I wish that all the pages were illustrated in full-color, instead of just about half of them. ( )

All of Graeme Base's books are absolutely stunning from the story to the illustrations. The story is wonderful and only exceeded by the gorgeous illustrations. This book can be read cover to cover but then it is also fun to go back and solve on the hidden puzzles. ( )

Grandma, who lives with a large collection of animals in her small Australian town, takes a disastrous trip to the seaside.

What can I say? I agree with the description. Recommended for fans of Tall Tales, as well as those who like stories like[b:The Adventures of Baron Munchausen|836924|The Adventures of Baron Munchausen|Rudolf Erich Raspe|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328864934s/836924.jpg|1232599] (the movie is the one I know - I didn't realize there were so many book versions). But no, people don't really go around riding kangaroos. ( )

I thought this book was cute! It was nothing that really blew me away but definitely cute as a whole. I thought the fact that every other page included vivid colors on its illustrations was a good idea. The only pages where this was not the case were the last two pages! In regard to the writing, and throughout the story, the bright and vivid colored illustrations were on the page after the description was told. I liked this because it allowed you a little extra time for you, as a reader, to visualize the images that were going to come next. There was a lot of text on each page, which made it difficult at some points to follow along. This I thought was it’s greatest downfall, if you will. I think the big idea or message of the book is no matter where your loved ones go, they are always close to your heart. ( )