Summer Camp Critter Jitters

by Jory John, Liz Climo (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

It’s hard to go wrong with Jory John and Liz Climo. A companion to their hilarious First Day Critter Jitters, the cast of hilarious and relatable critters are back with a perfect dose of comfort for anyone going through a new experience. Every page contains multiple life gems which could easily become standalone posters. A delight.

The beloved critters are nervous about going off to camp in this hilarious and reassuring companion book to New York Times bestselling author Jory John and critically acclaimed illustrator Liz Climo's First Day Critter Jitters.

Some familiar faces and some new ones meet up at summer camp . . . and they all feel nervous! There's a duck afraid everyone will find out he can't swim, a bear afraid of noises in the woods, and a sloth who worries he'll have to catch his own lunch. But can they get over their nerves to have some fun and make new friends?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593110980
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/01/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	366,348
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jory John is the author of multiple books for children and adults, including the New York Times best sellers The Terrible Two and The Bad Seed, as well as the popular Penguin Problems and E. B. White Read-Aloud Honor book Goodnight Already. He lives in Oregon with his wife.

Liz Climo is an author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Los Angeles after college to work as a character artist on The Simpsons. She has written and illustrated several books, including the Rory the Dinosaur series and Please Don't Eat Me. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

05/10/2021

In this endearing companion to the collaborators’ First Day Critter Jitters, the critters are back, and they’re as worried as ever—this time, about attending sleepaway camp. John shares each critter’s concern with winning candor. Norman the snake, for one, is worried about making friends: “Have you ever bumped into a snake in the woods? It doesn’t usually go so well,” a speech bubble reads, as the dot-eyed reptile imagines other critters fleeing in fear. Climo’s expressive, fine-lined comics-style drawings, rendered digitally, similarly don’t pull any punches (Chauncy the mouse imagines a looming, wholly unscalable bunk bed) in art that offers reassurance in its soft hues, visual crispness, and clear empathy. The group mournfully sighs all the way to Camp Super Fun, but an inadvertent team exercise and the late arrival of Sloth—initially mistaken for a campfire ghost—changes the mood dramatically, forging a tight bond across the group and instilling a newfound appreciation for camp life. Camp veterans won’t find the resolution surprising, but the creators handle the subject matter expertly, with psychological astuteness and humor. Ages 4–8. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"John shares each critter’s concern with winning candor . . . [Climo's] art offers reassurance in its soft hues, visual crispness, and clear empathy . . . the creators handle the subject matter expertly, with psychological astuteness and humor." —Publishers Weekly

"Climo’s cartoon illustrations use format conventions to marvelous effect . . . Sure to ease the worries of human campers before their own forays." —Kirkus

"Helpful for any child who dreads new experiences, this picture book delivers a reassuring message in an inviting way." —Booklist

From the Publisher

2021-03-31
Various animals reveal their worries to readers as they pack for summer camp.

Skunk doesn’t like scary stories, and feeling afraid sometimes leads to stinky incidents. Duck never learned to swim. Mole is worried about sports due to poor eyesight (archery, anyone?). And Mouse fears sleeping on the top bunk. Sloth, Rabbit, Snake, Bear, Kangaroo, and Parrot share worries of their own as they each pack their belongings in a suitcase (readers will chuckle at the small, carefully chosen details in these scenes). Once they all arrive at camp, though, they discover a larger problem than their own specific fears: Their new counselor, Cat, is stuck up a tree. By cooperating and each doing jobs that are well suited to them, they can get Cat out of the tree and thereby become a team that can work on their individual fears. For example, under an alligator counselor’s close eye, Duck works on floating, Snake acting as a ring buoy around Duck’s waist. Climo’s cartoon illustrations use format conventions to marvelous effect, imaginary scenes encased in cloudlike bubbles to separate them from reality. The characters are simply drawn with minimal details, but this serves to highlight their expressive faces. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 23.1% of actual size.)

Sure to ease the worries of human campers before their own forays. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews