Band Camp! 1: All Together Now! (Band Camp! #1)(A Little Bee Graphic Novel Series for Kids)

by Brian "Smitty" Smith

Overview

Join four musical instruments in their first year at Band Camp! Pranks and food fights aren't all that is in store for this group of unlikely friends in this new, laugh-out-loud, graphic chapter book series.

Cordelia the accordion, Trey the triangle, Kaylee the ukulele, and Zook the kazoo meet when they're assigned to Bunk J—nicknamed "Junk Bunk" by the other instruments. Despite their differences, they'll have to become fast friends as they explore the wonders and challenges of the camp, including experiences with nature, food fights, and camp pranks. Can they learn to be in tune with each other by the time the big relay race comes around? From the creator of the popular Pea, Bee, & Jay.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781499815153
Publisher:	little bee books
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Series:	Band Camp
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	42,440
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Brian "Smitty" Smith is a former Marvel Comics and DC Comics editor. He is the cocreator and writer behind the New York Times bestselling graphic novel The Stuff of Legend, the author/illustrator of the Pea, Bee, and Jay series, the cartoonist of Tree Mail, and the winner of the Kids Read Comics "Most Epic Adventure" award. Smitty lives in Greensboro, NC.

Editorial Reviews

Smith's playful, simple character designs hit classic camp-story beats (food fight, ghost story, relay race) in a quick, entertaining story full of feeling. Lots of jokes and open panels make this early reader comic easy to like.

Booklist

05/24/2024

Gr 1–3—Strike up a symphony of laughter with a new graphic novel series featuring a full orchestra of characters sure to delight young readers. Trey (a metal triangle), Zook (a kazoo), Kaylee (a guitar), and Cordelia (an accordion) are all bunkmates for a summer of band camp at Camp LaLa Lake. The quartet of instruments become fast friends as they start learning how to work as a team and prove to everyone else that those in the Junk Bunk are winners, too. The artwork and panels are bright, cheerful, and easy to follow for younger readers. Musicians will appreciate the attention to detail on the accurate renderings of a wide variety of musical instruments—with the exception of the addition of human facial characteristics and limbs, of course. The characters all have clearly identifiable personalities that come across clearly through dialogue and actions, with no shortage of music puns and jokes. VERDICT This series opener is sure to be a hit in library collections specialized for younger elementary readers where music is a high interest.—Lindsey Morrison

School Library Journal

2024-05-04
Four wildly different anthropomorphic instruments experience their first summer sleepaway camp.

Ah, camp! Where lucky kids can enjoy nature, play games…and be subjected to terrifying ghost stories as well as mean jokes and pranks. Trey the triangle is skittish but also quick with a riposte. Zook the kazoo is cluelessly confident. Overenthusiastic Kaylee the ukulele can’t stop talking but has real leadership potential. Nerdy Cordelia the accordion eagerly spouts laughable statistics and factoids. The four share Bunk J—cruelly labeled “Junk Bunk” by a too-cool-for-school trio who won last year's Big Bunk Battle. When our quartet catches on, Kaylee swings into coaching mode. They're all eager to take home the prize this summer. But their divergent interests—nature, model building, reading, video games—divide them until they discover a shared passion for performer MC Mica. Will Bunk J be able to pull together to beat the odds? Smith has crafted a strong series starter with this graphic novel. The vibrant art evokes old-time comics, rich in color and detail. Pacing, characterization, and conflict are deft and engaging.

A five-chapter overture to a series that campers and noncampers will tune in to with glee. (Graphic chapter book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews