A+Couple+of+Boys+Have+the+Best+Week+Ever

__A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever__ by Marla Frazee Book Review By: Brianna Eisensmith



// A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever // Author: Marla Frazee Reading Level: 6-9 yrs. Publisher: Harcourt, 2008 Language: English ISBN: 978-0152060206 Format: Hardcover, $13.08 Pages: 40

__ Summary __ : //A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever// is about two young boys, named James and Eamon, who go to “nature camp” together for a week with Eamon’s grandparents, named Bill and Pam. The grandparents make many plans for the boys, like visiting the Natural History Museum, bird watching, and time at the beach, but the boys spent the week doing other things, like eating ice cream, examining each other’s faces with binoculars, and collecting rocks, oysters, and sticks. The boys learn some interesting things about Bill and Pam, and they also discover how much fun two friends could have doing silly things together.

__ Book Review __ : This is a great picture book with a fun and humorous story that shows how creative kids can be in finding their own source of entertainment despite what the adults have planned. The author uses humor contradictions between the story and the pictures to show what it means to be a kid compared to an adult. The combination of the hilarious story and silly illustrations can amuse children and adults of all ages.

__ About The Author __ : Marla Frazee is an author and illustrator of many titles in children’s literature. Frazee graduated from the Art Center College of Design with a degree in fine arts. She began her career as an illustrator for toy design companies and even drew for McDonalds Happy Meal boxes. She illustrated her first book in 1990 called //World-Famous Muriel and the Magic Mystery// written by Sue Alexander, which eventually led her to writing and illustrating her own books, like //Roller Coaster// in 2003 and //Boss Baby// in 2010. Marla Frazee has been awarded the Caldecott Honors for two of her titles.

__ Literary Element Analysis __ : The illustrations in this book really contribute to the hilarity and characterization within the story. The author’s use of humor contradictions within the cartoon-like pictures frequently displays how young boys would really act, or what they would decide when given a choice, in contrast with what the adults want to do. The illustrations are what bring life to the fun that the boys create in their time with Eamon’s grandparents, along with the added speech balloons that contribute humor to the story. This book would be a very different story without the element of illustrations.

__Related Links__:

http://marlafrazee.com/a-couple-of-boys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV6UbfxxaQI