A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (3-10-13)

                                                                                                                                                        Frazee, M. (2008). A couple of boys have the best week ever. New York: Harcourt, Inc.Genre: Picture Book- Realistic Fiction

Age: 6-9

Summary: This Caldecott Honor-winning book was about a couple of boys, James and Eamon, who spend a week during summer vacation with Eamon’s grandparents. The boys are typical little boys, getting into messes and trouble, while the best plans are laid out for them to have “organized fun” throughout the week at nature camp.

Reflection: This realistic picture book about friendship could be read by an independent young reader, although I would argue the age range a bit, due to the sarcasm and the conflict between the text and illustrations. The writing itself was very simplistic and flowed easily. The pictures in this book were absolutely necessary to understanding the humor that wasn’t directly written. For example, the author often contradicted her writing with her illustrations or explained what she was really saying “between the lines.”

This page read, “In the morning, Bill took the boys to nature camp. The road was long and curvy. James and Eamon learned a lot of new vocabulary words while Bill drove.” The illustration shows the reader what kind of words they were learning.   

At first the book didn’t quite make sense to me, so I had to read it again. This time, with the expectation that I would be reading the illustrations as much as the words, it made much more sense and I could see why it won a Caldecott Honor. This book captured the essence of little boys in the summer time finding fun wherever they go. The colors of the illustrations complement the mood of the text, by making the reader feel like they are relaxing on summer vacation and enjoying the carefree nature of being a child. It showed how kids today love to make their own fun indoors and sometimes forget about the simplistic fun that nature can offer. This was exemplified when they boys were “practicing quiet meditation” and enjoying the beach indoors. 

This could be used in a classroom to show students how the illustrations are just as important to read as the words. It would be neat to read the book to the students first by not showing them any of the pictures. After discussing the book and how the students understood what was happening, read it again,    including the illustrations, and watch how their perception of the story changes.