"The car trip to visit Grandma is always exciting! But after the first hour, it can feel like an eternity..."

A little boy sits in the backseat, next to a wrapped present for Grandma, but his bright, excited expression turns to boredom and eventually grumpiness as the car trip drags on and on.

The question "But what happens when your brain becomes TOO bored?" loops around a double page spread, requiring the reader to rotate the book 180 degrees and continue turning the pages in the opposite direction. The boy's imagination takes over and the car is shown in different settings: a pirate ship, a joust, ancient Egypt, and finally ("it feels like a million years") the age of dinosaurs. Another 180 page turn, and we're in the future...then finally... "We're here!"

Although the message is to "sit back and enjoy the ride" and "there's no greater gift than the present" (this text is over an illustration of the boy hugging his grandma after handing over the gift), the final spread is the boy surrounded by relatives, having his cheek pinched, asking, "Can we go now?"

Funny - and a must-read before a road trip! ( )

Dan Santat's unique and beautiful illustrations make this yet another favorite. In this story, a little boy imagines all sorts of crazy images from the past and the future wile on a long road trip to his grandmother's house. This book reminds readers to enjoy the moment. Can be used in history lessons on some of the images used in the book. ( )

An odd little book. The reader has to turn the pages and rotate the book in a couple of instances. Very colorful and action packed, but odd. ( )

A very different style of book with this one. There are turns you never saw coming, literally turning the book upside down. As you turn the book more and more you fall more in love with the story and get engulfed with its trueness. A child's mind can them across worlds, but only if you let it like here. ( )

Have you ever traveled with kids? Read this book! ( )

Written in comic book style, Are We There Yet is something else. When I first picked up this book, I wasn't sure I would like it. It seemed so different than other Santat books. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Dan Santat's illustrations take you upside down, into the digital world, deep in your imagination, and anywhere in between. His innovation is a breath of fresh air. Of course, his pictures are cute, but they are beyond that. You actually feel as if you are in the car with the family. ( )

Are We There Yet? Is a picture Fiction book for students in preschool through 3rd grade.

Throughout the book, a boy talks about his experience driving to his grandparents' house and the process of what he thinks when he gets bored in the car. When he gets bored, he imagines them time travelling through adventures with dinosaurs, pirates, and robots.

This unconventional book has between a few words and two sentences per page leaving the illustrations to tell the story. I am not a fan of this book as the words are laid out in a circle on some pages and upside down on other pages. The layout would be difficult when reading the book aloud to students and can confuse students as they become familiar with books and how to read them. In addition, the lack of written content per page can leave students bored, uninterested, or confused as there is no literal relation between the words and the images. In addition, the reader may also move too quickly for students to make a connection between the words and the illustrations. I would not include this in my classroom library and advise parents to abstain from using this book at home. ( )

Are we there yet takes the classic saying and places a spin on it. As the young boy is traveling to his grandmothers home he encounters many different trails as time starts moving so slow it moves backward! The young boy has to find his way through time and back to the road to his grandmothers house before he is stuck forever. The week itself allows for many different sayings that showcase a style of rhythm which the students can use to retain the information. ( )

Are We There Yet by Dan Santat is a well-written book that I would recommend to many young readers and teachers. Specifically, I enjoyed the illustrations that the Santat created to go along with the story. Santat has a very passionate past about illustrating and I think that it shows throughout his work. I also enjoyed the color schemes used throughout the story because it helps portray the feelings and emotions of the main character. The story also pushes for students to use their imagination and creativity as they read. I also enjoyed the formatting of the story throughout because it was constantly something new on every page. ( )

This book is about a boy who gets bored while driving to him grandmothers house. He starts to say "Are we there yet?" and his mind begins to wander as they keep driving until they get there. ( )

A young boy is going on a long car ride to his grandma's and he is very bored. He imagines that time is going so slow that it is going backwards and he is going back to the time of pirates and dinosaurs. He is trying to use his imagination to have fun even when he is very bored. ( )

The whiny child on the "Great American Family Road Trip" doesn't resonate strongly with me (uh, you read or sleep or look out the window? And then you get to your fun destination? Some of the best times of my childhood are cuddled up in the back seat under a blanket, looking out at the stars, though perhaps my parents shouldn't've let me take off my seatbelt and get comfortable?), but this also introduced my son to the time travel concept, which surely will give him many happy imagination and weird-physics-type speculation hours, as it (surely?) has for us all. ( )

Summary- This is a book about a boy on his way to his grandma's birthday, but along the way he finds that riding in a car can be very boring. When he is bored he starts to imagine something that could happen along his way. He travels around through a ton of different eras in time until he finally finds his way to his Grandma's House.

Critique of Genre- Fantasy because as of now there is no way to travel back in time unless it is in your imagination.

Ages- All Ages.

Media- Pencils, Crayons, Watercolors, Ink. ( )

Are we there yet by Santat, Dan
Cute audio story of a boy in a car with his parents and they are heading to the grandmother's house.
It is over 1000 miles away and the boy doesn't have much patience, gets bored and his butt hurts. As an adult we've taken rides that are over 1100 miles long so I can fully understand where this story is going.
Love the trip and you should treasure it.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device). ( )

I would read this book for story time in the class or as a way to calm them down and focus. I could also use this for transition times to reading practice or as a segway into creative writing. This is a good fantasy book because it takes the real world element of long car trips and adds the aspect of the boy seeing them go back and forth through time on their trip. He imagines all this by being bored and looking out the window as the landscape goes by. I found this book entertaining and I liked his creative use of upside down pages and making the words go around in circles. He taught kids to enjoy the present and focus on the good that is happening around you.

This is a book is about a boy that is with his parents on his way to visit his Grandmother for her birthday party and it is a long road trip. A road trip where things can become boring and time slow down and this family's car ride turns into an interesting visit to the past and the future. This book did well to incorporate the elements of a tall tale. This was shown through how a simple car ride to grandma's turned into and adventure through time into the past and the future. Although this book's story was more told through the illustrations that are a part of it instead of through the use of words to create the imagery. ( )

road trip takes forever - great illustrations; book is turned upside down to continue ( )

A boy on a car trip to his grandmother's birthday is bored. Time seems to pass so slow that it actually starts moving backward. The boy has to develop more appreciation for the present to get them back to the right era in time for the birthday party.

This fun book tells (via words and hilarious illustrations) of a boy's vacation and how long it takes to get there. The style is eye catching, literally, as the reader has to read around the pages and upside down. My grandson loved this book and laughed all the way through it. Thankfully, he doesn't say "are we there yet?" when we are traveling with him. Great imagination takes place in this story and my students will love this book in the library! ( )

ARE WE THERE YET? by Dan Santat is an inventive picture book that explores the age old question “are we there yet?”.

When a young boy becomes bored on a long road trip to his grandmother’s birthday party, he imagines that time goes so slow that it begin flowing backwards. Along the way he sees pirates, knights, camels, and even dinosaurs. However, soon the story shifts to the future.

Careful readers will spot QR codes that can be read by electronic devices. These codes lead to secret messages. Young readers will also notice small things like the way the parent’s clothing changes and his dad’s beard grows as time flies. Children will also enjoy the play on the word “present” at the end of the story.

Librarians will find that the illustrator’s use of upside down pages will be a hit with children. Buy multiple copies of this book because it will fly off the shelves.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.dantat.com.

Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers, an imprint go Hachette. ARC courtesy of the publisher. ( )

Woop. De. Do.  Other stories have shown the power of a child's imagination.  Other stories have told kids how to pass the time on a long car ride.  Other books have some pages that are more easily read when the book is turned upside down.  And they've all been better books.  This one does have something I've not seen before: QR codes... of course, not all of us have smartphones, so I've no idea if there's any brilliance behind them, and, rather, I'm feeling insulted....  I'm not sure if Santat is capable of anything else nearly as wonderful as Beekle.... ( )

A young boy grows bored on a road trip to his grandmother's in this picture-book from Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat, finding that time begins to do funny things as he and his parents drive along. As page prompts instruct the reader to flip the orientation of the book, so that the bottom is now the top, the story takes a fantastical turn as the boy's car finds itself racing a steam train in the old west, perched precariously on the plank of a pirate ship, and jousting in a medieval tournament. When they reach the time of the dinosaurs, the process is reversed (as is the orientation of the book, once again), and they begin traveling forward in time, perhaps too far. Will the boy get to his grandmother's for her birthday party...?

Although not the equal of his earlier The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend - and really, this hardly comes as a surprise, given the immense charm of Beekle - Are We There Yet? is still an engaging tale, one which utilizes creative interactive mechanisms such as flipping the book to involve the reader in the adventure. The artwork itself is lovely, with the same use of bright color that I so enjoyed in Beekle, and the same humor that enlivened such titles as Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World and its sequels. Recommended to anyone who enjoys Dan Santat's brand of humor, or who is looking for children's stories featuring road trips, the nature of time, and/or the power of dreaming and imagination. ( )

A perfectly adorable picture book that brilliantly captures the power of imagination. A great book for all kids, both young and old.

I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review. ( )