The House Takes a Vacation

Reviews
School Library Journal
When the Petersons go on vacation, their house decides to take one, too. After some discussion, the windows, roof, front door, and sun porch agree to go to the beach, though the chimney complains in a smoky voice, "Travel is a pain in the bricks." As the house walks away on spindly legs, the basement stays put: "'You're such a stick-in-the-mud,' said the roof, but the basement refused to rise to the occasion." When it finally reaches the sea, it stays to watch the "Dance of the Sunlight" as the sun rises over the water. "Can't top that," says the roof. Puns are plentiful as the house takes a swim in the ocean and then goes home, arriving just before the Petersons do. "What happened?" the family wonders, as their bedraggled residence, seaweed hanging from its roof, starts to plan another vacation for next year. This slight story is memorable mainly for its play on words. The large oil and colored-pencil illustrations blend vivid colors and flowing shapes to create an impressionistic mood. The different parts of the barn-red dwelling have facial features (eyes, eyebrows, and mouths) that suggest distinct personalities. The beach scenes mix a foam-green ocean with dazzling blue skies. Humorous visual details abound, echoing the tale's silly fun. The text is not long but it is somewhat sophisticated in its humor.

The Horn Book
After the vacation-bound Petersons drive away from their house, the bedroom windows raise the question, "Where shall we go?" The gung-ho front door is open to anything (I'll lead the way!"), but it's the wistful sun porch's wish to see sunlight on the ocean that sways the reluctant roof and chimney. Leaving the basement behind (it "refused to rise to the occasion"), the house heads for the beach. Davies's kooky premise and characters are brought to life in White's spirited oil-paint and colored-pencil illustrations. The house gets around on impossibly thin legs; each participating house-part sports a mouth and two expressivley browed eyes, enhancing their different personalities. Oddball scenes, such as the peripatetic house stuck in a traffic jam (the Petersons are visible a few cars ahead), ably support the pun-filled text. Some of the wordplay may not register with young readers (as when the roof says, "I feel like I've got shingles"), but that doesn't detract from the story's absurd humor. Kids will undoubtedly be aware of the visual joke in the art: on the couple of occasions when the house crosses paths with the Petersons, only the daughter notices. After an adventure-filled trip (which includes being swept out to sea), the worn-out house trudges back, um, home. The family returns moments later, looking a lot more rested than their water-logged abode...and, except for the daughter, a lot more confused.

Kirkus
Housemoving takes on new meaning in this offbeat tale. When the Petersons leave for a vacation, their house decides to go on holiday too. Each part of the house has his/her own notion of where to go, but they finally agree on seeing the sea. The long trip is arduous, but the dawn of sunlight and the lure of the water provide a thrilling adventure, as the house sets sail and then returns home with a satisfying memory, startling the family with its waterlogged condition. Oil-and-colored pencil illustrations create hazy, molded background scenes that contrast sharply wth the bright red house with black stick feet and google-eyed faces on the various parts. The pun-loaded dialogue is really adult humor: The chimney complains, "I feel like I've got the flue," while the bedroom windows creak, "Oh! The pane!" and the roof grumbles, "Man, am I sore. I feel like I've got shingles." Nevertheless, kids will enjoy the silliness and animated house sections.

Publisher's Weekly
Davies's (The Boy Who Drew Birds) outlandish tale stars a house that goes on a trip while its inhabitants are away. The cast includes the cool-guy roof (known to shout "Dudes!" and "Surf's up!"), the dreamer sunporch (enthralled with the thought of seeing the sea) and the eager-to-please front door ("I'll lead the way!")-each of which is personified with pun-filled voices that, depending on one's tolerance, is fun-filled or overkill. The basement "refuses to rise to the occasion" while the roof "feels like it's got shingles," the chimney "feels like it's got the flue," and the bedroom windows shout, "Oh! The pane! The pane!" White's (Stop that Nose!) earthtoned oil and pencil illustrations take readers along for the ride, with artwork so lively and fluid they'll feel as though they, too, are tumbling about on the rough surf alongside the house. The artist does a commendable job of endowing the house with personality without going too far. By story's end, the bungalow has returned from its adventure, no worse for the wear, and ultimately realizes that there is, in fact, no place like home.

Synopsis

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