Summer Camp Chapter Books

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. For spring break, Bean's older sister is headed off to Girl Power 4-Ever Camp at the local park. Unfortunately, seven-year-old Bean is only old enough to attend Puppet Camp (as if!), so she and Ivy decide to start their own. In their ninth book, Ivy and Bean's own Girl Power Camp will make their devoted fans very happy campers indeed.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013

(3) 1-3 Mouse Scouts series. Energetic Tigerlily, shy Violet, and the other Mouse Scouts work as a team to earn the "Camp Out" badge (and find their lost scout leader) on their first-ever camping expedition. Short chapters are interspersed with amusing illustrations and excerpts from the Mouse Scout Handbook. With sweet and funny characters, not-too-scary danger, and whimsical mouse inventions, this third installment will thrill series fans and newbies alike.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Ellen Thompson. At Camp Bear, Cody befriends Arthur, a fellow TV-junkie who, like Cody, would take arts and crafts over horseback riding any day. But Cody soon finds courage to meet camp challenges. With little desire to be "manly men," Cody and Arthur bumble their way through the numerous humiliations of preadolescence just by being themselves.

Reviewer: Mary Burkey | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 1999

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Joseph Kelly. In the two stories in this book, Martin does the things boys do in the summer: camps with the scouts (a jar of green slime figures prominently) and watches his favorite superhero cartoon. Martin is a real boy with parents who allow him to find his own way, a rarity in today's early chapter books. Expressive graphite and charcoal sketches add an extra dimension.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2006

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by William Owl. This third Sam and Charlie story finds the boy-girl pals at Jewish sleep-away camp; Charlie's little sister, Sam Too, has a couple of small adventures at home. Just as in the previous books, the eight brief chapters combine Jewish education ("Think of cabin clean-up as shmirat ha'adamah") and just-plain fun (fire-truck foam!). Cartoony illustrations make camp look like a blast.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(1) 1-3 Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. In his second book, not-so-intrepid second grader Alvin, little sister Anibelly, and their dad go camping. The hilarious text includes a twenty-one-step list of "how to pitch a tent." Look takes familiar kid traumas and ramps them up a notch. Pham's illustrations convey the story's humor and capture the pure joy of such things as lying in a sleeping bag under the stars.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2009

