“This is what it’s all about,” the text affirms. So the boy and his dog slow down, take a walk, play, lie in the grass and breathe. There’s no insistence that working hard is bad - toys are present along with books and paperwork. Neal expands on the slim but pithy text to build out the boy’s world with a diverse set of classmates and the charming little houses where they live. Abruptly, the graphic, mixed-media illustrations by Christopher Silas Neal that were filled with kids, buildings and school buses settle down and shift their color palette to the cool side. “When we finally stop, I eat a lot so my backpack will be lighter on the way back!”Īnd the story takes a breath. The first-person voice is on point: Ernestine loads her backpack so full of food for a short hike - supplementing the trail mix with essentials such as “leftover chips, cheese sticks, peanut butter crackers and cookies” - that she can barely climb a hill. But there are wonderful things as well: massive trees too wide to reach around, strange bugs to study, unfamiliar foods that prove to be surprisingly tasty. In graphic-novel-style layouts, the road trip from city to country unfolds - the girls look at comic books, play cat’s cradle, stare out the window, sing along with the radio - culminating in a full-spread illustration of the destination, a lake in the woods.Įrnestine has much to discover.

Her anticipation builds as she packs supplies (stuffed Foxy is a must), tests her new flashlight and makes trail mix with Dad. Visual details layer the narrative with satisfying messages that will reveal themselves over repeated readings - no small feat for a mostly wordless book.Įrnestine is invited to go camping with Aunt Jackie and cousin Samantha. But there are no slips and they complete their mission: planting a sapling. There are a couple of tense moments - crossing a log over a river near a waterfall and later rock climbing - when the child is fearful. The closeness of the father and child is a reassuring note in most of the illustrations: a hand on the shoulder here, a hug there. Nature gets a starring role here with animals and insects close enough for the child to examine and sweeping vistas grand enough to convey the wonder a child feels facing the immensity of the world. Painterly, textural illustrations, digitally rendered in a palette of greens and browns, are as soothing as a walk in the woods. The car is packed, the city fades behind them at dawn and the road leads into a not so wild wilderness, with “Welcome” signs and hiking trails. The sense of excitement is clear, though, as Dad awakens the child early to get ready for their adventure. The child in the story could be either a boy or a girl the gender is open to interpretation.

My Aunt Came Back by Pat Cummings