Archie's holiday by Domenica Gordon

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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

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