This is a wonderful children's book to share with your kindergarten through second graders. Its a book that most kids that age could relate to, and get their parents to do with them. It's a story about a dad who takes his kids on a camp trip. The first thing they must do when they get to their campsite is set up the camp. This can be pointed out to the students that they must take care of their responsibilities before they can go play. After taking care of their responsibilities, the dad takes his kids on a hike and gives both of them their very own supplies; a canteen, a first aid kit, a whistle, a compass, a flashlight, insect repellent, and a bird book. He doesn't get mad at the kids when they spill their dinner, but rather pulls out the marshmallows and helps them make s'mores. My favorite part of this book is the end. "When morning came, Dad said, 'Let's go. We're hiking back today.' We jumped up from bed and headed home -- it wasn't far away!" and the back drop for this page showed that they went camping in their back yard.
Most kids will love the story about these two kids getting to go camping with their dad, and will love the surprise in the end when they find out they were camping out in their backyard. It's something that they might be able to talk their parents into doing with them on a weekend. After reading this book to your students, you can have them either tell you or write about a camp trip or a fun experience they have had with their parents. You can have them share why it was so special, and what they did to make it fun. They can even draw pictures to go along with their responses.
Even as a young adult I enjoyed this story. It got me to thinking about all the times my dad took my sisters and me camping. Sometimes it was in the mountains and sometimes it was in the backyard. This book brought back fun memories for me.
