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Vacation
Time moves slowly on vacation. And for someone who has spent a long time entertaining themselves and has had the garden, the kitchen, forest paths, the lake, and even Grandpa all to herself, it can be hard to invite another in on the fun. So when a young girl’s grandfather brings an elephant home to stay, she is not pleased at all. Nostalgic and often dreamlike, this wordless story is about interrupted solitude, learning to be together with another, and how the choices we make deeply affect our lives.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
1 person is currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Blexbolex
37 books56 followersBlexbolex is a French comics artist and illustrator. Born Bernard Granger in Douai, he studied screen printing (sérigraphie) at the School of Fine Arts (L’école européenne supérieure de l'image) in Angoulême. His first works were self-published, and later he contributed to Popo Color, Fusée, and Ferraille. His highly stylized, ligne claire illustration, inspired by the films of Jacques Tati and whodunits of the 1950s and 1960s, gradually gained an audience. In Germany, he directed an art studio at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee (School of Art and Design Berlin-Weissensee) and he also worked regularly with a number of editors, including Thierry Magnier, Pipifax, United Dead Artists, Les Requins-Marteaux, and Cornélius. Blexbolex has contributed to the American publication The Ganzfeld.
In 2009, he received a prize for “Best Book Design of the World” for his L'Imagier des gens (2008) at the Book Fair of Leipzig.
Source: Wikipedia.
In 2009, he received a prize for “Best Book Design of the World” for his L'Imagier des gens (2008) at the Book Fair of Leipzig.
Source: Wikipedia.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
August 16, 2019
The wordless story was confusing, in part because the girl's behavior was unexpected (who doesn't want a baby elephant in their life?). It seemed like the artwork was trying desperately hard, but ultimately it was charmless and looked cheap on the page (lots of visible dots).
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October 14, 2018I have no idea what to make of this. I need to read it again more carefully. I can see that it has substance, I have no idea whom its intended audience is. I feel like it will get lost in the comics section and it's not the right shape for picture books (and so will likely get lost there, too).
November 13, 2022
Beautiful weird little book!
June 15, 2018
Gorgeous art, but I found myself verrrry confused by the dreamlike story. I definitely enjoyed it regardless, but truly I have no idea what I just read.
January 21, 2023
Wat een bijzonder boekje heb ik hier in de hand.
Een boekje zonder woorden maar boordevol prachtige illustraties die je overspoelen met hun kleurenpracht en die een mooi verhaal vertellen.
Het meisje met het gele hoedje beleeft een idyllische vakantie bij haar opa. Er komt een nieuw, bijzonder vriendje op bezoek die letterlijk niet te negeren valt.
Ik ben helemaal verkocht. Well done @clavis_uitgeverij, well done 👏🏻.
Een boekje zonder woorden maar boordevol prachtige illustraties die je overspoelen met hun kleurenpracht en die een mooi verhaal vertellen.
Het meisje met het gele hoedje beleeft een idyllische vakantie bij haar opa. Er komt een nieuw, bijzonder vriendje op bezoek die letterlijk niet te negeren valt.
Ik ben helemaal verkocht. Well done @clavis_uitgeverij, well done 👏🏻.
October 3, 2022
I loved the breathtaking illustrations. Soaking up the full-colour pages was an immersive experience. Didn't really get the story but it gave off a lovely, dreamlike vibe. I think this book is meant to be left open to individual interpretation but I enjoyed admiring the illustrations without paying much heed to the plot, if any.
June 13, 2018
Beautiful artwork in this one. A nice look at taking a vacation and entertaining yourself in a new place.
January 26, 2018
The art of this wordless story is soft and dreamlike, and I keep wanting to say nice as in neat, apt, elegant. One can look at the pictures for a long time, watching a girl, and her grandfather, and the countryside, and her dreams, and who interrupts all this. Surreal certainly, but also very real. First published in France.
May 14, 2018
What a beautiful book. To start I loved the hardcover vintage look of this book. The pages felt amazingly like wallpaper. I kept making my sons touch the pages. I was fascinated with the texture. This wordless book left much to the imagination.
My son Nico was a bit confused. We have read graphic novels before but not many with no words. Nico kept asking "how can we read a book if there are no words?" "You use your imagination" I stated. "Then you can read the book over and over and the story will keep changing."
