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
A boy, his little sister, and their parents pack for a trip, taxi to the airport, and stand in line. Maybe missing Monkey (the stuffed animal packed in her checked luggage) or maybe alarmed by the security scanner, the young girl cries, but she is soon distracted by her surroundings in the bustling airport. After waiting at the gate, they board the plane and fly to another airport, where the father's parents welcome them. It's a happy reunion for this biracial family, and soon they head to the beach. The clearly written text is straightforward, telling what happens in the airports and on the plane, while occasional comments from the main characters and their fellow travelers add personality to the narrative. The intricate ink-and-watercolor illustrations offer a treasure trove of discoveries for detail-minded kids, who will pore over the scenes, notice recurring characters, absorb speech-balloon conversations, and follow silent subplots unfolding in successive scenes, such as Monkey's adventure in the plane's luggage compartment. Informative and entertaining enough to be handed out by any airline hoping to ease preflight fears.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Brown (Mummy Cat) traces an airplane journey through the eyes of a family: two parents, a son, and his toddler sister. The title page introduces the device on which the story hangs as the parents tell each other not to forget the toddler's favorite stuffed animal; separately, readers see the girl cramming Monkey into her mother's suitcase. Brown follows them to the airport departure area, filled with individuals and families that readers see throughout: "There are lots of people saying lots of goodbyes. Sometimes they hug. Sometimes they cry." Despite the sister's consternation, readers see Monkey traveling safely (and having a close encounter with a friendly dog) with the luggage while the family sits in the cabin above. More than just an introduction to the airport, the story is a look at the wide world itself. The biracial family encounters dozens of strangers-old, young, familiar, foreign-and observes their idiosyncracies ("Blah blah blah" says a woman who's perpetually on her phone). Amusing Easter eggs abound, and Brown's calm delineation of the mysteries and mundanities of air travel should reassure reluctant travelers. Ages 5-7. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Nobody knows what's become of Monkey except the preschooler who packed him, tail protruding from the zipper of her suitcase. And so Brown begins this brilliant little book that weaves a Knuffle Bunny-esque narrative into an expository introduction to air travel. It's raining in the city, and a mixed-race family of four take a cab to the airport on their way to see the grandparents. The first page shows a single car on a long, flat drive to their destination, but the page turn opens up to the chaos of the airport itself. Brown bumps up our interest by following several groups of passengers as she takes readers through the procedures and places in an airport, from drop-off to pick-up. There's the soccer team, a cranky old woman and her complacent husband, and a family of look-alike redheads. At check-in, security, and the gate and on the plane, careful readers will notice Monkey making a parallel journey. Each page offers a simple narrative reflection of the India ink and watercolor illustrations in text small enough not to distract from the page's visual impact. Well-placed speech bubbles create personalities for an airport's vast cast. The girl and her monkey are reunited at the end of the trip, and readers have learned what to expect when they fly. Planes fascinate children, and there is no shortage of books to develop that interest. There's always room for one more, especially one this good. VERDICT A must-buy for most libraries.-Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter School, Providence © 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
As an (interracial) family of four scrambles to leave its city apartment for the airport, readers get used to the books approach: as narrated by the older brother, a straightforward but lively main text provides basic information ("When you go to the airport, you can take a car, a van, a bus, or even a trainWhen you reach your gate, you wait. And wait and wait and waitYou buckle your seatbelt tight across your lap") while dialogue bubbles and the pictures tell a much more complex -- and wildly entertaining -- story. Browns simultaneously clean and detailed India ink and watercolor pictures follow dozens of characters who are all traveling on the same flight as our central family: a businesswoman on a cell phone ("blah blah blah blah"); a girls soccer team; an anxious elderly couple ("I hope you have the boarding passes"); a woman in a wheelchair; a man traveling alone with a (mostly unhappy) infant. There is even a subplot involving Monkey, the little sisters lost stuffed animal, executed brilliantly in the illustrations. Following each story strand to the end is rewarding, and Brown often subverts expectations or injects humor. For instance, the annoying cell-phone woman turns out to have been flying home to her small son; the baby who cried the whole flight stops as soon as the plane lands. (Fortunately -- and miraculously -- Monkey arrives safely.) Cameos by Amelia Earhart and the Wright brothers add even more amusement. This is one of those books you could look at forever and never run out of new things to notice, smile at, and fold into the next reading. Sky-high in concept, execution, and kid appeal; the only airport book youll ever need. martha v. parravano(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.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This good-humored introduction to air travel follows a multiracial family (black dad, white mom, two brown kids) through the airport, down the jetway, and onto their plane. Each step receives cleareyed treatment. Vivid ink-and-watercolor illustrations capture the lines, bag checks, security screenings, surreal little village of restaurants and shops within the terminal, and finally the waiting alongside other travelers who stretch, bicker, bob to music, babble on the phone, sleep, and listen for their boarding group to be called. Explanatory narration in the second-person is filtered through the lens of the family's older sibling. It eases readers through these experiences, reassuring them with clarity, candor, and repeated words, most often the word sometimes, which emerges as a comforting acknowledgement of expected variance. "Sometimes you get something to drink. Sometimes you get something to eat. / Sometimes there is a movie to watch. Sometimes there are people to talk to. / Sometimes the plane is bouncy, but most of the time it is smooth." Readers drift along with the easygoing voice, much like a traveler gliding along a moving walkway. Brightly colored people and baggage fill double-page spreads, nudging readers to look closely at faces, stances, attitudes, and activities to spin narratives for the travelers. Strategically placed text, with modest typeface and subtle sizing, makes the story-building straightforward and the busy pictures navigable. Instructional, comforting, and threaded with multiple air-travel story strands, this travelogue delivers at many altitudes. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
