Here’s a paradox that might not be unfamiliar to bookish folks: I hated camp, but I loved camp books. Still do, it turns out.
Among the many gifts of Gabrielle Moss’ “Paperback Crush” was being reminded of that classic camp book, “There’s a Bat In Bunk Five,” by Paula Danziger. It had completely left my memory, but as soon as I laid eyes on the cover in PC, it came back to me. I bought it used, along with “Yours ‘Till Niagara Falls, Abby,” another camp book I remembered reading. For good measure I also ordered old camp books I hadn’t read, like Caroline Cooney’s “Camp Girl Meets Boy” and Carol Ellis’ “Camp Fear.”
Put together with all the more recent camp books I’ve enjoyed in the last few years, it adds up to quite a collection, which I’m sharing here. I can’t resist the potent combination of half-wild setting, removal from parents and daily life, danger, and romance that makes up the classic camp story. In fact, it was books like “Bat” and “Niagara” that must have made me want to go to summer camp myself. It’s the only explanation for why a socially stunted, anxiety-ridden homebody developed a sudden and inexplicable desire to leave home and meet new people. I believed that camp would be tough but fun, and might even make me into a new, better version of myself.
Predictably, it did not. (More on that when I feel like being lachrymose and loggorrheic on my other blog.) The dream of a perfect summer camp still remains, though. I’ve been thinking, what would be the perfect summer camp for me? Something in a pretty forest setting with water, of course; lots of craft-based activities; not too rigid a schedule; social contact, but solitude too. And I’ve wondered if something like that is out there for socially awkward grownups. Something like craft school or a reading retreat or something. In the meantime, here’s my list of all my favorite camp books current and past, for all ages:
The Camp books of my Youth
Yours Till Niagara Falls, Abby
Jane O’Connor
“Abby is thrilled when her parents let her go to [camp] with her best friend, Merle. But her dreams of a fun-filled summer are shattered when Merle breaks her ankle on the day before their scheduled departure. Now Abby must face a long summer filled with homesickness, nasty bunkmates, and mystery meat — all without Merle.”
— School Library Journal
There’s a Bat In Bunk Five
Paula Danziger
A nearly perfect and very schmaltzy summer story. Full of Marcy’s romance with a perfectly nice boy (for a change!) and her efforts to “reach” one troubled camper…and the titular bat.
Other Camp Classics
Camp Girl Meets Boy
Caroline Cooney
“The young women at Camp Menunchekogue–“Camp Men” to insiders–get a summer-long lesson in mingling with the opposite sex and experiencing the fun and challenge of independence.”
Camp Fear
Carol Ellis
At Camp Silverlake, the counselors are terrified that the “one terrible secret they share will be discovered. For seven years they’ve kept it hidden – ever since the summer when they were campers themselves.” A classic revenge tale.
Contemporary Middle Grade Camp Books
(mostly graphic novels)
Camp
Kayla Miller
Olive is thrilled to be at camp, make new friends, and try new activities. But her friend from home, Willow, is homesick and afraid to let Olive go her own way.
To Night Owl From Dogfish
Holly Goldberg Sloan, Meg Wolitzer
Two very different girls are drawn into friendship by their fathers’ romance in a reverse-parent-trap situation. Where it goes from there is unexpected for everyone.
Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy
Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, et al.
“At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s camp for hard-core lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together.”
Chiggers
Hope Larson
Hope Larson turns a confusing summer at camp into a magical realist dreamscape.
All cover images and synopses in quotation marks borrowed gratefully from Goodreads.
Every Book, Every Reader 