If you're lucky enough to be going to summer camp, you're in for big fun. You'll be meeting lots of new friends, learning new skills and sports, and having an all-around swell time. But when you have some time to yourself, or when a rainy day keeps you indoors, why not check out some of our cool camp books? There are funny and scary stories and jokes you can share with your bunk mates, and you can write down all of your experiences in a nifty camp journal, too. Jumping into these adventures can also help you feel less homesick while you're away from your family. And if you're going to a more specialized camp (like tennis camp, soccer camp or computer camp), don't worry. The books we've chosen aren't just about camps and camping. They are mostly about summertime fun in the great outdoors --- wonderful reads for anyone. And if you don't see anything you like here, check out the books on our reading lists, or the titles in any of our other cool features. We know you'll be a happy camper if you do.... Enjoy!

   --- Shannon Maughan

CAMP NOWHERE (Nightmare Room No. 9)
by R.L. Stine
Avon
ISBN: 0064409074
Ages 10-up
160 pages

In summers past, Russell has been teased at camp for being a bit of a scaredy cat. But this year he's a senior camper and that means he is supposed to take part in a canoe trip with the other senior campers over Forbidden Falls. There are many ghostly legends about campers who didn't make it, but Russell is determined to prove he's brave enough to excel at this outing. Find out what happens when he paddles his canoe downriver and into the Nightmare Room.

Ralph, Sylvia and Mavis have been enrolled at Camp Noo Yoo by their parents. Camp Noo Yoo is a place where fat kids are sent so they can shed some lbs. and become less of a target for teasing and discrimination. However, the camp owner, Dick Tator, and the counselors use a cruel method of tough love that has Ralph and friends rebelling. They hop on a bus back to their hometown where they plan revenge on their parents, Mr. Tator and everyone else who thinks Camp Noo Yoo is a good idea.

THE CASE OF THE CHEERLEADING CAMP MYSTERY (New Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley No. 17)
by Lisa Fiedler
HarperEntertainment
ISBN: 0061065900
Ages 84
6-10 pages

Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley love learning routines and cheers at cheerleading camp. But just when it looks like Ashley might make captain of the camp squad, her favorite pom-poms disappear? Who's behind this mystery?

THE SUMMER CAMP HANDBOOK: Everything You Need to Find, Choose and Get Ready for Overnight Camp --- and Skip the Homesickness
by Christopher A. Thurber, Jon Malinowski and Mark Scott
Perspective
ISBN: 1930085001
Ages 9-up

Everything You Need to Find, Choose and Get Ready for Overnight Camp -- This is a great book for parents and children to read together. It gives you all sorts of tips on choosing the kind of camp that's best for your situation/needs, tells you what to expect, and then helps you prepare to make that journey. Solid advice from knowledgeable sources.

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY (The Boxcar Children Mysteries, No. 82)
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Albert Whitman
ISBN: 0807554790
Ages 7-12
128 pages

The Alden children are looking forward to a week at summer camp. But when they arrive, everything starts to go wrong: they lose their luggage, the camp flag is stolen from Henry's cabin and rival campers in the camp Olympics steal one of Jessie's ideas for their team. Will things ever turn out right? And how will the Aldens do in the Olympic competitions?

BLASTING OFF TO SPACE ACADEMY (Ultimate Field Trip 5)
by Susan E. Goodman
illustrated by Michael J. Doolittle
Atheneum
ISBN: 0689830440
Ages 8-12
48 pages

Ever wonder what it's like to go to NASA space camp? Here's your chance to take a look. This photo-essay chronicles the experiences of 16 kids during a week at the U.S. Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama, where they get to see what it takes to be an astronaut. The "campers" wear flight suits, learn how to walk and work in zero gravity, and "blast-off" using NASA simulators. It's out of this world!

THE KIDS CAMPFIRE BOOK
by Jane Drakeand Ann Love
illustrated by Heather Collins
Kids Can
ISBN: 1550745395
Ages 7-up
128 pages

From how to cook pizza over an open fire to sing-alongs, games and stargazing, this book is filled with ideas for having a great time camping out at camp, at a campground, or in your backyard. Ghost stories and tips on how to avoid insects and other troublesome pests as well as how to build a fire and use proper gear are all included.

CAMP JOURNAL
by Philip E. Hendrix
Whiteside Press
ISBN: 0965746208
63 pages

Keep track of all your camp experiences in this terrific journal. There are lots of places to list your favorite camp activities, songs and food, too. There's even space for photos and the addresses of all your new friends. Believe it or not, years from now you'll be glad to have these fun memories to look back on.

CAMP SINK OR SWIM (Stepping Stone)
by Gibbs Davis
illustrated by Abby Carter
Random House
ISBN: 0679982167
Ages 5-up

Eight-year-old Danny loves to tell a good story. And his latest one is a doozie. Danny tells everyone at camp that he's a great swimmer when he doesn't really know how to swim at all. The moment of truth comes when he finds out he's supposed to compete in the Camp Kickapoo swimming race. Luckily, Danny's arch-enemy comes to the rescue and teaches Danny how to do the dog paddle just in time.

CANOE DAYS
by Gary Paulsen
illustrated by Ruth Paulsen
Dragonfly
ISBN: 0440414415
Ages 32
5-up pages

Ah, what could be better than spending a lazy afternoon in a canoe on the lake? Maybe you'll be learning to handle a canoe at camp. This peaceful picture book --- filled with sparkling water, bright sunshine and tons of amazing critters --- gives you an idea of what it's really like to enjoy nature, floating and rowing on a summer day.

