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Louie #2
The Trip
One of Keats's best-loved characters, Louie, stars in this poignant story about the loneliness of moving to a new place. Homesick for his old neighborhood, Louie finds a way to return by making a shoe box model of where he used to live, and pretending he is inside it. But soon, Louie will discover that he doesn't need to use his imagination to find friends; in fact, they may be as close as his new front door.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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171 people want to read
About the author
Ezra Jack Keats
122 books373 followersEzra Jack Keats was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating The Snowy Day, which he also wrote. Many of Ezra’s stories are about a group of friends growing up in the city. The neighborhood they live in looks like the streets where Ezra grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
He was born Jacob Ezra Katz, the third child of Polish-Jewish immigrants Benjamin Katz and Augusta Podgainy. The family was very poor. Jack, as he was known, was artistic from an early age, and joyfully made pictures out of whatever scraps of wood, cloth and paper that he could collect. Benjamin Katz, who worked as a waiter, tried to discourage his son, insisting that artists lived terrible, impoverished lives. Nevertheless, he sometimes brought home tubes of paint, claiming, "A starving artist swapped this for a bowl of soup."
With little encouragement at home, Keats sought validation for his skills at school and learned about art at the public library. He received a medal for drawing on graduating from Junior High School 149. Although unimpressive-looking, the medal meant a great deal to him, and he kept it his entire life. Keats attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he won a national contest run by Scholastic for an oil painting depicting hobos warming themselves around a fire. At his graduation, in January 1935, he was to receive the senior class medal for excellence in art. Two days before the ceremony, Benjamin Katz died in the street of a heart attack. When Keats identified his father's body, he later wrote, "I found myself staring deep into his secret feelings. There in his wallet were worn and tattered newspaper clippings of the notices of the awards I had won. My silent admirer and supplier, he had been torn between his dread of my leading a life of hardship and his real pride in my work."
His father's death curtailed his dream of attending art school. For the remainder of the Great Depression until he was drafted for military service in World War II, Keats took art classes when he could and worked at a number of jobs, most notably as a mural painter under the New Deal program the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and as a comic book illustrator. At Fawcett Publications, he illustrated backgrounds for the Captain Marvel comic strip. He spent his military service (1943-45) designing camouflage patterns for the U.S. Army Air Force. In 1947, he petitioned to legally change his name to Ezra Jack Keats, in reaction to the anti-Semitic prejudice of the time.
Keats spent most of 1949 painting and studying in Paris, realizing a long-deferred dream of working as an artist. After returning to New York, he focused on earning a living as a commercial artist, undoubtedly influenced by his father's anxieties. His illustrations began to appear in Reader's Digest, The New York Times Book Review, Collier's and Playboy, and on the jackets of popular books. His work was displayed in Fifth Avenue store windows, and the Associated American Artists Gallery, in New York City, gave him exhibitions in 1950 and 1954.
In his unpublished autobiography, Keats wrote, "I didn't even ask to get into children's books." In fact, he was asked to do so by Elizabeth Riley of Crowell, which brought out his first children's title, Jubilant for Sure, written by Elisabeth Hubbard Lansing, in 1954. To prepare for the assignment, Keats went to rural Kentucky, where the story takes place, to sketch. Many children's books followed, including the Danny Dunn adventure series, by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin, and an ethnographic series by Tillie S. Pine and Joseph Levine, beginning with The Indians Knew. All told, Keats illustrated nearly 70 books written by other authors.
In 1983, Keats died at the age of 67 following a heart attack. His last projects included designing the sets for a musical version of his book The Trip (which would later become the stage production Captain Louie), designing
He was born Jacob Ezra Katz, the third child of Polish-Jewish immigrants Benjamin Katz and Augusta Podgainy. The family was very poor. Jack, as he was known, was artistic from an early age, and joyfully made pictures out of whatever scraps of wood, cloth and paper that he could collect. Benjamin Katz, who worked as a waiter, tried to discourage his son, insisting that artists lived terrible, impoverished lives. Nevertheless, he sometimes brought home tubes of paint, claiming, "A starving artist swapped this for a bowl of soup."
With little encouragement at home, Keats sought validation for his skills at school and learned about art at the public library. He received a medal for drawing on graduating from Junior High School 149. Although unimpressive-looking, the medal meant a great deal to him, and he kept it his entire life. Keats attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he won a national contest run by Scholastic for an oil painting depicting hobos warming themselves around a fire. At his graduation, in January 1935, he was to receive the senior class medal for excellence in art. Two days before the ceremony, Benjamin Katz died in the street of a heart attack. When Keats identified his father's body, he later wrote, "I found myself staring deep into his secret feelings. There in his wallet were worn and tattered newspaper clippings of the notices of the awards I had won. My silent admirer and supplier, he had been torn between his dread of my leading a life of hardship and his real pride in my work."
His father's death curtailed his dream of attending art school. For the remainder of the Great Depression until he was drafted for military service in World War II, Keats took art classes when he could and worked at a number of jobs, most notably as a mural painter under the New Deal program the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and as a comic book illustrator. At Fawcett Publications, he illustrated backgrounds for the Captain Marvel comic strip. He spent his military service (1943-45) designing camouflage patterns for the U.S. Army Air Force. In 1947, he petitioned to legally change his name to Ezra Jack Keats, in reaction to the anti-Semitic prejudice of the time.
Keats spent most of 1949 painting and studying in Paris, realizing a long-deferred dream of working as an artist. After returning to New York, he focused on earning a living as a commercial artist, undoubtedly influenced by his father's anxieties. His illustrations began to appear in Reader's Digest, The New York Times Book Review, Collier's and Playboy, and on the jackets of popular books. His work was displayed in Fifth Avenue store windows, and the Associated American Artists Gallery, in New York City, gave him exhibitions in 1950 and 1954.
In his unpublished autobiography, Keats wrote, "I didn't even ask to get into children's books." In fact, he was asked to do so by Elizabeth Riley of Crowell, which brought out his first children's title, Jubilant for Sure, written by Elisabeth Hubbard Lansing, in 1954. To prepare for the assignment, Keats went to rural Kentucky, where the story takes place, to sketch. Many children's books followed, including the Danny Dunn adventure series, by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin, and an ethnographic series by Tillie S. Pine and Joseph Levine, beginning with The Indians Knew. All told, Keats illustrated nearly 70 books written by other authors.
In 1983, Keats died at the age of 67 following a heart attack. His last projects included designing the sets for a musical version of his book The Trip (which would later become the stage production Captain Louie), designing
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
February 21, 2020
I found this book a little confusing, but I knew ahead of time that it was about an imaginary journey. The illustrations were great, as usual, but the story lacked oomph.
November 6, 2025
A young boy moves and misses his friends. He makes a town and a plane. He flies his plane and meets his old friends. They go trick or treating. When it's time go home, his Mom tells him it's time to go trick or treating.
October 31, 2025
Louie really is just about the perfect picture book character, easy to relate to in a quiet, understated way that comes about as a result of the equally quiet, understated pictures made by Ezrea Jack Keats. No reader will be unable to identify with Louie's apprehension about his new apartment, away from his old friends and all of the familiar elements about his former neighborhood that he lad learned to cherish through time. Louie allows his imagination to soar into the past, though, and once again for a brief moment to touch those things that he used to love; yet when he returns, life goes on for him, and he perhaps begins to see that there will be things that he can learn to love where he is right now, if he lets himself begin anew.
The Trip is a nice picture book in the famous style of Ezra Jack Keats, appealing to all ages for both its story and pictures.
The Trip is a nice picture book in the famous style of Ezra Jack Keats, appealing to all ages for both its story and pictures.
April 1, 2017
The Louie books are weird.
January 28, 2019
Great book about using your imagination!
