Posts Tagged summer camp

Summer Camp Capers: 10 Middle Grade Books About Camps

Cover of "Be Prepared" by Vera Brosgol features anxious looking child camper in the woods.

Who could forget their summer camp experience?

For many children, sleep-away camps or day-camps can be both exciting and anxiety-producing. I remember going to a sleep-away camp when I was in middle school. It lasted a week. It felt like two months. Also, someone very close to me once received a disconcerting drawing from an eleven-year-old at a week-long camp:

Child's self portrait and text "Oh! How I want to go home!"

It should be noted, the child ultimately decided it was “good to get out of my comfort zone.”

How can you help your child or student anticipate or reflect on camp experiences?

1. Journaling

2. Writing stories about camp (whether it be real or imagined)

3. Talking about their feelings

4. Reading books about camps! Whether or not a child plans to attend a summer camp, middle grade books about young protagonists triumphing in challenging, scary or even hilariously over-the-top camp situations can be both inspiring and entertaining.

Listed below are ten wonderful middle grade books that feature summer camps:

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

In Be Prepared, all Vera wants to do is fit in—but that’s not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury, but there’s one summer camp in her price range—Russian summer camp.

Vera is sure she’s found the one place she can fit in, but camp is far from what she imagined. And nothing could prepare her for all the “cool girl” drama, endless Russian history lessons, and outhouses straight out of nightmares!

 

 

 

 

Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker

Ware can’t wait to spend summer “off in his own world”—dreaming of knights in the Middle Ages and generally being left alone. But then his parents sign him up for dreaded Rec camp, where he must endure Meaningful Social Interaction and whatever activities so-called “normal” kids do.

On his first day Ware meets Jolene, a tough, secretive girl planting a garden in the rubble of an abandoned church next to the camp. Soon he starts skipping Rec, creating a castle-like space of his own in the church lot.

Jolene scoffs, calling him a dreamer—he doesn’t live in the “real world” like she does. As different as Ware and Jolene are, though, they have one thing in common: for them, the lot is a refuge.

But when their sanctuary is threatened, Ware looks to the knights’ Code of Chivalry: Thou shalt do battle against unfairness wherever faced with it. Thou shalt be always the champion of the Right and Good—and vows to save the lot.

But what does a hero look like in real life? And what can two misfit kids do?

 

Holler of the Fireflies by David Barclay Moore

Javari knew that West Virginia would be different from his home in Bushwick, Brooklyn. But his first day at STEM Camp in a little Appalachian town is still a shock. Though run-ins with the police are just the same here. Not good.

Javari will learn a lot about science, tech, engineering, and math at camp. And also about rich people, racism, and hidden agendas. But it’s Cricket, a local boy, budding activist, and occasional thief, who will show him a different side of the holler—and blow his mind wide open.

Javari is about to have that summer. Where everything gets messy and complicated and confusing . . . and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

J + C + summer = ∞

 

Lions and Liars by Kate Beasley

Frederick Frederickson has a food-chain theory about life. There are lions, like the school bully. Gazelles, like the bullied kids. There are meerkats, and the fleas that live on the butts of meerkats. Frederick’s a flea.

Fifth grade is off to a terrible start when Frederick is sent to a disciplinary camp for troublesome boys. His fellow troop mates—Nosebleed, Specs, The Professor, and little-yet-lethal Ant Bite—are terrifying. But in between trust-building exercises and midnight escape attempts, a tenuous friendship grows between them. Which is lucky, because a Category 5 hurricane is coming and everyone will have to work together—lions and fleas alike—to survive!

 

 

Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca

Maya is the pragmatic twin, but her secret anxiety threatens to overwhelm her.

Chaya is the outgoing twin. When she sees her beloved sister suffering, she wants to tell their parents—which makes Maya feel completely betrayed. With Maya shutting her out, Chaya makes a dramatic change to give her twin the space she seems to need. But that’s the last thing Maya wants, and the girls just drift further apart.

The once-close sisters can’t seem to find their rhythm, so they make a bet: they’ll switch places at their summer camp, and whoever can keep the ruse going longer will get to decide where they both attend high school—the source of frequent arguments. But stepping into each other’s shoes comes with its own difficulties, and the girls don’t know how they’re going to make it.

 

 

Stella Díaz Never Gives Up by Angela Dominguez


Stella gets a big surprise when her mom plans a trip to visit their family in Mexico! Stella loves marine animals, and she can’t wait to see the ocean for the first time . . . until she arrives and learns that the sea and its life forms are in danger due to pollution.

