"Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag" and go camping!

The only camping I did as a kid was church camp. And that was in a cabin. I was in my early 20s before I actually went tent camping but I have loved it ever since! So this year I requested a tent for my birthday. We will be heading out to our very own back yard in a few weeks to watch the Perseids meteor shower from the comfort of our new tent. (It has a mesh roof.) The next trip is a little more intense - Wind Cave National park in South Dakota after Labor Day.

Since you may have some aspiring campers in your sphere of influence, I thought I would give you a list of ten books about camping for the younger set. Some are about backyard camping and some about summer camp but most are about camping out in the wild! I think almost all of them reference S'mores, though. Speaking of S'mores - have you heard of S'mOreos?  Yep - a S'more with an Oreo instead of a graham cracker. Or you can keep the graham cracker - your choice! YUM!

Bowwow Powwow = bagosenjige-niimi'idim / by Brenda J. Child; translated by Gordon Jourdain; illustrated by James Thunder (picture book)

Windy Girl is blessed with a vivid imagination. From Uncle she gathers stories of long-ago traditions, about dances and sharing and gratitude. Windy can tell such stories herself–about her dog, Itchy Boy, and the way he dances to request a treat and how he wriggles with joy in response to, well, just about everything.
When Uncle and Windy Girl and Itchy Boy attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers in their jingle dresses and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Now Uncle's stories inspire other visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a visiting drum group, and traditional dancers, grass dancers, and jingle-dress dancers–all with telltale ears and paws and tails. All celebrating in song and dance. All attesting to the wonder of the powwow.

This playful story by Brenda Child is accompanied by a companion retelling in Ojibwe by Gordon Jourdain and brought to life by Jonathan Thunder's vibrant dreamscapes. 

Camp Tiger by Susan Choi; illustrated by John Rocco. (picture book)
Time for the last camping trip of the summer as the family (mom, dad, two brothers) heads toward their favorite camping spot on Mountain Pond. The younger brother is a bit worried about moving up from Kindergarten to 1st grade. He loved Kindergarten but 1st grade is a big unknown. Plus, mom is making him take more responsibility - and he isn't sure he wants to grow up. These doubts and fears, plus a longing for summer to never end, manifest into a small tiger that visits their campsite and talks to them. Everyone can see and interact with the tiger - it requests its own tent and goes fishing with them when they paddle in their canoe. But the family also seems to know that the tiger is not something to fear - just like changes that happen as you grow older. Camping week over, the family returns home but the young boy retains some of his tiger-ness as he gets ready to head to school the next day. I think kids will grasp this story more easily than some adults. If you like magical realism type stories, then you should enjoy this - just keep an open mind for all those tigers out there waiting to interact. 

A Campfire Tail by Sarah Glenn Marsh; illustrated by Ana Gómez ISBN -
9781454919933 (picture book)

Dragons should be great at camping - but this is dragon's first day at camp. And he's a little nervous. Fortunately, he finds a buddy to show him the ropes but -- things don't go so well during swimming. Or the puppet show... Will dragon ever get the hang of camping? Maybe - and he might even save the day!

I liked the play on words in the title Campfire TAIL but my library has it cataloged as Campfire TALE instead. So you might want to search for this one under the author or ISBN. 

Camping: A Mr. and Mrs. Green Adventure by Keith Baker (Beginning Reader - 24 pages)

Mr. and Mrs. Green want to go camping but Mr. Green is a bit anxious about being far away from home. So they camp in their own back yard! I enjoy all of the Mr. and Mrs. Green books - stories about an alligator couple.  The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mann  (graphic novel - 56 pages)

Ernestine (or E) has never been camping but she KNOWS she will love it. And she does - though there are some things that initially are not so great. For one thing - she misses her dad. And there are FISH in the lake where they are supposed to swim! EEK! But E learns a lot and by the end of the book, she can't wait to go camping again! This is a good introduction to graphic novels AND camping! A win-win for sure!

 

The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mann (graphic novel - 56 pages) 

 

Ernestine (or E) has never been camping but she KNOWS she will love it. And she does - though there are some things that initially are not so great. For one thing - she misses her dad. And there are FISH in the lake where they are supposed to swim! But E learns a lot and by the end of the book, she can't wait to go camping again! This is a nice introduction to what you might expect on a camping trip. And also a nice introduction to graphic novels. A win-win for sure.

 

Egg Marks the Spot (Skunk & Badger #2) by Amy Timberlake; illustrated by Jon Klassen - to be published on September 15, 2021. (chapter book - 160 pages)

Badger has a very special rock - an agate - that was stolen from him by a nasty, mean cousin when he was a much younger badger. Nostalgia for his purloined agate is interrupting Badger's Important Rock Work so - Skunk proposes a camping trip to find a replacement rock. Skunk has never been camping and his preparations are... a bit over the top. But camping does indeed happen. Along with adventures that include a cave, a dinosaur egg, the mean cousin, a few rats and some chickens. And maybe even a bear! Just as in the first story, important lessons are learned by both Skunk and Badger. I love these books and hope that Amy and Jon create many more in the series.

Fatima's Great Outdoors by Ambreen Tariq; illustrated by Stevie Lewis. (picture book)

Fatima Khazi is excited for the weekend. Her family is headed to a local state park for their first camping trip! The school week might not have gone as planned, but outdoors, Fatima can achieve anything. She sets up a tent with her father, builds a fire with her mother, and survives an eight-legged mutant spider (a daddy longlegs with an impressive shadow) with her sister. At the end of an adventurous day, the family snuggles inside one big tent, serenaded by the sounds of the forest. The thought of leaving the magic of the outdoors tugs at Fatima's heart, but her sister reminds her that they can keep the memory alive through stories--and they can always daydream about what their next camping trip will look like.
Ambreen Tariq's picture book debut, with cheerful illustrations by Stevie Lewis, is a rollicking family adventure, a love letter to the outdoors, and a reminder that public land belongs to all of us

Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping by Melanie Watt (picture book but has a graphic novel feel to it)

Scaredy Squirrel is - unsurprisingly - afraid of camping. So he decides to play it safe and watch a television show about camping instead.  However, he quickly realizes will need electricity for this adventure to work - and the nearest outlet is in the local campground. Hmmm. Scaredy hatches a plan to quickly brave the great outdoors just long enough to plug in his television. Of course, things don't go quite the way he planned. And being outside isn't so bad after all! 

Summer Camp Critter Jitters by Jory John; illustrated by Liz Climo (picture book) 

The Critters are going to Summer Camp! They are - for the most party - nervous about what to expect. Will there be scary stories? (Skunk is not a fan.) Will they have to swim? (Duck never learned how!) And Rabbit has so much energy - how will he calm down at night?! Our friends arrive and discover they are all in the same cabin! Hooray! And their kitty cat counselor is stuck up in a tree! Oh no! But they work together to help their counselor. They have a great first day at camp but their first campfire has a few surprises. 

Tiny T. Rex and the Very Dark Dark by Jonathan Stutzman; illustrated by Jay Fleck. (Picture book)

Tiny T. Rex and his friend Pointy are a little worried about camping in the back yard. It is so dark! And there are so many noises! As Tiny says, "It is hard to be brave when you are scared of the Crawly-creeps." Not to mention the Grumbles and Nom-bies. But there is always light - you just have to look for it.