Vacations Books

Hard to compete with such a terrific review, but I must add my own HUZZAHs.

I love the artwork. I love the interspersed black and white comic strips that add to the exposition.

I love the spanish slang scattered throughout: after but a few readings, my 3 year old now says, "FUU-CHI!" (yucky, stinky) as he wipes kisses off (with a smile, of course -- he's a sweet boy).

I bought Chato Goes Cruisin' in a bookstore and ordered the other 2 sight unseen, fully confident that they'll be as wonderful.

Some picture book series get progressively less inspired as time goes on. Ian Falconer's, "Olivia" books do this. Ditto "Babar". It's just a common occurrence that people kind of come to expect. You would think that an author like Gary Soto would have used up all his creativity and ideas in the "Chato" series with "Chato's Kitchen" and "Chato and the Party Animals". In much the same way, Susan Guevara's illustrations should, logic dictates, become less entrancing and pleasant to the eye as she brings Chato's world to brilliant life. Yet here I am staring at "Chato Goes Cruisin'" and I can't for the life of me figure out how Soto and Guevara managed to come up with yet another remarkably fresh escapade in the lives of my favorite barrio boys, Chato and Novio Boy. I can't figure it out, but somehow it happened. We should be this lucky with every series.

There are distinct advantages that come with eating your cereal every morning. In Chato's case, the advantage is that he now has a chance to enter and win a free cruise for himself and a friend. He enters, wins, and before you know it he and his best friend Novio Boy are off for a vacation of pure relaxation. In theory. The truth of the matter is, when they get to the docks they find a cruise ship occupied entirely by dogs. Well behaved party dogs but dogs just the same. There are dog snacks, dog games, dog videos in the library, and a heckuva lot of howling at the moon. Soon enough, however, the dogs become ill and it's up to our intrepid duo to save the day. But when their rescue boat meets up with the REAL cat cruise, will they keep their promise to the canines or join a far more alluring ride?

Once again, Soto gives this book just the right mix of Spanish terms sprinkled alongside English ones. At the same time, Chato and Novio Boy use phrases that sound natural and completely appropriate for the situations they find themselves in. When Chato goes to the library to watch some movies and find only flicks with titles like, "Great Dog Rescues", Chato's reaction is a heartfelt, "Man, this is sorry". The plot makes sense, comes out all right, and the last image of the two slowly cruising in their beautiful car (with the license plate "Vato Gato") brings the whole thing home.

And Susan Guevera just gets more and more creative with every Chato book she illustrates. I liked "Chato's Kitchen" okay when it first came out, but her style at that time struck me as too loose and insubstantial. It began to tighten with "Chato and the Party Animals" and finally here with "Chato Goes Cruisin'" she's hit her peak. She's grown so comfortable with her art that she's willing to shake it up a bit for the sake of amusement. So you have the usual Chato kookiness, but also some very cool black and white comic strips on the bottom of some of the pages to give you a little insight into Chato and Novio Boy's heads. There are also countless amusing details all over this book just waiting for you to find them. When the dogs greet them at the dock, for example, the comic strip on the page shows a flag pointing to their dock with a dog head, and another flag with a cat head pointed in the opposite direction. When our heroes can't sleep for all the howling, they might have been cheered had they known that a cut-away of the boat shows a pack of very busy mice toiling relentlessly in the kitchen. Yum. Then there are the details that I think make it work the best. Novio Boy retains his title as the sexiest cat in children's literature (check out the shot of him lifting weights). And both he and Chato sport some mighty fine facial hair, making them the only felines I can think of to sport goatees and `staches in picture book fare.

Hard to object to anything in this book, really. If you enjoyed the first two installments in Chato's adventures then the best thing I can say about, "Chato Goes Cruisin'" is that it does its predecessors proud. Funny, filled with great slang in English and Spanish alike, and just a rousing adventure, it's the best of the "Chato" lot and a fine fine purchase.

A great addition to any scrapbooker's collection!
When I first saw this book I was just amazed that I had finally found a book dedicated to vacation scrapbook pages. And after opening it, I was thrilled that it didn't disappoint like so many other scrapbook idea books I've seen in the past. Anyone needing great examples for vacation layouts should definitely pick up this book. While the book doesn't provide much in written tips and ideas it does provide pages upon pages of beautifully designed layouts. These pages will have your creative juices flowing in no time. Happy scrapping!