Stella wants to save the ocean, but she knows she can’t do it alone. It’s going to take a lot of work and help from old and new friends to make a difference, but Stella Díaz never gives up!

 

 

Summer at Squee by Andrea Wang

Phoenny Fang plans to have the best summer ever. She’s returning to Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness, and Enrichment Experience (SCCWEE for short and “Squee” to campers in the know), and this year she’s a senior camper. That means she; her best friend, Lyrica Chu; and her whole Squad will have the most influence. It almost doesn’t matter that her brother is a CIT (counselor-in-training) and that her mom and auntie are the camp directors. Time spent at Squee is sacred, glorious, and free.

On the day Phoenny arrives, though, she learns that the Squad has been split up, and there’s an influx of new campers this year. Phoenny is determined to be welcoming and to share all the things she loves about camp—who doesn’t love spending hours talking about and engaging in cultural activities? But she quickly learns how out of touch she is with others’ experiences, particularly of the campers who are adoptees. The same things that make her feel connected to her culture and community make some of the other campers feel excluded.

Summer at Squee turns out to be even more transformative than Phoenny could’ve imagined, with new friendships, her first crush, an epic show, and a bigger love for and understanding of her community.

 

Summer Vamp by Violet Chan Karim

After a lackluster school year, Maya anticipates an even more disappointing summer. The only thing she’s looking forward to is cooking and mixing ingredients in the kitchen, which these days brings her more joy than mingling with her peers . . . that is until her dad’s girlfriend registers her for culinary summer camp! Maya’s summer is saved! . . . or not.

What was meant to be a summer filled with baking pastries and cooking pasta is suddenly looking a lot . . . paler?! Why do all of the kids have pointy fangs? And hate garlic? Turns out that Maya isn’t at culinary camp—she’s at a camp for VAMPIRES! Maya has a lot to learn if she’s going to survive this summer . . . and if she’s lucky, she might even make some friends along the way.

 

Teen Canteen: Rocky Road by Amalie Jahn

On the final night of summer camp, Tasha, Raelynn, Claire, and Billie get busted stuffing themselves with ice cream in the mess hall’s walk-in freezer. But when they slip away without being punished, they’re convinced the pink feather boa Billie put on to stay warm is magic.

Back at home, each member of Team Canteen tests the boa’s powers as they face their own challenges. When her little cousin moves in with her destructive dog, Tasha struggles to find her place inside her adoptive family. Claire’s scared the kids at school will find out how hard life’s gotten since her dad lost his job. Raelynn longs to be someone other than her sister’s twin. And with a hockey-obsessed family charting his every move, Billie’s worried he’ll never be able share his dream of becoming a figure skater.

It’s going to be a rocky road from the start of the school year back to Camp Happy Hollow. Will the boa continue to protect Team Canteen, or will their friendship end up being the most magical find of all?

Alternating among the friends, Rocky Road is a smart, soaring celebration of the highs and lows of middle school, and the unbreakable friendships that see you through, no matter what comes next.

 

Twelfth by Janet Key

Twelve-year-old Maren is sure theater camp isn’t for her. Theater camp is for loud, confident, artsy people: people like her older sister, Hadley–the last person Maren wants to think about–and her cinema-obsessed, nonbinary bunkmate, Theo. But when a prank goes wrong, Maren gets drawn into the hunt for a diamond ring that, legend has it, is linked to the camp’s namesake, Charlotte “Charlie” Goodman, a promising director in Blacklist Era Hollywood.

When Maren connects the clues to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, she and her new friends are off searching through lighting booths, orchestra pits and costume storages, discovering the trail and dodging camp counselors. But they’re not the only ones searching for the ring, and with the growing threat of camp closing forever, they’re almost out of time.

 

Let me know below other great middle grade reads that feature summer camp!

 

School’s Out For Summer! 19 summery novels

School’s out–or almost out–for summer, so as your middle grade reader heads into the long, warm days of summer, let them check out these 19 books that all have something to say about this transitional season!

PenderwicksThe Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
This award-winning novel is the charming story of four sisters and their summer adventures at a beautiful estate called Arundel.

 

 

 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney
Kinney is a master at cracking kids up and getting them to read… and read… and read. In these two books, he covers Greg’s summertime blues in all sorts of side-splitting ways.

LumberjanesThe Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware The Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson, Brooke A Allen and Shannon Watters
The publisher calls this best-selling comic book series (soon to be a movie!), “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Gravity Falls [that] features five butt-kicking, rad teenage girls wailing on monsters and solving a mystery with the whole world at stake.” What else needs to be said? #Obsessed!

