James and Eamon spend a week at Eamon’s grandparents’ house while they attend a nearby Nature Camp during the day. The two best friends have a great time together, not necessarily at Nature Camp but during their off hours. Actually, neither boy seems to have much interest in nature. All week they turn down Grandpa Bill’s suggestion to go to a special penguin exhibit at a local museum, and they have no desire whatsoever to play outside. Instead, they watch TV, play video games, and stuff themselves with Grandma Pam’s banana waffles. Much of the humor comes from an incongruity between text and illustrations. For example, where the text says, “At night, James and Eamon slept on a blow-up mattress with an automatic pump,” the art shows the boys jumping up and down on the mattress. The text, in fact, describes events as an adult would want them, while the pictures show what the boys are really doing. Most amusing and poignant is the poor grandfather, wanting so much to share his passion for penguins with two boys who couldn’t care less. But it turns out something has sunk in. On the last night, the boys venture outside, and against a moonlit ocean backdrop, using rocks, shells, and sticks, they build an Antarctic scene, complete with penguins. Upon leaving the next day, “they walked like a couple of penguins all the way out the front door.” It’s a perfect ending to the boys’ best week ever. (Ages 4–7)

A 2009 Caldecott Honor Book



When James and Eamon go to a week of Nature Camp and stay at Eamon's grandparents' house, it turns out that their free time spent staying inside, eating waffles, and playing video games is way more interesting than nature. But sometimes things work out best when they don't go exactly as planned.



This Caldecott Honor-winning book is a moving and hilarious celebration of young boys, childhood friendships, and the power of the imagination, where Marla Frazee captures the very essence of summer vacation and what it means to be a kid.