A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever

Frazee, M. (2008). A Couple of Boys Have The Best Week Ever. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc.

Life with boys. Thats the best quick summation of this book. James is going to visit his friend Eamon who is staying with his grandparents, Bill and Pam. While there, the boys will go to a nature day camp. However, the boys seem to enjoy spending more time indoors horsing around than exploring things in the outdoors. They spend their days playing with the air mattress, eating Pam's waffles, and watching TV. A side story is Bill wants to go visit Antartica and see the penguins. He repeatedly asks the boys if they want to visit the penguin exhibit at the museum. They don't seem too interested. After the week, the visit is drawing to a close. The camp is over. The boys spend a quiet night together and realize how interesting nature can be. They build their own Antartica display/exhibit for Bill using rocks and sticks.

The book is a sweet story on how boys can be when they are best buds. The best part is the snark included in the book. The text doesn't always match the dialogue and illustrations. The words say one thing, but the illustrations shows something else. For example Freeze writes, "He had never been away from home for an entire week, so he was very sad when his mother drove away." The picture shows James waving happily to his mother saying, "Bye" obviously not sad at all. The story is full of irony like this.  Adults would get a kick out of this part of the book. I did as it made me think of my son. I have well intentions but he has his own plans.