Not only did Nico love this book my youngest Gino (1 1/2) adored this book also. He sat in my lap and pondered over each page. Helping turn each page and pointing to the cute silly elephant every time he spotted him.
The story was cute but different. A girl on vacation who happens to befriend an elephant that's waiting in a train station strapped with golf clubs, boxing gloves, and an umbrella just to name a few of his odd items to carry. They went on some playful adventure and even made some messes with their dinner.
The only thing that confused me is how could anyone, especially the little girl, be depressed all the time when they have a friend in an elephant. Even the old man tried his best to cheer her up until he fell and hurt his back. (So many injuries in such a short book.)
This book was very charming and I'm glad it held the imagination of my sons for so long. Looking forward to reading it to them again soon.
My son Nico was a bit confused. We have read graphic novels before but not many with no words. Nico kept asking "how can we read a book if there are no words?" "You use your imagination" I stated. "Then you can read the book over and over and the story will keep changing."
Not only did Nico love this book my youngest Gino (1 1/2) adored this book also. He sat in my lap and pondered over each page. Helping turn each page and pointing to the cute silly elephant every time he spotted him.
The story was cute but different. A girl on vacation who happens to befriend an elephant that's waiting in a train station strapped with golf clubs, boxing gloves, and an umbrella just to name a few of his odd items to carry. They went on some playful adventure and even made some messes with their dinner.
The only thing that confused me is how could anyone, especially the little girl, be depressed all the time when they have a friend in an elephant. Even the old man tried his best to cheer her up until he fell and hurt his back. (So many injuries in such a short book.)
This book was very charming and I'm glad it held the imagination of my sons for so long. Looking forward to reading it to them again soon.
July 23, 2020
At first, I came here to see what others thought was happening in this book. I knew it was beautiful, but it was dreamlike to the point that I did not understand what was happening or why. There was even a point in my battered library edition where I thought maybe a chunk of pages were missing (still possible!). But! The interpretations of others were all so varied- and some so counter to what I thought had happened, that I just had to give it a 2nd and 3rd read-through. And... I really love how open it is to interpretation. I really enjoyed the ambiguous nature of the story- and the illustrations are just so beautiful.
July 31, 2024
Prachtige boek
April 28, 2018
A story without words worth re-reading over and over. A bit melancholy though.
August 14, 2018
Huh. I can't say I liked or disliked it, it just left me confused.
The illustrations are magnificent--as always with Blexbolex--but honestly, reading this was kind of like being in a fugue state for awhile. Who am I? What is happening? Why am I not understanding anything that is going on here?
Ah well, no matter, it was an interesting foray into another world. Right? If nothing else, I very much enjoyed the baby elephant.
The illustrations are magnificent--as always with Blexbolex--but honestly, reading this was kind of like being in a fugue state for awhile. Who am I? What is happening? Why am I not understanding anything that is going on here?
Ah well, no matter, it was an interesting foray into another world. Right? If nothing else, I very much enjoyed the baby elephant.
February 1, 2019
Blexbolex ešte azda neurobil nepeknú knihu a táto plneilustrovaná lahôdka nie je výnimkou. Hoci sú Prázdniny knihou bez slov, nedá sa povedať, že by nebolo potrebné ich čítať- vizuálny príbeh je tu čarovne nejasný, momentami surreálny a jeho dekódovanie asi pôjde lepšie starším deťom a dospelým ako úplne malým deťom (napriek tomu, čo by mohol zbežný pohľad na obálku napovedať).
Každopádne, Prázdniny by som odporučila ako tréning imaginácie ✨
Každopádne, Prázdniny by som odporučila ako tréning imaginácie ✨
January 30, 2021
I don't remember spending more time (per length) on a stage-silent story. Dramatic value and character dimension were the payoff that would've gotten lost without the effort.
I was disappointed with the art in general but details within often impressed me.
I was disappointed with the art in general but details within often impressed me.
February 25, 2018
A quirky wordless picture book that recalls Wonderland fantasies and Studio Ghibli films. I'm not even quite sure I understood it completely.
May 30, 2018
A picture says a thousand words.
But what does a book full of pictures say?