CODY UNPLUGGED
by Betsy Duffy
illustrated by Ellen Thompson
Puffin
ISBN: 0141312408
Ages 7-10
96 pages

Cody plans to kick back and relax watching cartoons and playing video games this summer vacation, but boy, is he wrong! Instead, his family packs him up and sends him to Camp Bear. He brings along his flashlight, binoculars and wilderness survival guide, but even all that gear can't save him from an annoying camper named Junie Andrews.

ELVIS LIVES!: And Other Anagrams
by Jon Agee
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN: 0374321272
Ages 6-up
80 pages

Do you know what an anagram is? It's when you change the letters of one word or phrase around to make a new word or phrase. Here are some examples: "THE PIANO BENCH/BENEATH CHOPIN" or "POETRY/TRY POE." This book is filled with tons more original anagrams, and humorous illustrations, too.

ERNESTINE & AMANDA: Summer Camp Ready Or Not
by Sandra Belton
Aladdin
ISBN: 0689808453
Ages 9-up
168 pages

Best friends Ernestine and Amanda face some difficult issues as the summer between fifth and sixth grade rolls around. The neat thing is that both girls are going to camp. The bad thing is that they're going to DIFFERENT camps. Ernestine goes to an all-black camp, Amanda to a predominantly white one and they both tell of the rocky and fun times they have there. Set in the 1950s, this tale of friendship, which also explores race, is a great read.

FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS
by Laura Torres
Klutz
ISBN: 1570540535
Ages 7-up
60 pages

Camp is the place to make lots of new friends, so why not trade friendship bracelets with your favorite campers? This book contains ten different colors of thread, beads, and easy to follow designs and directions --- everything you need to create super-duper bracelets.

HELP! I'M TRAPPED IN THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER CAMP
by Todd Strasser
illustrated by Name
Scholastic
ISBN: 0590029657
Ages 8-up

Talk about deja-vu! Jake Sherman's first day summer camp doesn't go so well. The next day is bound to be better right? Well the next day doesn't really come. Every morning when Jake wakes up he relives his very first day at camp all over again! Will he figure out the secret that will let him move on to Day Two? Find out in this strange and exciting tale.

HOW I SURVIVED MY SUMMER VACATION
by Bruce Coville
illustrated by Tom Newsom
Minstrel
ISBN: 0671681761
Ages 8-up

Spending the summer at Camp Haunted Hills should be full of adventure, right? Well, the campers get more than they bargained for when very spooky things start happening. Is the place really haunted, or is all the funny business created by the filmmaker who owns the camp?

LETTERS FROM CAMP
by Kate Klise
illustrated by M. Sarah Klise
HarperTrophy
ISBN: 0380793482
Ages 8-12
192 pages

Brothers and sisters from all over arrive at Camp Happy Harmony looking for some fun and adventure, even if it means they have to get along with each other. But what they find is total weirdness. The campers are forced to wear odd uniforms, eat some really yicky food and do a ton of chores all day. Not exactly what they had hoped for. Even worse, the family that owns the camp is always fighting. Will the campers ever unravel the mystery behind the super-strange Camp Happy Harmony?

TALES OF THE HAUNTED DEEP
by Brenda Z. Guiberson
Henry Holt
ISBN: 080506057X
Ages 8-10
80 pages

Get ready to dive into this collection of scary sea stories about pirates, shipwrecks, haunted lighthouses and even sea monsters. Perfect for reading with a flashlight in bed, or in a tent, or at camp.

THERE'S A BAT IN BUNK FIVE
by Paula Danziger
illustrated by Rebecca Leer
Puffin
ISBN: 0698116895
Ages 10-up
150 pages

This is going to be 14-year-old Marcy's best summer yet. Ms. Finney has asked her to be a junior counselor at a creative arts camp. She loves the idea of spending the summer away from home, where she'll be with new people who don't know she used to be overweight and unpopular. But the campers keep Marcy busier than she ever thought --- and she even has to battle a bat! Enjoy her camp adventures in this funny, engrossing book.

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
by Alvin Schwartz
illustrated by Stephen Gammell
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0064401707
Ages 8-up
111 pages

Summer camp is the perfect place for telling spooky stories. Maybe in your cabin with only a flashlight to light your way, or maybe when you're all sitting around the campfire. But wherever you plan to read them, be ready for some shivery fun.

TREASURE HUNTS! TREASURE HUNTS!: Treasure Hunts and Scavenger Hunts to Play with Friends and Family
by Lenny Hort
illustrated by Cary Pillo
HarperTrophy
ISBN: 068817177X
Ages 8-up
80 pages

Ready, set, go! You'll have a great time planning and playing the hunts in this book. It tells you all about how to create and hide clues and items, indoors our out, and also provides some fun facts about some real-life treasure hunting.

A TREASURY OF FUNNY STORIES
compiled by Andrew Matthews
illustrated by Frank James
Kingfisher
ISBN: 1856975444
Ages 5-9
158 pages

If ghost stories aren't your favorite, then try sharing this collection of silly tales with your bunk mates. Unidentified flying dogs and dancing cows are just a few of the goofy characters you'll discover here.

THE YOUNG SOCCER PLAYER: A Young Enthusiast's Guide to Soccer
by Gary Lineker
DK
ISBN: 1564585921
Ages 7-11
32 pages

The crisp photos in this book show you all the moves and thrilling action of soccer up close. See how to execute plays and develop skills, use proper equipment --- and of course, how to have fun while you improve your game. Score!

WHITE WATER
by P.J. Petersen
Yearling
ISBN: 0440415527
Ages 9-12
107 pages

Get ready to ride the rapids to adventure in this thrilling book. Greg isn't wild about taking a white water rafting trip with his dad and half-brother. But the trip becomes even worse than he imagined when Greg's dad gets bit by a rattlesnake. Greg must take control of the raft and lead them all to safety. A page-turning treat, great for summer reading.

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