Archie’s Vacation

Archie, the dapper dog who debuted in 2012’s Archie, is about to head out on a trip, but first he’s having a long dark night of the soul. Dreams of sunshine and ice-cream cones morph into imagined scenes of torrential downpours, leading Archie to leap out of bed to add the necessary items to his suitcase. “Hail? Rain? Snow? Hurricane?” reads his midnight stream-of-consciousness narration. “More socks! Yes!” Subsequent dreams-turned-nightmares about illness and near drowning lead to further overpacking, until Archie’s suitcase explodes with an enormous foldout “BANG!” Although Archie doesn’t exactly embrace the simple life in the end, his solution to the busted suitcase dilemma will still provoke some chuckles. Ages 2–5. (Mar.)