Read
September 12, 2022Note: a story around Halloween.
June 30, 2018
The Trip is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, which tells a story about a shy boy named Louie who has moved to a new place and is not particularly happy about it. It is the second book of four books in the Louie series.
The text is rather simple and straightforward. It is an endearing story about a shy boy named Louie who has moved to a new place and how he copes with it. Louie is such a precious child, which needs to be protected at all cost. The illustrations are wonderful and done in typical Keats' style of collage and watercolors.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Louie is a quiet and shy boy who hardly speaks and has moved to a new place and is not particularly happy about it. It’s Halloween, but Louie isn't too enthusiastic about participating. To cope, Louie constructed a shoe-box diorama about his old neighborhood and takes an imaginary trip to it. In the end, Louie puts on a costume to go trick-or-treating and hopefully make new friends.
All in all, The Trip is a wonderful children's book about how to handle moving to a new place and the wonderful adventure it could be.
The text is rather simple and straightforward. It is an endearing story about a shy boy named Louie who has moved to a new place and how he copes with it. Louie is such a precious child, which needs to be protected at all cost. The illustrations are wonderful and done in typical Keats' style of collage and watercolors.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Louie is a quiet and shy boy who hardly speaks and has moved to a new place and is not particularly happy about it. It’s Halloween, but Louie isn't too enthusiastic about participating. To cope, Louie constructed a shoe-box diorama about his old neighborhood and takes an imaginary trip to it. In the end, Louie puts on a costume to go trick-or-treating and hopefully make new friends.
All in all, The Trip is a wonderful children's book about how to handle moving to a new place and the wonderful adventure it could be.
January 31, 2024
So many picture books have been written to comfort children who move house, or whose friends move away. This particular story is uniquely moving, and a call to imagination as much as emotions.
At first, Louie misses his old friends. And why wouldn't he? Recently he and his mother moved to a new apartment, and a new neighborhood. Out of an old shoebox Louie creates a diorama to remind him of that old neighborhood he misses so much.
Then comes the special ingredient: Louie's child-sized (which means HUGE) imagination. He extravagantly misses, and celebrates, that old neighborhood... until he's ready to move forward in his life.
On his first Halloween at the new apartment, Louie picks himself up and boldly meets the new children who will likely become his new friends.
FIVE STARS of admiration for this splendid, soul-nourishing picture book: My personal thanks go to author and artist Ezra Jack Keats.
At first, Louie misses his old friends. And why wouldn't he? Recently he and his mother moved to a new apartment, and a new neighborhood. Out of an old shoebox Louie creates a diorama to remind him of that old neighborhood he misses so much.
Then comes the special ingredient: Louie's child-sized (which means HUGE) imagination. He extravagantly misses, and celebrates, that old neighborhood... until he's ready to move forward in his life.
On his first Halloween at the new apartment, Louie picks himself up and boldly meets the new children who will likely become his new friends.
FIVE STARS of admiration for this splendid, soul-nourishing picture book: My personal thanks go to author and artist Ezra Jack Keats.
May 3, 2019
1. Awards: n/a
2. Appropriate grade level: K-2nd grade
3. original summary: After a big move, Louie makes a scene to play in out of a shoe box. He plays in his imagination with his old friends.
4. Original Review: This book can be very useful for children going through a move. While reading this book, I felt a great sense of magic and inspiration. Louie is easy for people to relate to.
5. 2-3 in class uses: This book can be used for inspiring students to play in imaginative ways and for when a new student comes into the classroom.
2. Appropriate grade level: K-2nd grade
3. original summary: After a big move, Louie makes a scene to play in out of a shoe box. He plays in his imagination with his old friends.
4. Original Review: This book can be very useful for children going through a move. While reading this book, I felt a great sense of magic and inspiration. Louie is easy for people to relate to.
5. 2-3 in class uses: This book can be used for inspiring students to play in imaginative ways and for when a new student comes into the classroom.
October 31, 2025
Happy Halloween, 2025, everyone.
There was a lot I liked about this book, which is a sequel to Louie (1975):
* Louie works out a way to deal with problem without involving an adult.
* The art craft Louie does is AWESOME.
* It's set on Halloween.
* Ezra Jack Keats, man.
However, there is a plot hole big enough to fly a plane through. That was a bit of sloppy storytelling I just couldn't ignore.
Also, just what costume does Louie get? Hard to tell. It may be the one that all of the other kids are looking at.
You can currently find this at the Internet Archive.
There was a lot I liked about this book, which is a sequel to Louie (1975):
* Louie works out a way to deal with problem without involving an adult.
* The art craft Louie does is AWESOME.
* It's set on Halloween.
* Ezra Jack Keats, man.
However, there is a plot hole big enough to fly a plane through. That was a bit of sloppy storytelling I just couldn't ignore.
Also, just what costume does Louie get? Hard to tell. It may be the one that all of the other kids are looking at.
You can currently find this at the Internet Archive.
April 7, 2021
Louie moves to a new neighborhood and is lonely so he makes a viewer box and pretends he goes to visit his old neighborhood and it's Halloween. His fantasy is disrupted when his mother calls him to put on his costume as it is Halloween.
Pictures are bright, but story is not very good. Not one of Keats' best.
Pictures are bright, but story is not very good. Not one of Keats' best.
September 5, 2025
I wanted more emotion words in this. I think more modern children’s books talk a lot about feelings…and this older children’s book more implied feelings. Like we assumed that the boy is sad and misses his friends because he makes an elaborate shoebox model of his old neighborhood…but it doesn’t actually discuss his emotions explicitly (which surprised me).
July 10, 2017
Louie's family moved to a new neighbourhood where he didn't know anyone. Everything was different. To busy himself, Louie got out an old shoebox and got creative. What he made inspired his imagination further so that he imagined he was in his old neighbourhood with his friends on Hallowe'en.
March 1, 2018
I thought this story was a little sad. The boy has just moved and is missing his old home and friends. This could be a good story to read if the class is getting a new student to understand how the student might be feeling coming into the new classroom.
May 9, 2022
Compelling intersection between loneliness resulting from a move and a creative response that blooms into hope from awareness of sustained and new friendships. As dour as this could be, Keats nicely Interweaves his narrative with the playfulness of Halloween’s trick-or-treat.
March 9, 2017
Beautiful illustrations, but truthfully not much of a story.
Read
March 24, 2017Very simple story. I would have this book in my classroom library but wouldn't use it as a read aloud since it doesn't have a clear intention.
October 28, 2017
Beautiful illustrations with story depicting Halloween 🎃 fun in the old neighborhood. How seasonal!
February 28, 2018
I would add making a peep show with a shoe book (shown at end of story) to a lesson with this tale of imagination.
April 24, 2018
Imaginative story of a boy who misses his old neighborhood.
April 29, 2019
Great book about using your imagination!!
June 13, 2020
Best part was the Keats cameo as Louie flies his plane!
July 22, 2020
this was kinda iffy imo, but i did enjoy it nonetheless. the art was cool but wild.
January 21, 2021
Sometimes you can't wait, and so almost straight away I went for book two in the series and once again was amazed at the brilliance of Keats.
March 2, 2021
Another Keats book that deals with the loneliness of a new move, but it emphasizes the power of imagination. Could work well to combine with collage and diorama projects.
October 5, 2021
Part of Ezra Jack Keats collection.
October 2, 2022
End pages mirror the illustrations. Keats' usual collage style with human photos added.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2024
Louie is a special child, with a terrific imagination and, perhaps, a neurodivergency. This series about him is making me sniffle. I'm going to have to read more books by Keats to find out if Louie shows up in them.
July 3, 2025
Such a cute book, cute art, AND COMES WITH A CRAFT IDEA !!!! Circle time activity in the making
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews