The Travel Game - Hardcover

Grandits, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618564209 ISBN 13: 9780618564200

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2009

Synopsis

Tad and his aunt Hattie take an imaginary trip to Hong Kong.

Armed with a globe, an illustrated almanac, and their imaginations, Tad and Aunt Hattie play the travel game. They ride elephants in India, escape deadly piranhas in the Amazon River, and hail a water taxi to visit the beautiful boat city of Hong Kong—all without leaving the apartment above the family tailor shop in Buffalo, New York. This funny, affectionate story is based on author John Grandits’s own childhood experiences. The charming and highly detailed illustrations will keep children entranced through multiple readings and encourage them to play their own version of the travel game.

About this title

About the Author:

John Grandits is a book and magazine designer and the author of Technically, It's Not My Fault and Blue Lipstick, award-winning books of concrete poetry, and the picture books Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus, which received the Texas Bluebonnet Award, and Seven Rules You Absolutely Must Follow If You Want to Survive the Cafeteria. He and his wife, Joanne, live in Red Bank, New Jersey. Visit him online at johngrandits.com.

Review:

“From his apartment above a mid-20th-century Buffalo, N.Y., tailor shop, young Tad describes his important role in his extended Polish-American family. After lunch, he wants to go back to the shop but allows himself to be lured to his room for his nap under the pretext of playing the travel game with his favorite aunt, Hattie. Each time he falls fast asleep, but today he’s determined not to succumb. One globe and a reference book are all they need. They spin the globe, shut their eyes and land near Hong Kong. Aunt and nephew refer to the book and her embellished descriptions to learn about the unfamiliar destination. It is Aunt Hattie who falls asleep this time, though, and when Tad returns to his work downstairs he tells his family that Aunt Hattie is ‘in Hong Kong taking a nap for me.’ Alley’s luscious illustrations (in ink, watercolor and acrylic) convey with originality and charm the comfortable routine. Double-row stitching cleverly frames the interior scenes of the family’s tailor shop. A warm celebration of family and imagination.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Alley’s cheery and busy street, home, and shop scenes in ink, watercolor, and acrylic are filled with the sorts of details that are fully appreciated over multiple readings. Children will be charmed by the warmth and humor of Grandits’s wonderful tribute to family memories and the power of imagination.”—School Library Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0618564209
• ISBN 13: 9780618564200
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Alley R. W.