I was looking for ideas for pages because we are going to do a family reunion at Disney. This is a once in a lifetime event and I wanted to scrap it for the little ones. I took out so many books from the library and pages through dozens of books at the craft store. Then I came accross this gem.

Practically every layout begs to be re-defined for our pages. The book starts out with beach pages and has a particullarly nice "Cousins are Friends" page that will work quite nice for our expented family. The outings section is 90% Disney layouts, including what to do with your Epcot travels and Animal Kingdom. It also has a few Sea World layouts for that side trip. In the outdoor section it has camping pages that work well if you are staying at Ft Wildreness. Also a great spelunking section, which I have never seen before.

While I checked this book out from the library, I now want to buy a copy for my collection as it is a wonderful layout resourse. As a beginner I did not find the very short and basic layout directions to be too difficult. The book names the manufacturer of the items used and probably assumes you will be consulting the various directions or just using your own creativity to alter the layouts.

We purchased 2 beach books for castle building and both were great and very informative. We took them on vacation and will be taking them again.

This is such a great book. Its basically not a read-once-and -done book. Rather it is a read once and take with you to the beach and read again or simply refer back to. The book definitely put me in a relaxed mindset. A very pleasant and enjoyable read.

I obtained copy by emailing my order to books@mind.net This is a great book for those wishing to take a sailing charter with or without crew. I ordered copies for all my friends and "crew".

This is an outstanding guide for the novice sailor giving great tips on chartering a boat for the adventure of a lifetime. I wish the publishers would reissue this book. I've been trying to find copies for friends for some time.

Deijiko's Summer Vacation Julia Dougher
The book has an information part. It has two stories in the book. It shows how to read the book at the back of the book. It shows toys and other stuff at the back of the book. At the beginning of the book there is a part that tells you about the characters.
The story is for all ages. The story is very good. It is very interesting. It is very cute. You might like it but I like it.
The drawings are very good but the story is pretty much funny, too. There are different stories of the book. It is a good book to read. If you buy this book, I hope you will like the book.
By Koge-Donbo

After several releases by other publishers (Viz and I.C. Entertainemt), Di Gi Charat gets the treatment from the company that created the wacky characters in Japan - and boy do the Broccoli Books people treat it with loving care. The translations sparkle and there are lots of extras included like Di Gi Charat poetry from fans!

There are several stories in this manga, all done by different artists. Lots of cute art and storylines.

I was surprised to see that sound effects are also translated. I never really noticed how much of a difference it makes, but it really does make one.

I'm looking forward to the next Di Gi Charat book!

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (6/08)

If you've ever cruised on one of the megaships, I bet you've occasionally caught a glimpse of a sleeker, much smaller ship that crossed your path somewhere, but you've never seen them in the same port as your megaship. I've often wondered who could possibly be using those luxurious-looking, very appealing smaller catamarans and yachts, since they seemed to be oh-so-expensive.

After reading "Dream Cruises" by Kim Kavin I wonder no more. Ms. Kavin wrote an all-encompassing guide to choosing, chartering and enjoying vacations on private yachts. Surprisingly enough, those vacations can be quite affordable, and she provided examples for budgets from $1,000 to $1,000,000. If you regularly cruise with several friends, a private yacht charter could be even more cost effective for you than a cruise ship vacation. And with all the research that went into Ms. Kavin's book, unpleasant surprises, unnecessary hassles and wrong decisions could and should well be avoided.

After I've gotten over the feelings of intense jealousy, stirred in me by reading about the absolutely fabulous cruise vacation Ms. Kavin has taken in the past (just kidding, just kidding... but they are enough to make you sigh wistfully for sure!), I delved deeper in the technicalities of chartering a yacht. Ms. Kavin provided all of the necessary information to make the decision process simple and streamlined. Starting with the basic explanations of yacht chartering and comparison of yachts vs. cruise ships, Ms. Kavin familiarized the reader with boat basics, types of boats and what one could expect on different boat types. An in-depth discussion of destinations, both the usual, classic ones and a nice sampling of the emerging, new ones, followed those basic chapters. Ms. Kavin did not neglect to include a detailed overview of the cost, both up-front and the additional as well as optional ones. The next half-a-dozen chapters dealt with all of the other cruising aspects, from whom to choose to be your boating party to how special requests and needs could and would be accommodated, how to decide on the right type of the charter for your, how to find a respectable broker and what exactly will you encounter once on board, down to the descriptions of the different types of staterooms or bedrooms as well as how a head looks on a yacht and where to find it.

