Summer Camps Books

If you missed or miss your youth, long for innocence or are looking for meaning in life, this book has a good message. It's a simple reflection on a 19-year-old's summer away from home that's both whistful and funny. The lessons learned are those of maturing -- growing up, growing with others and growing with God. It's an easy and wortwhile read. -SW/SD

This book does an excelent job of giving a brief history of each summer camp in Algonquin Park. The coloful pictures clearly illustrate the individuality of each camp. If you have any connection to the Park or any of the camps, I'm sure you will enjoy reading this book. Also this book makes an fabulous keepsake for any camper or alumni of the camps.

This book was good. I really liked it but it is is definetly for pre-teens to early teens. It was really fun! I would strongly suggest getting it for your teen daughter! it gets you in the mood for a fling at camp!

Darcy has just graduated from 6th grade. Her friends, Chip, Mandy, and April just can't believe that now they are going to junior high. They are all excited except Darcy. She is afriad that they won't get to see each other a lot and won't have the same classes together. Darcy goes to a family summer camp with her church and friends. She thinks everything will be great because she will get to be with her friends a lot before they start middle school. She later finds out that she has to saty with her family in a cabin and not with her friends. Things a camp turn out different. Darcy gets left out of games and fun activities because she is paralized. Little did she know that God was always with her and would do incredible things at camp to show her a difference in being her.
I liked this book because it talked about what happened after 6th grade. It taught me about friendship and more about God. A quote I liked was,"God knows, Darcry. He cares about those who can't do things like everyone else." I also liked the quote Darcy said,"God had remembered me. He had not left me or foresaken me. And tomorrow i decided would be an adventure."
My least favorite part of this book was when Darcy was left out of the activities. Because she was paralized, she could'nt do as many things as the other kids can. She was left out of a hike and swimming. Later, Darcy and everyone was happy that they got to participate in a play.

this book is the best novel I've ever read. I'd say read it at any cost

This was not a very pleasant book to read. I thought it was a good book. But I didn't like how people were always being cutdown, how innocent animals were being killed, how the boys parents' ddidn't really care about them. They just sent them off for the summer so that they didn't have to deal with them. In my opinion the objective of the book was good. The boys were being compationate, which I liked, they thought that the way the buffalos were being killed was cruel, as did I. I did not like the characters. They all were whiny little babies, that don't know how to take care of themselves. The only character that was actually mature and knew how to take care of himself was Cotton. I did like the setting it was a very fresh, peaceful place. Where everybody was happy. I thought that the chamber pot was disgusting, because a bunch of boys peed in it. The Chamber Pot represented that the boys were still thought of as toddlers. The buffalo head was weird. I did not understand why that was a trophy. I mean I know that it represented them being winners. But why did it have to be a buffalo head? On an overall Bless the Beasts and the Children was an ok book. If I had a choice of reading it again I would not. It is not that great of a book. I just liked the objective.

They always cry, they always wet the bed. They are wedbetters. They are wimps. I the process... of being men. This is a really good book. The beginning is ok. The rising action gets better. I wont tell you the story, but it gets better. The second rising action involves the bedwetters escaping and telling alot of flashbacks. They escape and thats the end of what I think is the second rising action. The climax is Great I think when they finnaly get to the buffalo preserve and fall in the blood it makes it more exciting. When they are actually releasing them its funny because they are driving in a van throwing food at them. Then lastly there is no falling action so that sucks, it just abruptly stops in the climax. Overall this is a great book If I were you I would deffinitaley by this book. Not for kids under 13.

So...you want to know what I think about this book. Well, I thought that the people in it do not deserve to get blessed! They are whining babies and they fall apart to easy. They have really big issues with being a team.
This books rising action took a long time to conclude. There was so much action in one night that you kind of got confused. The rising action was basically telling about there escape and how they got to the buffalo preserve and how they got chased by Hill Billies. The climax was kind of obscene. The bedwetters free the buffalo and then the author kills off one of them; it was the leader at that!
The only characters that you actually get to hear from and get updated on are the main six. None of the other characters actually stay around for more then a chapter. The six main boys are very different form each other. Though the two Lally brothers may be brothers but they're complete opposite, one is a hot head and the other sees little "Ooms" in the sauna room um... I think that he needs some more therapists. Cotton is a potty mouth and Teft is a big trouble maker. Shecker is a fancy Rich Mc money pants. Goodenow is the baby of them all, he still wets the bed!
The setting is basically a beat up camp in Arizona and a buffalo preserve. The story takes place over the course of about two days and a night. They were also a lot of flashbacks in this story. They give a lot of information but they can be confusing. They tell about the main 6 characters past and why they are at the camp.
The point of view is basically 3rd person narrator kind of. There was a lot of symbolism in this book along with a lot of metaphors and similes. This is a book for poets, people that like adventures and small minded people also. Bless the Beasts and the Children was a very confusing book. That's what I thought about it!

Bless the Beasts and Children

The Characters-
The characters in this book are Cotton, Teft, Shecker, Goodenow, and Lally 1&2. I liked the characters in this book because they all came together from different families, but the all suffered from the same situation; being unloved and unwanted.
Cotton came from a mother who only cared about looking young and dating older men. Teft came from a father who owns Ivy-League Schools all across the country, and his only worry is getting his son into one of those schools, although he has a criminal record. Shecker came from a family who is always on the road because his father is a comedian, and his father uses him to win back money he lost, by making him eat twelve pieces of pie in four minutes. Goodenow comes from an over-protected mother who can't decide between her only son and a new man, which made him need psychological therapy. And the Lally brothers came from a family full of maids and butlers, and their parents believe that they can buy forgiveness and love.

The Setting-
The setting in this book is the Box Canyon Boys Camp. It is near Flagstaff, Arizona, and also near the Mongollon Rim. The setting fit with the characters because the camps slogan is, "Send Us A Boy, We'll Send You A Cowboy!" and the boys did A LOT of growing up that summer.

The Flashbacks-
Most of the flashbacks in this story are about each of the characters home lives, or their living black holes. In the beginning, most of them wanted to go back to their so-called-"security blanket", but in the end, they wish they could stay forever.

The Point- of -View-
The point of view in this story is third or fourth person because we are watching them do this and then again we are living inside their heads. I loved being part of their emotional- distresses.

Symbolism-
The most symbolize objects in this book are the chamber pot, which symbolizes that the boys are still little. And the buffalo head represents that they are men.

This book is causing me a problem right now because my 7-year-old girl refuses to let me take it back to the library. I'm definitely going to have to buy it! We had read the previous Dilly book and liked it too, but this one really struck a chord with my daughter. She insisted that I read it and I found myself not wanting it to end; I was so caught up in her trevails at camp, and it brought up similar memories for me of when I had had a lengthy camp experience that didn't go well at first.

Dilly sets off to camp with her best friend Meredith, assured she's going to have the time of her life. She comforts the already homesick Meredith, yet inwardly congratulates herself on her own independent and adventurous spirit. On arriving at camp, everything starts to go wrong; Dilly is literally roped off from the others during swimming because she fails to pass a floating test; every meal contains cheese, which she hates; everyone else gets tons of letters from home while she goes day after day with none; and she is assigned an exuberant but tiny horse that only makes her feel more self-conscious and geeky. To add insult to injury, Meredith blossoms, enchanting the other girls with her long braids and having no problem adjusting to the many other personalities in their cabin. One scene in particular brought a lump to my throat when Meredith loyally agrees to sit by Dilly on the bus but can't help playing boisterously with another nearby girl while Dilly sits dejectedly beside her.

Dilly is a great character; not the most popular or athletic girl in the bunch, she is forced to confront her own vulnerabilities and yet still comes out a winner when she learns to rely on her strengths and be herself.

Ms. Lewis: Please keep writing more Dilly books! We're waiting eagerly!

Dilly's Summer Camp Diary is a great book! One of the main focal points of this book that I think draws readers' attention is the illustrations. They persuaded me to keep reading, even though I didn't want to put the book down anyway!

I had to recently read this book to a class of 1st graders I substituted in. At first, I thought it was great, very funny. Until I came to the part where Dilly, the main character of the book, describes her camp-mates. One of them as having a "big bottom" and one that she describes as being "q-u-e-e-r". I ommitted the queer part, because for one thing they have no idea what that is at that age and we certainly don't need to be teaching it to them in our schools. The part of the big bottomed girl I didn't want to read because I knew right away those little impressionable minds would absorb it like a sponge and start using that. Which is exactly what they did. Immediately after I read that part, one of the boys called one of the over-weight girls as having a "big bottom". Just great. Let's just send these messages to kids that if you are big, you are to be made fun of, it says so right here in this book that the teacher is reading. Or parent, or other adult. And the queer part, what is this author thinking?? Very socially irresponsible, and frankly, it doesn't belong in any children's recommended reading lists, and any parent that reads this book endorses the message of homophobia and its quite OK to make fun of kids or people that are over-weight. This is where bullying comes from folks, it starts at an early age and continues into junior high and high school. Dilly is not like "every girl" which one reader review states. I personally do not recommend this book unless you want to send these negative messages to your kids.

it is an interesting topic, but i was purchasing it for photo content and was very disappointed. this book is not the coffee table book full of beautiful, large images of summer camp days that i was hoping for. instead it looks and reads like a college text.

We think, A Manufactured Wilderness should be required reading for any person who is considering spending their life in the field of camping. Selected parts would also be helpful reading for agency camp boards to help them see their camp in a broader context. This book is camp history, illustrated with pictures and landscapes, that will remind readers of the beginnings and changes in camping prior to 1960. We commend this book. It should be on the library shelves of every school that teaches camp courses. The 7000 plus camps in the US plus those in other countries should have access to this marvelous and rich history that is written across all camping boundaries as a reminder of a rich heritage. The camping experience may be more valuable now in its many forms than it has ever been. This is a treasure of a book.

it so exiting eilerating i love it.

The worst thing about this book is the fact that the ghost is not a frightening figure. Also, there are gaps in the plot.

It was an informative book, but from the minute I opened the package I could see that it was meant for a younger or less mature reader. Not to say that it wasn't a helpful book. It does have some great tips for a child who is going to camp for the first time. I must admit that some of them were rather helpful to me. This book would be perfect for a child who was going to camp for the first time and, for that, I would highly recommend having.

My daughter enjoyed reading this book. There are certain points in the text where the reader has to decide what they want to do. Based upon their decision, the reader then is directed to the next page in the book. The reader can take a different adventure each time they read the book. Most children that are 3rd grade and up would enjoy this book.