The Great Indoors started out strong. In fact, I had an idea what was going to happen before the first page. You know the title, you see the cover and then page 
one you see the humans leave. Of course, this was going to be a quirky story of animals having a relaxing vacation from the great outdoors! But, sadly, it fell short at the last minute.
Julie Falatko has the humor (the skunk is going to take another shower), there is the busyness of a vacation (karaoke anyone?), the joy of friendship but soon things start to sour (and not just the milk). The skunk misses peeing outside, the deer are sick of karaoke and nobody cleans up after themselves. Where it started to fall apart is the very end. We see our human family, tired, happy and dirty at the door of their home. We see the mess the animals left. The end. We never see what happens to the house. Do the animals get caught?
Ruth Chan tries to help keep the lightness and humor going with quirky illustrations. They have color and detail that moves the story along. They complement the text perfectly. You can read them and make up your own story. They are silly and could be a bit too cartoonish for some, but as said, they work for the story.
This story would work for a classroom or group read-aloud (especially if before a week long or extended vacation time) or as a one-on-one read. However, it will not be for everyone. I think kids will get a kick out the fact animals are acting like humans and that is the main point of the story. To just enjoy yourself.