Into The Great Outdoors

The attraction of tents, whether shaped by quilts and chairs in the solace of your home or by any number of commercial manufacturers for use outdoors in any season, is undisputed.  There is a comfortable coziness inside especially at night within the warm glow from a flashlight or lantern.  Depending on where your tent is located (bedroom, backyard, National Park or wilderness), the sounds and visitors in the night, or day, may vary.

While most people at one point in their lives have reaped the benefits of camping outdoors in a tent, there are others who never have or never will partake in this form of adventure.  They prefer the risk factor of staying home versus venturing into the unknown.  As readers of the series can probably guess, Scaredy Squirrel falls into the former category. Little does our worry-wart friend know but in Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping (Kids Can Press) written and illustrated by Melanie Watts, life has one surprise after another in store for him.

Scaredy Squirrel never goes camping.

It's too unpredictable and needs more effort than he is willing to invest.  There are six, no more, no less, problems which might arise, skunks, zippers, mosquitoes, quicksand, penguins, and The Three Bears. (Are you laughing yet?  I am.)

He's got the perfect plan for camping without ever leaving his snug dwelling.  Television guide in hand, he's made a mental list of camping and adventure shows to watch.  Hmmmm....there is one small hitch though.  Scaredy Squirrel needs to complete the successful navigation to the nearest electrical outlet. 

Mr. Ready-For-Any Disaster begins preparations.  His necessary supplies make no sense at all unless paired with the aforementioned hazards; his logic defies explanation.  His attire from head to toe including a nose plug for whiffy smells and a penny for good luck will promote happiness...he thinks.  Every detail is considered.  There is a time schedule. A map from home to goal with notes for using the supplies is an essential.

With physical training successfully finished and the weather and natural phenomenon (volcanic eruptions) monitored, our "Nervous Nellie"  skitters along his pre-determined route until...gigantic trouble looms into his vision.  Fright ensues. All plans are abandoned in light of sheer survival.  Hours later Scaredy Squirrel makes a discovery which, he has to admit, changes his outlook about the outdoors.

Melanie Watt has created in the character of Scaredy Squirrel a means to face fears with silly, super-readiness. From the first page covered in zippers containing a message:

WARNING!
Scaredy Squirrel insists you check your zippers before reading this book.

followed by the title page showing him, eyes closed wearing a hat with netting as a mosquito waits at the ready, readers are treated to this little guy's special brand of thinking.  With short, matter-of-fact sentences, single word labels, explanatory guidelines and comments we are privy to the process in this latest episode.  His postscript sums up the entire narrative in a nutshell...acorn specifically.

Digitally rendered illustrations in natural shades of greens, browns, rusty oranges with red accents color Scaredy Squirrel's world.  The expressions on his face whether relaxing, in conversation, fearful, determinedly planning or at ease in blissful enjoyment are fully animated, charming and hilarious.  For emphasis he may appear in a circle within another picture. Rows of squares, two-page spreads, diagrams, maps, instructions, charts, and single page visuals match the mood of the story to perfection.


All year long in the "W" area of fiction there is a gaping hole where the Scaredy Squirrel books would be shelved. They are returned and leave again on the same day; sometimes in the same class period.  Fans of the series are going to love this newest installment by Melanie Watt, Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping.  Even if you've never read a Scaredy Squirrel title, this one is not to be missed.  How could you not read this book, looking at the face on the jacket and cover?  Pair it with your other camping books, funny books or those books to be read over and over.

A link to Melanie Watt's blog is embedded in her name above. She has lots of extras, several book trailers for other books in the series.  Scaredy Squirrel has his own website linked above.  Follow this link to a couple of activity pages. 

It's Summer And You Know What That Means....

It seems when the last bell on the final day of school has barely stopped ringing, plans for those lazy days of summer are set into motion.  One item on the possible agenda, tending to send shivers down the spines of many children, is summer sleepover camp.  While my memories of camping with members in my Girl Scout troop are full of good times and laughter (the baked bean fight in particular), those of spending time with complete strangers in an unfamiliar setting are not quite so favorable.

When you're nine years old, faced with being away from home for the first time and missing your parents even before you've left the house, a week at camp is far from being your top choice for summer fun.  In fact, in all likelihood it's not even on the list, period.  Eleanor, who we first met in Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, has returned to experience an adventure neither she nor we lucky readers will forget for a long time in  Like Bug Juice on a Burger (Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS) by Julie Sternberg with illustrations by Matthew Cordell.

This all began one day
when Grandma Sadie called me up on the phone.
"I have a wonderful surprise!"
she said.
Right away,
the best possible surprise popped into my mind.

What sprung into Eleanor's head was not what came out of Grandma Sadie's mouth.  Eleanor has been yearning for a dog.  Grandma Sadie wants to pay for her to go to the same sleepover camp Eleanor's mother attended when she was a young girl, Camp Wallumwahpuck.  Initially Eleanor is truly excited; her friend loved camp the previous summer.

On the day before she is to leave, when she and her Mom are packing up her things to take for the week, the first hint of misgivings settles into her thinking.  On seeing the bus to camp in the parking lot the next day, her sense of foreboding kicks into high gear.  Her first walk through the gnat-infested woods on the way to her cabin, Gypsy Moth, skinning herself up pretty good after tripping on an exposed tree root, does nothing to dispel her fears.

Forced to eat nothing but lettuce, eventually with tomatoes and croutons and two rolls, only two rolls, for her meals (who would want to eat tuna drowning in mayonnaise, lasagna with spinach or drink fruit punch called bug juice?), Eleanor feels her anxiety growing.  To make matters worse she is placed in the swim class one level above beginners and has to wear a jumbo life jacket to jump on the water trampoline.  Her mattress on the top bunk is lumpy, her sleeping bag is too thin and what's that scratching on the window pane?  Oh woe, Eleanor wants to go...go home...now.

An unexpected arrival in the barn, a note on the Wall of Feelings, and stomping and soaring astonish Eleanor.  She's amazed to discover a shift in her thoughts about summer sleepover camp.  She can leave if she wants to, but will she?


Julie Sternberg has the gift of being able to put pen to paper depicting the essence of being nine years old; it's as if she's gone back in time gathering in the thoughts and words of this age group.   Surely she has had her own camp experiences to convey with such vividness the scenery, the cabins, the food, the swimming lessons, the late night walks to the bathroom, the counselors and the other campers with such descriptive clarity. In Sternberg's use of  succinct sentences and chapters, readers are transported into the realm of Camp Wallumwahpuck; mosquitoes and all.  Here are a couple of passages.

The screen door creaked when we opened it
and banged behind us when we got inside.
"Home sweet home!" Hope said.
It didn't look like home.
No rugs, no curtains, no lamps.
No couches, no armchairs, no tables.
No television, no stereo, no computer.
No colors on the walls.
Just brown wood, from floor to ceiling.
And four bunk beds, one in each corner.
And a few shelves and cubbies along the walls
under the windows.

"Candy-free?" I said.
I couldn't believe 
I wasn't going to get
a single M&M.
My friend Katie's camp had given her millions!
"So what's for snack?" I asked.
"Frozen fruit bars," she said.
"And gluten-free cookies."
I dropped my fork on my plate.
This was even worse than my flying fall.
I've got to get out of here, I thought.
I really do.


What really brings this delightful story sharply into focus are the illustrations of Matthew Cordell.  His attention to detail, knowing what to emphasize on a given page and portrayal of the characters' emotions, especially Eleanor, are adept, full of life and the right amount of humor.  He is the king of capturing the mood of the moment.

His illustrations which cross the gutter spanning nearly or all of two pages draw readers into the heart of the narrative; Eleanor and her parents loading her trunk on the bus, Eleanor standing forlornly in her cabin for the first time, or a series of tetherball games.  When concentrating on a few precious minutes his perspective alters zooming in on an object or faces; the bug flying around the fruit punch, Eleanor struggling in the lake for the first time or Joplin running like the wind to get to dinner on time.  Cordell's every line pulses with energy.


Like Bug Juice on a Burger written by Julie Sternberg with illustrations by Matthew Cordell is the joy and agony of a single week at summer camp rolled into 166 pages of pure reading pleasure.  I can't think of a better book for reading in June, July or August...or anytime you want to be nine years old again.  I love reading about Eleanor, her parents, family and friends; it's a heartwarming journey.

Please follow the links embedded in the author and illustrator names above to access their websites.  Here is a link to the Bug Juice Activity Kit.  Links to other camp books I've reviewed are here (Postcards from Camp: A Postal Story) and here (Mosquitoes are Ruining My Summer! And Other Silly Dilly Camp Songs).  And I can't think of summer camp without thinking of the song in the video below.  Enjoy.