Oregon's bestselling author and his partner, the artist Janell Sorensen, are coming for half a year to explore Europe from Italy to Norway. But they've also brought their two children, six-year-old Ian and eight-year-old Karen, to experience the Old World by enrolling them in school in a small German town -- with the promise that they'll get to visit Legoland. It's 1989, and with car trips to Tuscany, the Alps, and Communist East Germany, the entire family learns lessons about life abroad.
In a journal enlivened by original pen-and-ink drawings, alternating entries from Bill and Janell reveal different perspectives on the family's adventure.