Holiday of a Lifetime: Disaster Diary by Megan de Kantzow

31 October: Sydney, Australia. Halloween: the worst possible day to travel

3.03 pm

In thirty-two minutes we’re leaving. Supposedly.

I’ve already told Mum and Dad that this whole trip is a so-called Disaster Waiting to Happen, like other Anderson family holidays I could mention. For example, the time Dad made us go camping in the Warrumbungles and it rained the whole time, or the time we got stuck in holiday traffic for five hours on my birthday and I got a stinking McMuffin without even one measly candle for my so-called birthday cake.

Anyway, if Dad doesn’t get off the phone right now and Mum doesn’t get through her list of last-minute jobs, we’ll be last and then this holiday will be a disaster before it’s even started. Because planes don’t wait for you, you know.

I’d better tell them to hurry up.

31 October: Sydney, Australia. Halloween: the worst possible day to travel

3.03 pm

In thirty-two minutes we’re leaving. Supposedly.

I’ve already told Mum and Dad that this whole trip is a so-called Disaster Waiting to Happen, like other Anderson family holidays I could mention. For example, the time Dad made us go camping in the Warrumbungles and it rained the whole time, or the time we got stuck in holiday traffic for five hours on my birthday and I got a stinking McMuffin without even one measly candle for my so-called birthday cake.

Anyway, if Dad doesn’t get off the phone right now and Mum doesn’t get through her list of last-minute jobs, we’ll be last and then this holiday will be a disaster before it’s even started. Because planes don’t wait for you, you know.

I’d better tell them to hurry up.

Anna’s family are off on a trip to Europe, even though the funds had originally been earmarked for house extensions. A mistake on many levels as far as Anna is concerned. Having her own bedroom would have meant peace and no dancing for Anna, and a dance-zone bedroom for her sister Francine. But despite her dire warnings, off to Europe they go. Dad, Mum, Francine and little brother Timmy are all excited and unhearing of her warnings. Anna realises she’s the one who will have to be prepared for the inevitable disasters. She is helped in her quest to keep the family safe by a good-luck charm from Gran. This little seahorse will provide the luck, her backpack full of just-in-case supplies. There are disasters aplenty, some of which Anna is prepared for, others less so.

Holiday of a Lifetime: Disaster Diary is a contemporary tragi-comedy, full of high drama and humour, written in diary form. Anna is a worry wort and the reader is privy to her worst worries, her first person reportage via her diary entries. They also can read between the lines and interpret the responses of her family and others around her more clearly than she can. The dramas and excitements are almost slapstick in their intensity, and will have readers giggling and rolling their eyes. But there is redemption for Anna too, as she discovers that some things she can worry less about, and for others – well her preparation pays off. ‘Holiday of a Lifetime’ allows a peek into a family, showing their individual and collective growth, filtered through the eyes of an almost-adolescent. Recommended for upper-mid-primary readers.

 

Holiday of a Lifetime: Disaster Diary!, Megan de Kantzow Omnibus Books 2013 ISBN: 9781862919983

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Me, Oliver Bright, by Megan De Kanztow

I live in a city by the sea
ME
Oliver Bright
SYDNEY
Australia
the World, the galaxy
the Universe

Oliver Bright has an assignment to do. Oliver is in Year 3 and his assignment is to look at his family history. He shares his life, the life of his father and that of his grandfather. The reader learns about Oliver, but also about the changes across the three generations. For Oliver, getting milk is as easy as driving to the shops. For his dad, it was even easier – the milkman brought milk to his door daily. For his grandfather though, it was a bit tougher. His grandfather had to ride his horse to catch the cow and then milk it. Me, Oliver Bright is laid out like a school assignment with sketches and photos alongside Oliver’s handwritten words. ‘Oliver’ uses coloured pencils to jazz up his assignment, adding stars, stickers and even postcards.

Me, Oliver Bright features a main character who at about nine years of age might seem a little older than usual for a picture book. But with the mixture of ‘his’ drawings, photos and postcards, there is broad appeal for readers who can compare Oliver and his family’s experience with their own. Teachers too may use this book to model family history to their class. Observances are recorded without any interpretation, so the reader can decide for themselves which generation had it easiest. It’s certainly easier to buy milk now, but Grandpa had a wider variety of animals in his life. Dad had the freedom to roam and explore with his dog, while Grandad seemed to work all the time. There are plenty of discussion points here, whether between father and child, or class and teacher. Recommended for lower primary school.

Me, Oliver Bright

Me, Oliver Bright, Megan De Kantzow ill Sally Rippin
Omnibus Books 2009
ISBN: 9781862917156

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased online at Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Bushranger Bill, by Megan De Kantzow & Amanda Graham

Bushranger Bill loved Tourmaline Lil.
‘Your sweet purple eyes!’ he sang every morning,
‘Your fine yellow legs. Be my true love
And I’ll give you blue pegs.’

Bushranger Bill, a bowerbird, lives in the Australian bush with his true love, Tourmaline Lil. He showers her with gifts of blue (as bowerbirds do) and sings to her every day. But their bliss is destroyed when bad Captain Bluff comes to town. He, too, has eyes for Lil – and he captures her and steals her away. Bill isn’t as mean or wicked as Captain Bluff, but he can be very cunning – and he devises a way to rescue his Lil, so that they can live happily every after.

Bushranger Bill is a humorous, endearing tale set in an equally endearing bush landscape populated with Australian animals. Whilst the birds, of course, are the central characters, there are also appearances by possums, wombats, koalas and kangaroos, and youngsters will love searching for the frog, lizard and mouse who appear in nearly every illustration as delightfully expressive onlookers.

Megan de Kantzow’s simple, yet fun, text, are accompanied by the watercolour illustrations by Amanda Graham, best known as the creator of Arthur. Graham’s characters, as already mentioned, are delightfully rendered, and the double page night scene of Bill creeping in to visit Lil in her prison is breathtaking, with the dark bush illuminated from behind by a full moon.

Little ones will love this one.

Bushranger Bill, by Megan de Kantzow & Amanda Graham
Omnibus, 2006

Just You Wait, by Megan de Kantzow

On the first day of school Prince Roderick pulls the ribbon from Eleanor True’s long hair and tells her she has to do what he says. On the second day he throws her precious ball into the forest of thorns. Each day after that he has some new torture – throwing her tiara into the mud, locking her in the Dark Tower and more. As the list of insults and taunts grows, Eleanor True can do nothing but glare at the Prince and warn “Just you wait!” On the sixth day of school, however, things change. Prince Roderick chases Eleanor through the castle and finally lassoes her. But this time, Eleanor has a chance to put her threats into action. She kisses the unsuspecting Prince and he turns into a frog!

Just You Wait is a comical picture book which will appeal to children of all ages – from toddlers through to upper primary. Younger kids will love ths story and the surprise, humorous ending, while older children will love the cartoon-like illustrations of the talented Craig Smith and will have fun identifying the elements of familiar fairy tales, both in the text and the illustrations.

This is a hilarious read, great for home, but also wonderful for the classroom.

Just You Wait! by Megan de Kantzow and Craig Smith
Omnibus, 2004