VACATION by Blexbolex is wordless story about uninterrupted solitude, learning to be together with another, and how the choices we make deeply affect our lives. A one-of-a-kind story that’s just as complex as it is simple.
A girl loves to spend time with her Grandpa. But then, there’s an elephant in the room. Literally. The small grey elephant is a new guest who acts like a child. The girl isn’t happy. She greets the elephant with a gruff. Plays pranks such as throwing food at him, dousing water on him, or chasing him with a stick. She really isn’t interested in the divided attention that she has to endure for the affection of her Grandpa.
But then, the girl regrets her actions. And there are several pages of adorable illustrations devoted to her actions.
The back and forth interactions between the girl and the grey elephant are beautifully illustrated, with precision, emotion and drama. There’s never any moment in the story that you feel like you are missing the words. The pictures really do tell the story in a compelling way, which immerses you wholeheartedly into the outcome of the narrative.
The story does not stop there. There is more complexity to the plot that involves, the elephant getting lost. The grandpa goes out to look for him. The animosity continues between the girl and the elephant. There’s a few wonderful pages of an circus sort of theme. People are dressed up in animal masks. It’s a bit dreamy.
The next day the elephant is gone again.
Kids and parents will have a wonderful time trying to interpret this book. There’s so many different ways of making up the words to pair with the visuals. A delightful book that will immerse readers of all ages.
http://sukasareads.blogspot.com/2018/...
But what does a book full of pictures say?
VACATION by Blexbolex is wordless story about uninterrupted solitude, learning to be together with another, and how the choices we make deeply affect our lives. A one-of-a-kind story that’s just as complex as it is simple.
A girl loves to spend time with her Grandpa. But then, there’s an elephant in the room. Literally. The small grey elephant is a new guest who acts like a child. The girl isn’t happy. She greets the elephant with a gruff. Plays pranks such as throwing food at him, dousing water on him, or chasing him with a stick. She really isn’t interested in the divided attention that she has to endure for the affection of her Grandpa.
But then, the girl regrets her actions. And there are several pages of adorable illustrations devoted to her actions.
The back and forth interactions between the girl and the grey elephant are beautifully illustrated, with precision, emotion and drama. There’s never any moment in the story that you feel like you are missing the words. The pictures really do tell the story in a compelling way, which immerses you wholeheartedly into the outcome of the narrative.
The story does not stop there. There is more complexity to the plot that involves, the elephant getting lost. The grandpa goes out to look for him. The animosity continues between the girl and the elephant. There’s a few wonderful pages of an circus sort of theme. People are dressed up in animal masks. It’s a bit dreamy.
The next day the elephant is gone again.
Kids and parents will have a wonderful time trying to interpret this book. There’s so many different ways of making up the words to pair with the visuals. A delightful book that will immerse readers of all ages.
http://sukasareads.blogspot.com/2018/...
Read
April 20, 2021Th is winding, wordless summertime
story spotlights childhood observations, anxieties, and fantasies. A young
protagonist explores the outdoors in
solitude until an older, mustachioed
caregiver (her grandfather, perhaps?)
calls her inside. She freshens up,
reluctantly, and the pair walks to the
train station to meet a small, sailor-hatwearing elephant. Th e visitor brings
stress and disharmony, and despite the
caregiver’s attempts to build community, the girl and elephant do not get
along. When the three visit a carnival, a
mesmerizing bonfire transports the girl
to a celestial train station resembling a
giant cuckoo clock. Th e child meets a
new friend in this scene and wakes up
in bed the next morning, disoriented.
After the elephant departs, the child
returns to the comforts of exploring
nature—but not before a final moment
of surprise. Th is is a tense, surreal story
with nods to Windsor McCay’s Little
Nemo. Inset boxes and the use of clocks
superimposed onto the illustrations
off er timestamps beyond the space
between panels and pages, and lush
colors and screen-print patterns radiate
from the roughly textured pages of the
86 Th e Horn Book Magazine July/August 2018
Vacation. Illustration by Blexbolex. © 2017 by Allin Michel Jeunesse. On the Other Side of the Garden. Illustration © 2018 by Rafael Yockteng.
physical book, creating an open-ended,
dreamlike reading experience that is as
tactile as it is visual. Lexile Level 725
story spotlights childhood observations, anxieties, and fantasies. A young
protagonist explores the outdoors in
solitude until an older, mustachioed
caregiver (her grandfather, perhaps?)
calls her inside. She freshens up,
reluctantly, and the pair walks to the
train station to meet a small, sailor-hatwearing elephant. Th e visitor brings
stress and disharmony, and despite the
caregiver’s attempts to build community, the girl and elephant do not get
along. When the three visit a carnival, a
mesmerizing bonfire transports the girl
to a celestial train station resembling a
giant cuckoo clock. Th e child meets a
new friend in this scene and wakes up
in bed the next morning, disoriented.