 

 

The Watsons Go to WatsonsBirmingham-

by Christopher Paul Curtis
An award-winning novel that weaves the fictional story about ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan along with the violent summer of 1963, this books is  both funny and deeply moving.

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
This incredibly popular adventures series about a boy who discovers his magical powers all have scenes set at Camp Half-Blood (making s’mores is not an activity there, as you can probably imagine). Great for all sorts of readers with a range of interests.

Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Brother/sister duo Jennifer and Matthew also created the popular Babymouse series. In Sunny Side Up, Sunny is sent to live with her grandfather one summer–for reasons her family won’t tell her–and her days, which she’d imagined would be full of fun and amusement (parks), turn out to be way less fun than she’d dreamt, at least until she meets a cool boy from her grandfather’s neighborhood.

CampDorkCamp Dork (Pack of Dorks) by Beth Vrabel
In this brand-new title (and the sequel to Pack of Dorks) Vrabel sends her appealing characters off to Camp Paleo for a week-long adventure, where plenty of fun, drama and intrigue abound.

 

 

 

The Applewhites at Wit’s End by Stephanie S. Tolan
The hilarious sequel to Stephanie S. Tolan’s Newbery Honor Book, Surviving the Applewhites, the Applewhite family returns, with grand plans to make money by turning their family land into a camp.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
A historical novel set in 1899 about an 11-year-old who “comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.”

MillicentMinMillicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee
11-year-old genius and current high school student Millicent is having a lousy summer as a social outcast (what with being a genius who’s already in high school and all) until she meets a new friend. Will Millicent be able to pull off looking cool? Find out in this funny novel by popular author Lisa Yee.

 

The Hidden Summer by Gin Phillips
After a falling out between their mothers, 12-year-old best friends Nell and Lydia are forbidden from seeing each other for the whole summer. Determined to find a place of their own, Nell and Lydia spend the summer hiding out in an abandoned golf course where they find mysterious symbols scattered throughout the grounds. As they reveal the secret of the symbols, Nell discovers she isn’t the only one seeking an escape. She begins to uncover what’s really been hidden all along… both inside the golf course and within herself.

MiddleSchoolMiddle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill by James Patterson & Chris Tebbetts
Rafe thinks he’s about to have an awesome time at summer camp, until he finds out it’s a summer SCHOOL camp! Ugh! For fans of the popular Middle School series by publishing giant James Patterson, expect more of the series trademark laughs, gross-outs (including a kid named Booger-Eater) and excitement.

 

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
The incredible changes that happen to one 10-year-old girl over the course of a summer, all because of the addition of a stray dog she finds at her local supermarket. From the deft and incredible Kate DiCamillo, who can do no wrong.

The Summer I Saved the World…in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz
From a member of the Mixed-Up Files team, this novel is about a Nina, who finds out what happens when she decides that for every one of the 65 days of summer break, she’ll anonymously do one good thing for someone in her family or neighborhood.

Camp Rolling Hills: Book One by Stacy Davidowitz
Finally, it’s summer! Stephanie—aka Slimey—has been counting the days until she can return to her favorite place in the entire world, Camp Rolling Hills. New kid Bobby, on the other hand, is pretty sure he’s in for the worst summer of his life. He does not understand his weirdo cabinmates, the group singing, and the unfortunate nicknames (including his: Smelly). But he does understand Slimey, and the two soon fall in crush. This summer might not be so bad after all! But then a fight sets off an epic, campwide, girls-versus-boys prank war. And it’s up to Slimey and Smelly to keep the peace.

Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian AngelMaximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller by Xavier Garza
Margarito acts like any other eleven-year-old aficionado of lucha libre. He worships all the players. But in the summer just before sixth grade, he tumbles over therailing at a match in San Antonio and makes a connection to the world of Mexican wrestling that will ultimately connect him—maybe by blood!—to the greatest hero of all time: the Guardian Angel. Written and illustrated by the talented Xavier Garza, this will pull in readers that love action, images and plenty of excitement.

LastFirstDayThe First Last Day by Dorian Cirrone
Another MUF-er novel! Cirrone’s 11-year-old protagonist Haleigh must find out, “What if you could get a do-over—a chance to relive a day in your life over and over again until you got it right? Would you?”

