Nicholas on Vacation

Nicholas on Vacation is the third book in the acclaimed series of classic and much-loved stories about the endearing exploits of the cheeky French schoolboy, Nicholas. All the stories in this volume take place at the beach, during the summer vacation. There are eventful fishing trips, treasure hunts in the middle of the night and a whole new gang of friends with whom Nicholas can get into trouble.

Firmly established as a literary cult figure, the sublimely innocent Nicholas has already charmed millions of readers world-wide since these books were first published over forty years ago. Considered classics and available in twenty-six languages, the Nicholas stories delight both children and adults. Nicholas on Vacation contains eighteen new stories, all of which take place during the long summer break from school. An only child, Nicholas’s touchingly naive reaction to situations is often at odds with that of the adults around him. Whether he’s staying at a seaside hotel with his parents or making new friends at summer camp, Nicholas’s efforts to keep himself and his gang amused, even when it’s raining outside, always result in unexpected and delightful chaos.

René Goscinny (1926–77), born in Paris, lived most of his early years in Buenos Aires and New York. He returned to France in the 1950s where he met Jean-Jacques Sempé and together they created the character for Nicholas, the famous schoolboy. He later worked with Alberto Uderzo, on making the adventures of Asterix the Gaul. A prolific and internationally successful children´s author, he is also the creater of Lucky Luke and Dingodossiers, among others. He also received Césars for his numerous animated cartoons

Jean-Jacques Sempé (b.1932) is one of the world’s most successful illustrators and cartoonists. He is the illustrator of the classic children’s-book character, Nicholas, and author of a collection of some thirty albums of his cartoons and graphic novels, all published or to be published by Phaidon. His world-renowned illustrations and cartoons are featured on the cover of the New Yorker and in Paris Match.

Anthea Bell was awarded the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize (USA) in 2002 for her translation of W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz. Her many works of translation from French and German (for which she has received several other awards) include the Nicholas books and, with Derek Hockridge, the entire Asterix the Gaul saga by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.

'Nicholas has an engagingly positive outlook on life, loves school despite his academic failings, and has refined the art of driving his parents up the wall, while remaining blissfully unaware of how infuriating they find him.' (Guardian)