Frazee, M. (2008). A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever. New York: Harcourt, Inc. 9780152060206 During the summer, two boys (James and Eamon) spend the week with Eamon’s grandparents while attending an outdoor day camp. While the boys are reluctant to enjoy some of the nat... more

Frazee, M. (2008). A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever. New York: Harcourt, Inc. 9780152060206 During the summer, two boys (James and Eamon) spend the week with Eamon’s grandparents while attending an outdoor day camp. While the boys are reluctant to enjoy some of the nature activities, they eventually find the perfect activity for them. This book was one of the Caldecott honor books for 2008. For me, the reason that this honor is deserved is because of the disconnect between the text and the illustrations which creates most of the irony and humor in the story. A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever captures a sense of childhood (and particularly boyhood) well. While the book could be used as a class read aloud, it’d probably be more effective as a small group or individual read aloud, so a teacher could take time with the book and point out the points where the text and illustrations are contrasted. Activities to do with the book: As a teacher, I would probably share this book with small groups of students before or after summer breaks and draw attention to the disagreement between the text and the illustrations and urge them to create their own stories and illustrations in response. A teacher could encourage students to consider and narrate and illustrate some of their own best weeks ever. Also since the book incorporates dialogue bubbles, a teacher could narrate the majority of the story, but have the students read the dialogue between the two boys. Favorite Quotes: ”One hot summer day, James went on a long drive to Bill and Pam’s house so he could go to a week of nature camp with his friend Eamon.” “As the nature camp week went by, James and Eamon practically became one person. They did everything together in exactly the same way. To save time, Bill began calling them Jamon.” “Then at last, James and Eamon finally got real busy with something…and it turned out to be the very best part of the best week ever.” For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.