"Camping Day" by Patricia Lakin

Author:: Patricia Lakin
Publisher:: Dial Books for Young Readers, New York, 2009
Reviewed by:: Kristine Wildner , Holy Apostles School, New Berlin, Wis.

Vivid, cartoon-like drawings accompany a fun family of crocodiles as they embark on a camping trip. Showing enthusiasm in every aspect of their trip, the crocodiles pack up, drive, hike, encounter nature, cook out, tell scary stories and rush home again to camp in the backyard. The text is simple; phonetic and rhyming; perfect for emerging readers. With lots of dialog, the book would be easy to convert into Reader’s Theater for a small group of children. The straightforward sentence structure, predictable plot and picture clues all work well together to demonstrate reading strategies such as KWL, making predictions, connections to self, etc.

Surprisingly, there are few picture books on the topic of camping, Camping Day! fills that dearth as it continues the series created by Lakin and Nash with the same fun crocodile family, Sam, Pam, Will and Jill (Rainy Day!, Beach Day!, Snow Day!). The animated expressions on the faces of the crocodiles reflect the fun they are having, especially the stinky joke related to beans during the cookout. Recommended for ages 2-6.

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