhat counterintuitive, but once they get the hang of it, the novelty will delight. As the child in the backseat continues to complain, the family car drives through the old West, onto a pirate plank, to a medieval joust, to a pyramid in ancient Egypt, through the dinosaur age, and into the future. Though initially alarmed, the family eventually enjoy the adventure and finally arrive at their destination. At this point, readers must turn the book around again in order to arrive at the party, where numerous elderly friends and relatives are eating cake, wearing party hats, and offering presents. One man squeezes the grandson's cheek as another pats him on the head, causing him to whine, "Can we go now?" While the design is clever, though potentially confusing, the illustrations, rendered in pencil, crayon, watercolor, ink, and Photoshop are filled with excitement and humorous details-as the family travel back in time, their clothing alters to fit the scene, from prairie bonnets to caveman skins. Full-spreads, giant comic panels, and alarmed expressions add to the fun. VERDICT Most collections will want to purchase this original, amusing offering.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
How do you follow up a Caldecott Medal win? If youre Dan Santat (The Adventures of Beekle), you turn the picture book form on its head. Using comic-style panels, text bubbles, and vibrant splashes of color in his mixed-media illustrations, Santat puts his family of three -- driver Dad, passenger Mom, bored-in-the-backseat boy -- in a nondescript orange sedan and sets them on the road to Grandmas birthday party. The boy unleashes a litany of time-honored complaints (I feel sickMy butt hurts), but this isnt just any old road-trip story. A line spiraling around the perimeter of the page connects single-word text boxes, leading readers to turn the book upside-down to orient images and text. The surrounding vehicles appear old-fashioned, and an arrow instructs readers to turn the page on the left side of the (upside-down) spread. The next several spreads feature the boys tired complaints in humorous contrast to his freaked-out parents attempts to navigate increasingly outlandish settings: a pirate ship, medieval times, ancient Egypt, prehistoric days. Finally, as the story reorients itself (right-side-up and left-to-right), the familys time-travels take them too far into a vaguely Blade Runner-esque future: We missed the party, the kid sighs. But, thankfully, its all (possibly) a dream. Visual clues (and a few Easter eggs: can you spot Beekle?) add depth and humor. While the text occasionally veers toward adult-centeredness (The road is full of twists and turnsso sit back and enjoy the ride), the visual presentation is so strikingly inventive that young readers wont mind a bit. sam bloom (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
