Like Bug Juice on a Burger

by Julie Sternberg, Matthew Cordell

Overview

I hate camp. I just hate it. I wish I didn’t. But I do. Being here is worse than bug juice on a burger. Or homework on Thanksgiving. Or water seeping into my shoes.
 
In this sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, Eleanor is off to summer camp. At first she’s excited, but when she gets there she finds bugs, no electricity, and terrible food. And worst of all: swim class, where she just can’t seem to keep up with the other campers. But as the days go by, Eleanor realizes that life is full of special surprises—even after some belly flops.

Praise for Like Bug Juice on a Burger
"Eleanor doesn’t just survive, she grows…Readers will celebrate and look forward to more."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Sternberg gets all of the details exactly right, from the “orange, oozing sloppy joes” to the frustrations of trying to swim in a life jacket. susan dove lempke."
—The HornBook

"This is a really sweet novel in verse and a good sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie (Abrams, 2011), though it works fine as a stand-alone."
—School Library Journal

"Eleanor’s tentative yet heartfelt voice comes through as clearly as in the first volume, with the short, ragged-right-margin lines as approachable as her personality. Sternberg is particularly deft at leaving young-reader-sized room for interpretation and extrapolation."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie (2011) is just as endearing and wise, illustrating how small triumphs can help children survive what, at the time, seems an insurmountable trial."
—Booklist

Award
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbons List 2013
Honor list - 2014 Gryphon Award

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613124796
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	04/02/2013
Series:	Julie Sternberg's Eleanor Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	775,272
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Julie Sternberg, formerly a lawyer for the ACLU, received her MFA from The New School. She is the author of Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, Like Bug Juice on a Burger, and Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake. She lives in New York City.; Matthew Cordell is the author-illustrator of many children’s books, including Wish, Dream, and, most recently, Wolf in the Snow. He lives outside of Chicago.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 2–4—This is a really sweet novel in verse and a good sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie (Abrams, 2011), though it works fine as a stand-alone. It is summer, and Eleanor's grandmother is sending her to Camp Wallumwahpuck. Though excited at first, she quickly finds herself homesick, as the only camp food she can stomach are the salads and rolls, and her bunk bed is near spiderwebs. Not only that, but she is stuck in the baby swimming group. Eleanor is mortified and miserable and just wants to go home. Of course, it is not long before she finds herself making friends, taking care of an adorable goat, and learning to swim. Maybe camp is not as awful as she thought. Eleanor is a likable character, and kids will relate to her unease at being far away from her family. The ending wraps up nicely, as the story is more about how she copes with a situation that is less than ideal and does not involve Eleanor having a complete change of heart. A good purchase for collections where the first book is popular.—Elizabeth Swistock, Orange County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

Nine-year-old Eleanor discovers that it's possible to like some things about sleep-away camp. She thought she would like Camp Wallumwahpuck. Her mother liked it, after all. But the big bus she has to ride from Brooklyn is scary, and the buggy, too-quiet woods even worse. There's no food she likes, and she has to wear a life jacket to jump on the floating trampoline. The story of Eleanor's gradual adjustment is believably told in short lines of first-person narration and dialogue. Kids will find her worries familiar ones. Each short chapter describes a distinct episode and is liberally illustrated with Cordell's line drawings, which sometimes show the unhappy camper and other times highlight small details. This title has the heft and substance of a chapter book but is surprisingly accessible. Its story stands alone. Readers will not need to have met Eleanor in Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie (2011), but as in Sternberg's earlier story, letter-writing plays an important role. Adults are sympathetic and encouraging, and even her cabin mates, at first thoughtless and indifferent, become supporters. In a note on the camp's Wall of Feelings, she discovers that someone else shares her discomfort: "But I don't need to love it / I just need to survive it." Eleanor doesn't just survive, she grows. Readers will celebrate and look forward to more. (Fiction. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews