How I Spent My Summer Vacation

by Mark Teague

Overview

This wildly funny twist on the "How I spent my summer vacation" school-essay ritual details one child's imaginary adventures over the summer and is perfect for back-to-school reading!

Most kids go to camp over the summer, or to Grandma's house, or maybe they're stuck at home. Not Wallace Bleff.  He was supposed to visit his Aunt Fern. Instead, Wallace insists, he was carried off by cowboys and taught the ways of the West--from riding buckin' broncos to roping cattle. Lucky for Aunt Fern, he showed up at her house just in time to divert a stampede from her barbecue party!  Perfect for back-to-school read-alouds, here's a western fantasy with sparkling illustrations and enough action to knock kids' boots off!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307792488
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/28/2013
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Mark Teague is a New York Times–bestselling author and illustrator of children’s literature. Some of his most popular works are the Dinosaur series, How I Spent My Summer Vacation, and Poppleton series. He lives in the Hudson River Valley with his wife, Laura, and two children, Lillias and Ava.

Editorial Reviews

A boy's school report tracks his imaginary adventures in the wild West, using playful rhyming verse; the result, according to PW, is "one rootin' tootin' tall tale." Ages 3-7. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-Gr 2An original fantasy told in rhyme. Wallace Bleff, who is reporting to his class about his summer vacation, tells of his travels west at the bidding of his parents, who felt his overactive imagination needed a rest. He relates how en route to his Aunt Fern's house, he is kidnapped by cowboys andvoil, Kid Bleff is born. He joins the rawhide crowd; learns to rope, ride, and build fires; and becomes a ``first-rate cowhand.'' In celebration of the end of the roundup, Aunt Fern invites Wallace and new friends to a barbecue. When a cattle stampede nearly ruins the party, the young hero saves the day as he displays hidden talent as a matador and reverses the direction of the herd. The art is done in warm acrylics throughout, first to portray the classroom setting where Wallace's yarn begins against the backdrop of the chalkboard, then segues into the sandy scenes of the Wild West, and back again. Teague strikes again with a unique idea, one teachers would do well to use. An excellent read-aloud choice for back-to-school reading in the classroom or the public library.Marsha McGrath, Clearwater Public Library, FL

School Library Journal

A great back-to-school picture book elevates the traditional "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" school report to new and dazzling heights. Wallace Bleff's unsuspecting teacher gets more than she bargained for when the quiet student erupts in glee as he reads his essay on his summer vacation--a wild and woolly, Old West adventure that bursts from his paper into full-color, action-packed double-spread paintings filled with cowboys, horses, and stampeding steers. Now Wallace "can hardly wait for show-and-tell!" As usual, Teague's imagination springs lively, as does his rhyming text, and his illustrations have that slightly old-fashioned look that never seems outdated. Children will love Wallace's buckaroo heroism and love his great revenge.

Stephanie Zvirin