How I Spent My Summer Vacation

by Mark Teague

This wildly funny twist on the "How I spent my summer vacation" school-essay ritual details one child's imaginary adventures over the summer and is perfect for back-to-school reading!

Most kids go to camp over the summer, or to Grandma's house, or maybe they're stuck at home. Not Wallace Bleff.  He was supposed to visit his Aunt Fern. Instead, Wallace insists, he was carried off by cowboys and taught the ways of the West--from riding buckin' broncos to roping cattle. Lucky for Aunt Fern, he showed up at her house just in time to divert a stampede from her barbecue party!  Perfect for back-to-school read-alouds, here's a western fantasy with sparkling illustrations and enough action to knock kids' boots off!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Summer, Storytime, Fiction, School, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Mark Teague has delighted young readers with more than 20 picture books, and he has written many of them himself, including the popular Pigsty, Baby Tamer, and One Halloween Night. He is also the illustrator of Cynthia Rylant's beloved Poppleton series for beginning readers and the best-selling books by Jane Yolen, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon.

Mark Teague's life changed when he moved from San Diego to New York City and he planted the seed for his first picture book, The Trouble with the Johnsons. Each of Teague's books start as "notebooks full of sketches and scribbles, strange little drawings and phrases that suddenly come together," Teague explains. And although he had no formal writing training, his endless imagination and understanding nature gives him a permanent place in the hearts of everyone.

Mark and his wife live in Coxsackie, New York, with their young daughter Lily, who has a great time watching her dad paint the pictures in his books.

Reviews

[Austin W · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked that he was very creative

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute!

Great pictures!

[Suezette Given · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to prompt kids to talk about creative stories. (Proposed as an alternative to the traditional what you did this summer)

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dec. 19
I was on vacation in Asheville before Christmas, and saw this in the hotel lobby, and sat down to read it.
Love the rhyming.
& how he's in front of the class, and reading out his report but the images are on the chalkboard as the story unfolds.
I like when he's lighting a fire and the bear is in the background.
The telephone booth ruined the feel of the old west.
I wondered where "kid Bleff" came from. I forgot his last name was Bleff.
'So we cleaned up (a little) and we headed her way.'
The rhymes are so clever!
'Its a scene I'll remember till my very last day. "They're gonna stampede!" I heard somebody say.
I wonder where the cattle were at?
I know what it's like to have them stampede!!
'So I turned like a matador.
&spun it around.
It was a new kind of cowboying, a fantastic display!
The cattle were frightened and stampeded..,away!'
His face is so cute as he holds the red cape out!
I love how it comes back to reality and he's standing in front of the door and the bulls are on the board.& the teacher is looking at him askance as if wondering if he's telling the truth.
All that's on the board is 'how I spent my summer vacation by Wallace Bleff.' Aw!
This was the first rhyme I wasn't crazy about. 'Then the cowboys all cheered, "bleff's a true buckaroo!"
They shook my hand and slapped my back,
And Aunt Fern hugged me, too.'
It ended with him saying 'I can hardly wait for show-and-tell!'
The cow and prairie dog were in the frame. I didn't understand why the teacher was standing up and her case of flowers were starting to fall.
-This was such a cute story!

[Laura Gibbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was really cute! I am beginning to really like Mark Teague books! This one is all about a boy who wrote a paper on how he spent his summer vacation- but it’s full of imagination! He goes to see his aunt, on a westbound train. Suddenly, he was captured by cowboys who had bad manners and loud voices. They carried him off to a cow camp, where he was named the new cowboy. So he wrote his aunt to tell her he would be there soon, and started to learn to be a cowboy. He was given a new set of clothes, learned how to rope, ride and make fire with sticks. Finally, he called his aunt and she invited his friends over as well for a BBQ. While they were there, the animals started to stampede and he couldn’t find a place to hide, so he grabbed the red tablecloth to be a matador to save the day!

This book was cute-it was all about a little boy’s imagination and what he was seeing and doing while he as at his aunt’s house. I think it would definitely be appealing to children to read or be read to. I loved the pictures in this one, as I did the last one as well! I think this could be used when talking about trains, cowboys and/or Indians.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the start of the new school year, Wallace gives his report about what he did during his summer vacation. On a visit to his Aunt Fern's, he gets recruited by a gang of cowboys who needs a new cowhand. Wallace learns the way of the cowboy from riding horses to roping and then to herding cattle. Once the day's job is finally completed does he get to invite his new friends over to Aunt Fern's. And during a barbeque, a stampede is on its way, but Wallace saves the day before any disaster could happen. Now one can wonder the creative imagination of Wallace to come up with a story like that, but how much is true while he awaits the day of show-and-tell?

Mark Teague's writing style allows for the free expression of Wallace's experiences out on the Wild West to be brought to life, poetically. He knows how to bring life to a story that only a little kid could tell. A perfect end of summer tale that makes you wonder how to spend the next one.

