Sports camp! Fun or intimidation? Maybe a little of both. It is Riley Liston’s first time away at sports camp, Camp Olympia. He doesn’t have any friends at camp and he is the youngest and the smallest. He is eleven and all the other boys are either twelve or thirteen. In spite of these facts, Riley is competitive and he loves sports.
This short story of a two week sports camp experience is chock full of successes and failures, tentative new friendships, and the formation of a team from kids that were just assigned to the same cabin, Cabin 3 – Threshers. There are also pranks and ghost stories, after lights out retaliations and spooky happenings. Looming over all is the threat of Big Joe, a huge snapping turtle which supposedly inhabits Lake Surprise and is capable of biting off a swimmer’s arm or foot. This adds a lot of drama to the last, big swimming competition.
This is a fun, quick read sprinkled with Camp Olympia Bulletins which give the highlights of the sports events of the day and give the standings of the teams. Recommended for boys 5th grade through 7th.
Posted by: Fran
