Cool Bananas

By Christine Harris

When Claudia's mother decides to go to Italy, she dumps Claudia with her grandfather - a man she hasn't even met. Claudia expects to meet an old man with a walking cane, but her grandfather wears clashing board shorts and shirt, licks his false teeth in restaurants, sticks incense in his neighbour's toes to keep away bad spirits and his favourite saying is 'cool bananas'! How is Claudia supposed to survive the holidays? And will Grandpa discover her secret?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jan 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9780730495413

Christine Harris

Christine Harris is a full-time children's author and has written over thirty books for children, including the CBC short listed title, Jamil's Shadow. Christine lives in South Australia with her partner and two children.

Book preview

One

Claudia tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.

None of the faces in the airport terminal looked familiar.

He’ll be pale, she thought.And there’ll be grey hairs on his chin. I hope he doesn’t smell. Or try to make me eat cabbage.

Back home, the old woman next door, Mrs Pearl, cooked cabbage a lot. She boiled it into a green mush. Then a sour smell like a big burp would ooze out of her windows.

Claudia put her left leg forward so her hip stuck out. She’d seen models stand that way. Her silver shoulder bag was new. So was her cropped T-shirt and sparkly jeans. The stickers on her stomach looked like real tattoos.

But even thinking about clothes couldn’t stop her worrying. What if he’s changed his mind? What if he’s forgotten?

Nervously, she touched the badge on her T-shirt. It told everyone she was travelling alone.

Makes me look like a loser, she thought.

‘Leave that on, please,’ said Rowena, the flight attendant. Her smile showed red lipstick on one tooth. ‘Wait till your grandfather gets here.’

Claudia sighed.

Rowena pointed to a man in a navy suit. His silver hair was neatly parted. ‘Is that him?’

‘No.’ He was nothing like the blurry photograph her mother had shown her. Even though the photograph was twenty years old.

Claudia imagined her grandfather was so old he would have a bent back. Maybe he would lean on a walking stick, shuffling with tired steps.

‘Hey, dudes,’ a deep voice boomed out.

Claudia turned, and froze. I don’t believe it.

Two

Claudia slid down in the car seat. She was glad that no-one here knew her.

Grandpa’s car was splashed with mud.

The aerial was bent like a boomerang. And there was a long scrape down the driver’s door. A sticker on the dashboard read, ‘Don’t drink and drive — you might