Vacation: We're Going to the Ocean: Poems

Children's Literature - Carrie Hane Hung

Sam, his parents, and his sibling are going on vacation. His family's car trip to the beach is chronicled in a series of short poems. Sam is excited to go to the shore; his enthusiasm bubbles and grows. He helps pack for the car trip and secretly includes his pet spider. Once the road trip begins, Sam shares the many events that happen along the way. What a vacation trip this one is from Sam's perspective! They stop at camping grounds, an art museum, and the home of relatives and Sam replays his adventures. Once they arrive at their destination point, the beach, Sam tells about the various activities at the ocean—from sharks to sand and swimsuits to snorkeling. Then the time arrives to go home and that return trip back to home is quick, like many vacations. The illustrations and the verses work together and capture laughable moments that may remind readers of some familiar parts of their own family vacation travel. Reviewer: Carrie Hane Hung

School Library Journal

K-Gr 5

These delightful poems center on a family's trip to the ocean and are told from the perspective of young Sam ("Call me Sam, that's who I am"). He describes packing the car: "My sister/packed/so much junk/there's/no place/I can sit./If we/left/my sister/home,/I bet/her stuff/would/fit." In one poem, when the boy cannot take his pet gerbil, he tells readers he is taking a spider instead. "Oops" relates how it escapes. An amusing pen-and-ink illustration adroitly conveys the ensuing chaos: the boy sticks his head out of the car window, three doors are wide open, and the rest of the family stands in a line, all looking quite perturbed, their discarded personal items lying on the ground between them and the car. "Putting Up the Tent" explains that, "We/helped/Daddy/with the/tent. /It didn't/go/the way/we meant./We don't/know how/the pole/got bent." This book, with its expressive art that expands on the humor in each poem, should have wide appeal.-Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA

Kirkus Reviews

In this slim volume of rather bland poetry, Harrison introduces readers to a boy named Sam and takes them along on his family vacation. Written from Sam's point of view, the poems cover a wide range of subjects-including getting lost, a stop at an art museum, a fast-food excursion, staying over at a relative's house and camping-but the majority of them are devoted to the family's visit to the beach. For instance, in one of the cleverer selections, "Sunburn," Mommy warns the kids about getting burnt before taking matters into her own hands; she "lathers on / enough / lotion / to leave rings / around / the ocean." The volume ends with a predictable final poem called "Home at Last!" and the less-than-memorable lines, "Home at last! I'm glad we're here / but I can't wait / until next year!" Shepperson's cartoon-like illustrations add a bit of pizzazz to the collection but not enough to raise it above mediocre. Try Mike Thaler's Pig Little (2006) for a wittier day at the poetic beach. (Poetry. 6-10)