After the elephant departs, the child
returns to the comforts of exploring
nature—but not before a final moment
of surprise. Th is is a tense, surreal story
with nods to Windsor McCay’s Little
Nemo. Inset boxes and the use of clocks
superimposed onto the illustrations
off er timestamps beyond the space
between panels and pages, and lush
colors and screen-print patterns radiate
from the roughly textured pages of the
86 Th e Horn Book Magazine July/August 2018
Vacation. Illustration by Blexbolex. © 2017 by Allin Michel Jeunesse. On the Other Side of the Garden. Illustration © 2018 by Rafael Yockteng.
physical book, creating an open-ended,
dreamlike reading experience that is as
tactile as it is visual. Lexile Level 725
December 23, 2023
Vacation (2018) by Blexbolex is a wordless story about a grandfather and a kid on a vacation. It’s sort of a longish picture book, though I suspect it will puzzle little ones; it also may be described as a sort of surreal/fantasy “all ages” story. The style is somewhat after Herge’s TinTin series (and others), ligne claire style, clear line, brightly colored, no hatching. But darker, the feel of block prints with a sort of sepia wash. It looks like it was printed on some kind of material? The effect is kind of eerie in a way. There are dream sequences, too.
And yet it is a story about kid on a summer vacation with his father, where they encounter a baby elephant who seems anthropomorphically child-like, a friend. In at least one of the dream sequences the elephant actually becomes a boy. At one point everyone wears masks for a country fair. And then the elephant is gone! Pointless tale, as some reviewers suggest? Maybe, but I think it is about fantasy, the imagination, play. I like it, it seems unique, but maybe not for most kids.
To see the style, look at Matt Seneca’s review in the Comics Journal:
https://www.tcj.com/reviews/vacation/
And yet it is a story about kid on a summer vacation with his father, where they encounter a baby elephant who seems anthropomorphically child-like, a friend. In at least one of the dream sequences the elephant actually becomes a boy. At one point everyone wears masks for a country fair. And then the elephant is gone! Pointless tale, as some reviewers suggest? Maybe, but I think it is about fantasy, the imagination, play. I like it, it seems unique, but maybe not for most kids.
To see the style, look at Matt Seneca’s review in the Comics Journal:
https://www.tcj.com/reviews/vacation/
Read
February 13, 2020This was a really fun book because it had no words. It actually took me longer to read than I expected because you really have to spend some time looking at each page or picture if you want to follow some type of story. I think this would be a good book for younger students to read because they can let their imagination run as they make up a story to fit the pictures. It would also be good practice for them to use logic or reasoning since they have to sort of figure out what is happening without being told. I did not really like the illustrations for this book but I would like to have it in my classroom still, along with other wordless books.
December 3, 2018
A wordless children's picture book, that while the pictures are well done and the story clear, I absolutely disliked for the behavior of the young girl in the story acting out toward the elephant in mean, unkind and self absorbed ways. What I found worse was there was very little repercussion for her behavior. I understand children get jealous and act out, but the message here does not get clearly conveyed that while feeling something is fine and we can find ways to express that, hurting other beings is not acceptable.
