ARE WE THERE YET?

A three-month odyssey around Australia forms this infectiously enthusiastic love letter to the author’s homeland. Grace is excited and sad as she sets out with her family, but she adapts to life on the road, illustrating her journeys with cheery watercolor vignettes that are glossed with just the right amount of childlike detail: “The quokkas came so close to me, I could see their tiny whiskers.” Seating arrangements in the car are given equal weight with the fabulous sights, and their travels are punctuated by Billy’s question: “Are we there yet?” A map showing the family’s path along the coastline—with several detours—introduces the journey; periodically, details of that map appear to describe their progress. Restrained design gives the sense of a scrapbook without trying to mimic one—a happy decision, given the delicacy of both illustrations and text. The eventual homecoming is as sweetly perfect as the journey that precedes it. North American kids will be left with both a far greater understanding of the varied wonders of Australia and a sense that their own homeland may offer similarly gorgeous possibilities. (Picture book. 5-9)