 

 

 

 

HiRes Cover TIDEThe Turn of the Tide by MUF member Rosanne Parry
This summer adventure puts two cousins one from Oregon and one from Japan on a quest to win a  sailboat race, the same race their fathers won years ago. The only thing standing in their way is a former best friend with the fastest boat in town and a deathly fear of the water.

Andrea Pyros is the author of My Year of Epic Rock, a middle grade novel about friends, crushes, food allergies, and a rock band named The EpiPens.

Feeding the (Young) Artist Within: Books to Help Us Free Ourselves for the Journey

I’m very excited to teach another summer camp this year at the school where I retired two years ago. Last year, we took the students on a science and poetry journey, using the observational tools we honed in the school’s forest to inspire a variety of poems. That was a blast!

This year, I wanted to tailor campers’ experiences to the wider age range – because to be honest, though we had a great time, poetry was a tough thing to focus on for 5 days straight for the youngest kiddos, who really wanted to play all day in the gorgeous weather.

It’s nature art camp this year, and I’m pumped. My campers range from 1st to 5th grade, so I want to challenge those kids the best way possible, and there’s lots of opportunity for fun, sharing and exploration.

But here’s what I’ve learned about art and personal expression. What I’m about to share is true for writing, too, but there is an in-your-face thing that happens with visual arts in particular, and it’s called being afraid to fail. With writing, I can produce a cruddy draft and craft the heck out of it before I show it to anyone.

Visual art is really fun, and it’s messy, and sometimes, we really do have to accept that it’s more about the process than the product. That’s fine when you’re in your own studio, but in a group setting, a visual product is out there for everyone to see from the moment creation begins, and sometimes it’s hard to own the uncertainty of the process.

This means I have to be prepared for disappointment, and I have to help kids of all levels be prepared for mistakes and to help them figure out how to be okay with that.

My goal in our five days together is to expose the campers to several art experiences, and to give them a safe space to explore personal expression. We’ll play with watercolors and go to the splash park. We’ll do some rubbings and sun prints from pieces of nature we find in the woods. We’ll read  SWATCH: The Girl Who Loved Color (Julia Denos), about a girl who loves all the colors and wants to collect them, then play with colors and maybe adopt some for ourselves. We’ll make hand-felted flowers inspired by the school gardens, while we explore textures of natural fibers in the natural world with our eyes and hands.

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On the last day, we’ll work together to create a piece of Andy Goldsworthy -inspired art as a gift to those who come to the next week’s camp. Here is a link to a kid-friendly Andy Goldsworthy-type project, and here is one from the Eric Carle Musem, with a great lesson plan and information about the artist.

Every day of camp we’ll start with a read aloud – because where else can we spark imagination better than between the pages of a book? Here are some titles I’ve found that seem to launch a feeling of safety and support in personal exploration for kids (or adults!) of any age. I enjoy re-visiting these myself when I begin to worry too much about the product and forget about the process.

Beautiful Oops!, by Barney Saltzberg

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This is a board book even the grownups want to play with: torn pages, folded corners, crumpled bits of paper – what if we made even more art from our mistakes?

The Dot and Ish, both by Peter H. Reynolds

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I once read The Dot to my art and design classmates when we were deep in the very stressful process of preparing for an important exhibition – there was a ton of self-doubt making its way around the room, and we were all exhausted. Then we were all freed by my reading of this book, with its advice to “make a mark.”. Ish is another simple picture book created by Peter H. Reynolds, and I have helped students work through difficult feelings of perfectionism by sharing this one as well.

The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires

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This book is all about trying, and failing, to make the thing that is in your mind, but embracing the importance of walking away so that you can return to try again with a new perspective.

For all my campers, a feeling of purpose can spark inspiration, as well. I’ll also be sharing Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood, by F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell, and Rafael Lopez as we begin creating our community piece at the end of our week together.

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Have you ever thought of reading picture books to give your imagination some spark, or some creative support? I highly recommend it for any age!

 

 

In fourth grade, Valerie Stein touched an ancient artifact from an archaeological dig. Though she never got to travel the world in search of buried treasure, she ended up journeying to new and exciting places between the pages of books. Now she spends her time researching history, in museums and libraries, which is like archaeology but without the dirt. Valerie’s book, The Best of It: A Journal of Life, Love and Dying, was published in 2009.  Both her current work and an upcoming middle grade series are historical fiction set in Washington State. Valerie is Publisher at Homeostasis Press  http://www.homeostasispress.com/index.php, and blogs at Gatherings, the blog of Gather Here: History for Young People https://gather-here-history.squarespace.com/