Archie's holiday by Domenica Gordon
Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 978 1 4088 2932 5.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Picture book. Dogs. Holidays. When Archie
decides to go on a holiday, he begins to pack his suitcase. He packs
his sunglasses and Panama hat, but on sleeping that night, dreams of
thunderstorms and heavy rain. The next day he adds his raincoat,
umbrella and hot water bottle to the suitcase. That night he dreams
of all the food that he might have on his holiday, and so the next
day packs all the things he might need for indigestion and tummy
troubles, packing pills and lotions and creams along with his first
aid box. The suitcase is getting bigger!
The very next night he dreams of swimming at the beach, and so packs
swimmers, rubber tubes, bucket and spade and all the things he might
need at the beach. All the while the wonderful script is full of
single words telling what he is packing, as the suitcase gets bigger
and bigger. Both Archie and his dog keep adding things to the case,
until the middle opening pages show what happens to the poor case.
After this disaster, Archie comes up with a neat solution of what to
take on his holiday.
Lively illustrations accompany the charming story, inviting readers
to seek and find the array of things shown on each page. They will
laugh with glee at the increasing size of the suitcase, predicting
what may happen, and laugh again at Archie's solution.
What a wonderful story, beautifully illustrated. This could be part
of any discussions at home or in the classroom about holidays, what
to pack, what is appropriate at different destinations, and how to
choose what to take.
Fran Knight