Thank goodness. The "Are We There Yet" times are a lot better these days than they were when I was little. Back in the day there were no 3DSs nor clever phones nor TVs in cars. You sat and stared out the window and maybe listened to the radio, or you read. No movies nor electronic games, there was just miles and miles and miles of in between beginning-and-end. Maybe you remember.

This book is a fun take on those days. The entire dialog is THE question and mom's answer: no-no-no and eventually YES! And while the repetition lets little's "practice reading" by shouting out the dialog, the art is where the book really shows it's flare. Because all the while the pair are traveling (boy and mom) the scenery gets more and more wild and crazy.

THOUGHTS
This scenery is colorful and with the simple text this is how I would use the book if I thought the storyline would appeal to my children. With very young children I could point and name things like: soccer ball, bunny, motorcycle, fisherman, and so forth. I would also talk about what we were seeing and how, for example, bunnies were in our neighborhood too, but that you have to be quiet sometimes and very observant and lucky to see them. (Or you can get up early and watch bunnies and deer eat mommy's expensive flowers for breakfast ;)

I would also point out, of course, how the mommy and boy used their seatbelts. (Although I am seeing that not everyone is wearing them. Perhaps they have the old lap-style only belts.) And I would chat them up with what they think about the dinosaurs and horned hares.

Not a Must-Have book, but one that's fun to share and which has some teachable moments.

~review copy