Calling all campers! Is it almost summer already? Whether it’s art camp, sports camp, or nature camp, kids are in for an adventure! But before that first exciting day arrives, they can join the characters in these books for some hilarious (and sometimes harrowing) camp experiences.
Youth
The youngest campers will enjoy these picture books about the great outdoors!
1 Monster & Mouse Go Camping by Deborah Underwood
When Monster and Mouse team up to go camping, they discover Monster’s insatiable appetite is wreaking havoc on their campsite, but nothing can stop these two friends from having fun in the great outdoors.
2 The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mann
Ernestine is invited to go camping for the first time with her cousin. She carefully checks and double checks her packing list so she will be prepared for anything. But Ernestine was not prepared for the challenges of setting up a tent or that swimming in a lake means there will be fish! Will the camping trip prove to be too much for Ernestine, or will she learn to open her mind to new experiences?
3 One Summer Up North by John Owens
Experience the beauty of the Great Outdoors in this wordless picture book. Journey into a world of clear waters, cozy camp sites, and breathtaking starry skies. The expansive full-color illustrations will allow readers to immerse themselves in the story or recall their own
camping adventures.
Beginning readers will love this story about the late camper who missed the worm!
4 Worm Wrangler by Amy Cobb
When Libby’s family goes camping, Libby decides to get up extra early to catch some worms for their fishing trip. However, a sleepy Libby misses out on the fishing. But that’s good news for the worms who find a new garden home on the farm!
Summer camp shenanigans abound in these chapter books for kids reading on their own!
5 Camp Average by Craig Battle
The new director of the summer sports camp is determined to make this the most successful year ever…no matter what the campers think about it! When he goes too far, Mack and the boys in Cabin 10 decide to make sure this will be the last year he tries this. Perhaps if they lose like they’ve never lost before?
6 Lions and Liars by Kate Beasley
From bad to worse…If disciplinary summer camp wasn’t bad enough, now there’s a Category 5 hurricane headed straight for the camp. Kids who usually get along with nobody will have to make friends fast and work together if they are going to make it through this one!
Happy campers gain practical tips with these non-fiction titles!
7 Go Camping by Peter Finn
With real life photos of kids having fun camping, this simple nonfiction book introduces all of the fun of camping without too much text to stress out a new reader!
8 How to Be a World Explorer by Joel Levy
Answering all your complex camping questions, from how to survive on a desert island to how to treat a snake bite, this fun in-depth guide is perfect for any kid who wants to be prepared before their next camping trip (or just worries about everything!)
TWEENS AND TEENS
Camp drama and hijinks…they’re all here in these books for tweens and teens!
1 Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davitt Bell
Thirteen-year-old Genevieve’s summer at a frontier family history camp in Laramie, Wyoming, is filled with surprises, which she reports to friends back home on the cell phone she sneaked in, and they turn into a blog.
2 Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
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!
3 The League by Thatcher Heldring
Fourteen-year-old Wyatt, hoping to impress a girl and ward off a bully, decides to ditch the golf camp his parents want him to attend to join his older brother’s summer football league, “The League of Pain.”
4 Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Summer Vacation by Tommy Greenwald
Charlie Joe Jackson is at academic summer camp trying to convert all the other kids to non-academics. Will he succeed or become one of them?
