Realistic and interesting, November 13, 2007

This is one of the few realistic and up-to-date books I've read to my six-year-old son about going camping. In addition, it has great illustrations and a surprise ending to keep children interested. My son can relate to it because he has gone backpacking with us.Mother and backpacker

Ever go camping? Stella and Roy and their mother won't forget this trek. Young readers won't either. This charming book will invite you and your youngster back again, over and over all through the year, to search out the wildlife hidden long the trail. Although set in Yosemite, the story can easily be translated into where you live. Talking over the family's last summer adventure and anticipating the next one will be the natural outcome of sharing this amusing tale of sibling interaction.

I read this book to my integrated preschool class, most of whom have never been camping. It was a nice realistic introduction to camping with vivid illustrations and characters that the children could relate to(previously I had only been able to find camping books whose main characters were nonhuman.) The camping experience in the story is true to life, touching on many details including making a safe campfire and even putting food in a bear proof containter. The story is interesting enough and the sibling relationship universal enough that my students were interested in the story without feeling like I was instructing them about camping. One nice feature was that throughout the story Stella and Roy would refer to a guidebook to discern which animals made tracks in the dirt and the illustrations were detailed and visible enough that my students could participate in Stella and Roy's discovery. On the last page of the book there are also descriptions and illustrations of the animal...