[Rebecca Ashley Teague · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a boy named Wallace. At school, Wallace is asked to tell about what he did during his summer vacation. Wallace lets his imagination run wild and pretty soon he is telling about a summer vacation filled with train rides, cowboys, and cattle herding. I would use this book during the first week of school to challenge my students to use their imaginations like Wallace did. I would have students write about their summer vacation and they could write the truth or fiction. Then, it would be fun to have students share their stories with the rest of the class and allow the class to guess whether the story was true or false.

[Oanh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story takes a typical writing prompt given to students at the beginning of the year and shows what one student chose to write about. I used this story to teach my students that you don't have to list or tell what you did over the summer or the weekend-- you can spruce it up by writing it as a story and include dialogue. You're not really sure what's real or made up, but that's ok! This story takes something familiar and takes it to a different level of writing for those students who may be stuck on just the "telling" or "listing" stage of writing.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had a vacation as interesting as this kid!

When giving his BORING report about his BORING vacation... wait, no, that was somebody else. This kid's vacation included being kidnapped. By COWBOYS! And having to stop a cattle stampede! And being a hero!

Good rhymes, great fun, and cute ending with a bull in time for show-and tell. Anybody who's had to suffer through the first day of school blues should get a copy :)

[The Reading Countess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute rhyming prose. This would be a great BOY read aloud to encourage kids to let their imaginations soar when relating what they did over the summer through turn and talk or a short writing exercise.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, the imagination that sparks young children! As a student relays his experience about his his summer vacation, the class is a little taken aback. Told in rhyming passages, How I Spent My Summer Vacation, is funny and evocative of (school)days gone by.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great imagination story and also for children who like cowboys...little boy imagines his summer vacation is a wild west adventure.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a fun, rhyming twist on the age old How I Spent My Summer Vacation report. The boy in this story tells the class about his wild summer as a cowboy and his adventure in stopping a cow stampede. This might be a good way to break the ice on the first day of school and it might serve as a good mentor text to help kids who are trying to write interesting narratives about their own summer experiences.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little boy gets up to share what he did over summer vacation, and tells a tale that may be just a little too wild to be true. Or is it?

Did Bleff end up kidnapped by cowboys for the summer, or is he telling a whopper? I was inclined towards one answer but the last page's illustration made me second guess myself. Kids will have fun debating what they think and should be greatly entertained by Bleff's unusual summer.

[Carolyn Jeziorski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Teague’s storytelling and humor. This book has been a favorite for years, but I think it’s beginning to show its age...or my international students just do not understand cowboys. Some of the classes I work with recently wrapped up memoir writing units, so at the start they were convinced it was a memoir text. 😂

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy, Wallace, heads out west to go see his aunt and to give his “wild imagination” (according to his parents) a rest. Set to rhyme, he tells of his cowboy adventures. Were they real? Imagined? One can’t be sure…

This would be a good discussion for young readers to express what they think. Good book for the beginning of the school year.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

On his way to Aunt Fern’s for a summer away from his overactive imagination, Wallace Bleff is captured by cowboys and taken to their camp. It seems they’ve had a cowboy quit, so they need a replacement. Wallace agrees and the adventure is on.

[Kalynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read for the first day of school! I loved the words, the illustrations, and the story elements. I just sent this title to my 1st-4th grade teachers, because I could see a connection and follow-up for all of those different grades. So glad this is one I purchased!

[Vanessa Dargain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha ha ha ha ! What a summer ! A fun text with excellent illustrations . Great for reading aloud . Just like GILA MONSTERS MEET YOU AT THE AIRPORT by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat . Those city kids are going to be so awestruck when they see the cool western things Wallace brings to show-and-tell .

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a summer vacation report, a boy tells about how he went out West to visit his Aunt and ended up having a rootin', tootin' time with some Cowboy kidnappers. Sound made up? Just wait until show and tell!

[Connie T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Wallace gives an oral presentation on how he spent his summer vacation it turns into a tall tale of being kidnapped by cowboys. With rhyming text, this picture book might appeal to some, despite being nearly thirty years old.

[Karen Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for teaching how to elaborate your writing with imaginary details.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picture book of how a young man, with a vivid imagination, spent his summer vacation. Good book for teachers to use on the opening days of school

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit imaginative perhaps? The kid tells story about what happened in the summer, when he was kidnapped by cowboys, learns cowboy tricks, etc.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite story, but I could see where it would be a great mentor text for promoting narrative writing about summer vacation.

[Mat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun rhyming story with fantastic art. All four kids liked it.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I loved the illustrations, I didn't love the story. Basically a little boy giving his imaginary version of summer vacation (spent with cowboys).

[Elizabeth And · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these books. The rhythm is wonderfully poetic and fun to read. Will read all that he writes. Fantastically creative.

[Y.Poston]

Love the little
storyteller!
Great pictures &
story!

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Teague never fails to delight his reader with a one-of-a-kind adventure!