If you are planning a cruise vacation and would like to depart a bit from the routine of the megaships, or if you are just curious about how other people live, "Dream Cruises" is an excellent book to familiarize you with the world of private yacht chartering. And there is no law against dreaming, is there?

Cruises have never been viewed as a luxury for the average earner - but they can be, thanks to "Dream Cruises: The Insider's Guide to Private Yacht Charter Vacations". Speaking of private cruises, free from the hustle and bustle of community cruises and all of their hassles, it speaks clearly on how to make these, as the book is titled, dream cruises a reality and a possibility on funds as low as a single grand and other options if you manage to have more money lying around. "Dream Cruises: The Insider's Guide to Private Yacht Charter Vacations" is highly recommended for community library collections dedicated to travel.

I had enjoyed the last children's book by this author team.This one is a quick read and so I was able to finish it during a sitting in a local bookstore.I thought it might make a good gift for my young niece(who is the picked-upon "runt" in the family).It will be the perfect gift for her! From my little bit of online research,this story is based on a real-life incident from the childhood of former Mayor Koch and his kid sister,Patty. Growing up,Little Ed viewed Patty the way most big brothers see their younger sibling--a royal nuisance whose main reason for living is to cramp their style.Little Patty knows she is willing and more than able to rough it with Eddie and his pals if he'd only let her hang with them.Well, on a family outing in the woods, something dramatic happens that no doubt changes the nature of their relationship from that point forward.It's a story that will surely resonate with any young girl that has an older sibling,and it might even make an impact on a few older brothers out there who have been taking their little sis for granted.Real cute story--well told--terrific color illustations.I look forward to my niece's reaction when she reads it.She'll love it!

All younger siblings, and older siblings too, can identify with this tender and sweet natured story. As they did in their previous family tale, Ed Koch and his little sister Patty convey an important message
about responsibility, following rules, and the true affection between siblings even when the younger ones want to tag along with the big kids. Little sister Patty learns that even independent and bright little kids should follow rules and that older siblings can be very impressive in an emergency. An adventure story with great illustrations and an excellent lesson. My grandkids loved this book because it seemed to be their story,too.

This is the best book that I have ever read on how to RV in Europe. I have taken my family twice in the past 3 years and this book told all I needed to know.

I am planning a 6 month road trip round Europe with my partner next year. And this book was an absolute god send in answering all the niggly practical issues of being on the road. Written by an American couple it is full of wonderful insights and anecdotes from their indepth experience of travelling round Europe. It covers everything from where to buy/rent a vehicle here, fave camping/free camping spots, cooking menus & equipment checklist...& even how to avoid arguments with your partner when living in such confined space! Strange that I couldn't find any similar books written by Europeans...but I suppose Americans really do know their stuff when it comes to this subject.

Adventurer and author Walt Peterson does it again! With son Michael, he has produced a guide to Baja for those who want to explore this place of many wonders by RV. Walt and Michael provide an extraordinary book, filled with all the information RVers will need to have a really great adventure in Baja. For those who prefer to rough it, Walt's acclaimed Baja AdventureBook is just the ticket

Probably the best book on the Baja I have in my collection. From the border to Cabo Walt and his son Michael can show you the best of a wonderful vacation area. And I bought it used for $10.00 at Amazon.com.....

My three year old has me read this to her over and over again and has been getting very excited for the snow to come and to go skiing!

I'm an eleven year old girl and I live in a ski resort. The ski resort is Aspen/Snowmass. It is a wonderful and beautiful place to live and vacation. I just bought and finished reading this book. Suzie Shane (main character) reminded me of the first time that i went skiing and how nervous I was. It was very very scary! It was very funny to see how other kids feel the first time they go skiing. I would recommend this book for all beginer skiers of all ages. If your like me, you'll like (love) this book too!