Read
April 27, 2021Th is winding, wordless summertime story spotlights childhood observations, anxieties, and fantasies. A young protagonist explores the outdoors in solitude until an older, mustachioed caregiver (her grandfather, perhaps?) calls her inside. She freshens up, reluctantly, and the pair walks to the
train station to meet a small, sailor-hatwearing elephant. The visitor brings stress and disharmony, and despite the caregiver’s attempts to build community, the girl and elephant do not get along. When the three visit a carnival, a mesmerizing bonfire transports the girl to a celestial train station resembling a giant cuckoo clock. The child meets a new friend in this scene and wakes up in bed the next morning, disoriented. After the elephant departs, the child returns to the comforts of exploring
nature—but not before a fi nal moment of surprise. Th is is a tense, surreal story with nods to Windsor McCay’s Little Nemo. Inset boxes and the use of clocks superimposed onto the illustrations
off er timestamps beyond the space between panels and pages, and lush colors and screen-print patterns radiate from the roughly textured pages of the physical book, creating an open-ended,
dreamlike reading experience that is as tactile as it is visual.
Lexile level: 220L
grade: k-1
train station to meet a small, sailor-hatwearing elephant. The visitor brings stress and disharmony, and despite the caregiver’s attempts to build community, the girl and elephant do not get along. When the three visit a carnival, a mesmerizing bonfire transports the girl to a celestial train station resembling a giant cuckoo clock. The child meets a new friend in this scene and wakes up in bed the next morning, disoriented. After the elephant departs, the child returns to the comforts of exploring
nature—but not before a fi nal moment of surprise. Th is is a tense, surreal story with nods to Windsor McCay’s Little Nemo. Inset boxes and the use of clocks superimposed onto the illustrations
off er timestamps beyond the space between panels and pages, and lush colors and screen-print patterns radiate from the roughly textured pages of the physical book, creating an open-ended,
dreamlike reading experience that is as tactile as it is visual.
Lexile level: 220L
grade: k-1
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2018
The artwork is gorgeous, and is what interested me in this in the first place. The story starts out easy to follow, even though it is wordless. Not sure about the ribbon and the place she finds.
Later there is a bit on a train and a journey with a little boy that made no sense. Maybe a dream?
Anyway, I ended with a feeling of having nonifea what I'd just read, but the art was still gorgeous so if nothing else, I loved looking at the images.
Later there is a bit on a train and a journey with a little boy that made no sense. Maybe a dream?
Anyway, I ended with a feeling of having nonifea what I'd just read, but the art was still gorgeous so if nothing else, I loved looking at the images.
July 23, 2022
Since this book is wordless I rated this book 4.5 because of the beautiful illustrations which made me nostalgic for my childhood books. The story however… well, ugh. I get that it is really up for interpretation, but for a child to be reading this, it seems a little extreme if even I’m not understanding the flow and storyline. Even after some research, I still don’t think it works. It was a nice 15 minute read, I guess.
June 7, 2018
An enticing wordless book that kind of forces you to look into the dots. I found this book hard to "read" because of the dot-like format of the printing. Hard on my eyes. If this book had words, I would've appreciated them, because I don't completely think I got all the plot points. Definitely worth a read, or a re-read if you don't get it all the first time.
August 5, 2018
What do you do with a baby elephant who comes to stay with you for a vacation? A little girl, used to keeping herself company, at first doesn’t want to have anything to do with the little elephant. Wait! Did they just have a water fight? Was that fun? They had a moment, then the two go off by themselves. Can you have fun when you are trying so hard not to?
October 16, 2018
I'm glad it wasn't just me! What fascinated me most was the texture of the paper! I did not read the sentence on the back of the book until I was finished. I always enjoy reading books that are on Travis Jonker's Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children's Books list for the year. I found it somewhat humorous that various translations are mentioned; there's only the one sentence that applies.
October 16, 2019
A little hard to follow at times because of the flow of the illustrations, and also hard to clearly see the emotions on the little girl and connect why she felts that way. But I did enjoy the illustration style and seeing the adorable baby elephant. What child wouldn't be excited to have a pet elephant?!
February 7, 2020
This is a picture book about a girl and her dad that go on a train and come home with a pet elephant. The girl loves the elephant even though he makes a mess of the house. One day there is a storm and the elephant gets lost the girl and her dad find them and then celebrate his birthday. This is a book about an unlikely friendship.
August 19, 2022
I really don't know how to feel about this book. I love the art, and the thickness and texture of the pages. The story is a little confusing, though, and sad to me. I just finished it, and at least for the moment, I really can't decide if I liked it or not. That's just my current feeling though. Objectively, I do think it's a decent book, whether or not I end up personally liking it or not.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews