Written & submitted by Kayla Davitt, MT-BC
Excitement. Anticipation. Thoughts of the beach, the sand, and the sun. I can remember when I was younger how excited I would be on the night before a summer vacation trip – I wouldn’t be able to sleep! For many years, my family would take weeklong summer vacations to different spots on the east coast: Myrtle Beach, Williamsburg, and the Outer Banks (to name a few). The night before getting on the road was almost always filled with chaos: last minute packing, laundry, loading the car, and going through checklists, much like the characters in Natasha Wing’s The Night Before Summer Vacation.
Many of us are familiar with the classic Christmas tale ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The classic tale describes the excitement and joy a child feels the night before opening presents and spending time with family. Natasha Wing altered the common tale for children to identify with another exciting event – a summer vacation! There is a song that goes with the classic tale and the tune can easily be sung with the words from the summer vacation story. The whimsical illustrations by Julie Durrell in this storybook capture the innocence of a child excited about what is to come in the days ahead.
Even though I don’t have kids of my own, I can only imagine how stressful and chaotic the night before summer vacation can be! I can remember my parents being worried that chores and packing were not going to get done before we had to leave early the next morning. One of my cousins has three kids and she would make travel packs for her kids for the 16-hour drive to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. These packs would include games, coloring books, colored pencils or crayons, notebooks, and little games for the kids to play in the car. If you’re looking to do something similar, here are some fun ideas from The Joys of Boys Blog!
When reading this story with your child, ask them how they would feel on the night before a summer vacation. Maybe make a checklist of items to pack, movies to watch, and games to play in the car. One of my favorite parts of preparing for a road trip was picking songs and CDs to listen to in the car! Check out our blog from earlier this month for fun ways to incorporate music into your road trip!
We hope you enjoy reading this storybook with your children this summer! If you wish to purchase this book on Amazon, you can do so here.
Happy reading!
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