A girl describes her family vacation to the farm where her father spent many summers as a child in a story rich with acute observation and dry humor. The two-day drive is long stretches of boredom punctuated by the occasional spark of something that captures her interest (“an orange truck with the word YELLOW on it . . a sign for a motel that had a red roof”) and inspires her imagination (“if I had a motel, I would call it The Blue Motel . . . ”). Once at the farm, she notes, “Our dad saw happy memories everywhere he looked. All we could see was old furniture and dust.” A memorial service (“Do I have to wear a dress?”) for a relative she never knew marks a turning point. Aunts, uncles, and cousins have gathered, and the days following the service are filled with friendship, warmth, and laughter. A child-centered perspective on adult nostalgia is just one of the many distinct aspects of this highly original picture book full of captivating visual and narrative detail. Perkins’ playful, sometimes poignant exploration of the tension between nostalgia and reality is even more intriguing given the girl’s realization that the photographs she took early on in the trip have little connection to the experiences she finds most meaningful at its end. It’s the pictures in her mind—her memories—that matter most. Honor Book, 2008 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 6–9)

Snap!

With their new cameras

Snap!

a brother and sister

Snap!

take pictures of their vacation.

But when they look at their photographs they see:

1. The back of Dad's head
2. Feet
3. A container of noodles

That's it?

Does 1 + 2 + 3 = summer vacation?

What about how it felt to swim in the lake? What about the stories their cousins told and the taste of a just-invented strawberry and whipped cream dessert?

For those memories—the memories of summer and the memories of family that mean the most—they need to look someplace else. Someplace deep inside. Someplace permanent.