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Overview
Charlie can’t wait for school to be over. But he’s wondering what particular vacation ordeal his parents have lined up for the family this summer. Canoeing with alligators in Okefenokee? Getting caught in the middle of a revolutionary shootout in Mexico? Or perhaps another trip abroad?
Turns out, this summer the family is staying put, in their hometown. Montreal, Canada. A “staycation,” his parents call it. Charlie is doubtful at first but, ever resourceful, decides that there may be adventures and profit to be had in his own neighborhood.
And there are. A campout in the backyard brings him in contact with more than one kind of wildlife, a sudden summer storm floods the expressway, various pet-sitting gigs turn almost-disastrous, and a baseball game goes awry when various intruders storm the infield — from would-be medieval knights and an over-eager ice-cream vendor to a fly-ball-catching Doberman. Then of course there’s looking after his little brother, Max, who is always a catastrophe-in-the-making.
Key Text Features
illustrations key text features
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.9
Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781773065472 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Groundwood Books |
| Publication date: | 05/01/2021 |
| Series: | Travels with My Family , #3 |
| Pages: | 152 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.56(w) x 5.56(h) x 0.50(d) |
| Age Range: | 7 - 10 Years |
About the Author
DAVID HOMEL is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, journalist and translator. He has won the Governor General’s Award for translation, the Hugh MacLennan Prize and the Jewish Public Library Award for fiction.
Read an Excerpt
Was this supposed to be a change? No way. We lived here every day of the year. I knew every detail by heart. I knew the neighbor across the street would come out the next minute to water his lawn. And he did.
This wasn’t going to be a vacation at all. A vacation is when you go somewhere special and see new things and do stuff you’ve never done before. A vacation means going, not staying . . .
“A stay-cation,” I said to Max. “I wonder where Dad got that one.”
“I’d rather go on a go-cation.”
Then he laughed his head off.
* * *
“See that orange truck?” Max whispered. “The guy inside it is an ax murderer.” He ducked his head. “Here he comes. Stay down!”
An ax murderer? What was Max talking about?
The next minute, an ancient truck moved past our house, so slowly I could have beaten it in a foot race. The truck didn’t have any doors, and standing at the steering wheel was a man even more ancient than the truck. The lines on his face were so deep you could have drowned in them. He was steering with one hand and ringing a bell with the other.
The truck was covered with drawings of knives, scissors and axes.
“Look – knives!” Max whispered. “I told you so.”
The truck stopped right in front of our house. I could have explained to Max that it was Tony the Knife Sharpener and not Tony the Bloodthirsty Criminal, but why not have a little fun? After all, there wasn’t anything else to do.
“You’re right,” I said to Max. “We’d better go investigate.”
What People are Saying About This
Praise for Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel and Summer in the City:
Commended OLA Best Bets, 2012
“An upbeat summer idyll likely to draw chuckles whether read alone or aloud.” — Kirkus Reviews
"This is a funny chapter book that celebrates the inquisitive spirit of its little hero and reveals how adventure is around every corner, if we only open our heart." — Vancouver Writers Fest
Praise for Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel and The Traveling Circus:
“...hints of gravity punctuate but do not puncture the holiday fun; readers like Max and Charlie who have grown up in safety will emerge thoughtful but not traumatized. A salutary, unusual look at part of the world rarely seen in North American children’s literature, wrapped up in family fun.” — Kirkus Reviews
“The prose is spry, literate, and lively, making this, and the whole series, a must for
budding world-travelers.” — Horn Book
“Well-drawn characters and an enjoyable, episodic narrative make the fourth chapter book in the Travels with My Family series well worth reading.” — Booklist