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Marc Boutavant. Uncle Everton departs on a voyage, leaving "smartest dog in the world" Barkus with Nicky and her family. In five brief chapters, Barkus and Nicky change her classroom dynamics, host a canine birthday party, find a kitten, and camp out in the backyard. The welcoming first-person narrative gives this early reader a homey feel. Bold, vivid hues pop atop solid-colored backgrounds.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Stink heads to Shakespeare Camp over spring break (the only boy attending, it turns out). Stink's in it for the Shakespearean insults and swordplay, but he learns that there is also kissing in Shakespeare's plays. Stink won't have to kiss his "sometimes friend, most times enemy" Riley Rottenberger, will he?! Reynolds's illustrations capture all the theatrics in this spirited chapter-book introduction to Shakespeare.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(2) 1-3 After-School Superstars series. Illustrated by Grace Zong. Good-hearted Boogie Bass is in a third-grade sign language camp with friends, including his bestie Nolan, whom Boogie reveres, along with Nixie and Vera from the previous series entries. With one hearing and one Deaf teacher, Boogie and the other campers learn the basics of American Sign Language; briefly study its history; and even get a demonstration of ASL ABC stories from Deaf students at another school. Boogie is a well-rounded character; he is kind and conscientious and learns to not be so tough on himself ("Maybe the point of learning a new language wasn't to be perfect"), not to compare himself to others (especially Nolan), and to accept his own strengths. A lot of time at camp is spent on iconic signs (ones that look like what they represent), which can be typical for children first learning. But the book also captures the non-manual markers necessary for ASL--including facial expressions, at which Boogie excels--and a back-matter note provides more details about the language's complex grammar.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(4) 1-3 Amelia Bedelia Chapter Books series. Illustrated by Lynne Avril. Amelia Bedelia is bummed to be spending the summer at camp instead of lazing at home. But she befriends her cabin-mates, learns how to build a fire, stargazes, and surprises herself by having fun. Her literal (mis)interpretations of words often feel forced, though graduates of the easy readers should find this latest chapter-book entry appealing. Lively black-and-white illustrations break up the accessible text.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Emily Hughes. Their fourth outing (most recently Charlie & Mouse Even Better, rev. 5/19) takes the siblings into the Great Outdoors for a family camping trip...but first a "Boring" (the title of chapter 1) car ride. The three brief chapters that follow include a hike ("A hike! A hike! It was time for a hike!"), encounters with wildlife, and burnt marshmallows. The boys' sharp observations and imaginations contribute to the entertainment of their parents, themselves, and readers. What begins as Charlie's doldrums-fighting, ho-hum, what's-out-the-car-window story ("Once upon a time...there was a small white house near a great green mountain") ends with an epic battle between a dragon and a hawk. Amusing surprises appear at every turn (a pig in the woods?) along with straightforward and relatable expressions of ­emotion. Regarding their collapsed tent: "'That,' said Charlie, 'was a little bit scary.' 'Yes,' said Mouse. 'It was. But it was also a lot of fun.'" The parents give their kids space to play without intrusion (unless it's for food; at one point offstage Dad offers a granola bar, and who doesn't want to stop for French fries?), and Hughes's amusingly detailed but never-too-busy illustrations occasionally, unobtrusively indicate Mom and Dad's own story line.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Matthew Cordell. As readers of Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie know, Eleanor is a worrier, and a first trip to camp offers lots of opportunities for worrying. But just as Eleanor has sent a coded letter to her parents that means she wants to leave, she finds activities she enjoys. Sternberg gets all of the details exactly right, and Cordell's cartoon sketches add humor.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Aurélie Grand. In this chapter-book graphic novel, Jay hopes to find Bigfoot on the Junior Ranger campout, even though his troopmates tease him for believing. Meanwhile, Sass, a female Sasquatch adopted by bears who forbid her to go near humans, anonymously pranks (somewhat dim-witted) Jay until a brief but meaningful encounter. The humor is amusing, and the visual storytelling is accessible to young readers.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Kevin Cornell. With a baby on the way, Lulu's parents send her to Camp Sisterhood to be a SIT (sister in training). Lulu is disrespected and outsmarted by her assigned "sibling"; she gets a new assignment, who adores her in spite of her attitude. Humorous situations and exaggerated characterizations, enlivened by expressive spot art, bring Camp Sisterhood to life while a brazenly intrusive narrator keeps everyone in check.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Matthew Cordell. Sibs Lucy and Sam (Gone Fishing) are off to the great outdoors again, this time camping with Grandpa. In rotating voices, poems in various forms--including list poems, free verse, a lament, and haiku--describe the sometimes scary but ultimately exciting campout. Cordell's buoyant illustrations are a natural accompaniment to the upbeat verse. An extensive "Provisioning for Poetry" section discusses poetic devices and forms.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) 1-3 After-School Superstars series. Illustrated by Grace Zong. Good-hearted Boogie Bass is in a third-grade sign language camp with friends, including his bestie Nolan, whom Boogie reveres, along with Nixie and Vera from the previous series entries. With one hearing and one Deaf teacher, Boogie and the other campers learn the basics of American Sign Language; briefly study its history; and even get a demonstration of ASL ABC stories from Deaf students at another school. Boogie is a well-rounded character; he is kind and conscientious and learns to not be so tough on himself ("Maybe the point of learning a new language wasn't to be perfect"), not to compare himself to others (especially Nolan), and to accept his own strengths. A lot of time at camp is spent on iconic signs (ones that look like what they represent), which can be typical for children first learning. But the book also captures the non-manual markers necessary for ASL--including facial expressions, at which Boogie excels--and a back-matter note provides more details about the language's complex grammar.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Andy Rash. Sent to fat camp by their parents, plus-sized siblings Ralph and Sylvia balk at Camp Noo Yoo's compulsory aerobics, Creative Abuse and Motivation classes, and skimpy meals. Along with another recalcitrant camper, they run away and spend the summer waging a "psychological war" against fat prejudice. This very funny book offers thought-provoking social commentary and an overt message of tolerance and self-acceptance.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2001