Plantzilla Goes to Camp

by Jerdine Nolen, David Catrow (Illustrator)

Overview

Mortimer Henryson is thrilled when he is finally accepted by Camp Wannaleaveee, his father's childhood sleepaway camp. Until he reads the camp rule: NO PETS OF ANY KIND ARE ALLOWED!

It breaks Mortimer's heart to leave his beloved Plantzilla behind. And then at camp, Mortimer discovers that the horrible, much-feared bully Bulford Whipland is his roommate. Does Plantzilla have a plan to watch over his friend and save the day?

Friendship and true devotion conquer all in this charmingly madcap picture book by best-loved team of Jerdine Nolen and David Catrow. Everyone should have a friend like Plantzilla —why not adopt a plant of your own?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689868030
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	04/01/2006
Series:	Paula Wiseman Books
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	651,480
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jerdine Nolen is the beloved author of many award-winning books, including Big Jabe; Thunder Rose, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book; and Hewitt Anderson’s Great Big Life, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, all illustrated by Kadir Nelson. She is also the author of Eliza’s Freedom Road, illustrated by Shadra Strickland, which was an ALA/YALSA Best Fiction Nominee for Young Adults; Raising Dragons, illustrated by Elise Primavera, which received the Christopher Award; and Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm, illustrated by Mark Buehner, which was made into a movie by the same name. Her other books include Calico Girl, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, and Irene’s Wish, illustrated by A.G. Ford, which Kirkus Reviews called “delightful and memorable” in a starred review. Ms. Nolen is an educator and lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.

David Catrow is the illustrator of numerous notable books for children, including the other Silly Dilly books, as well as Kathryn Lasky's She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!, which was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year. Mr. Catrow is also a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist whose work appears in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as in nine hundred other newspapers. He lives in Springfield, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

An epistolary tale like its predecessor, Plantzilla Goes to Camp by Jerdine Nolen, illus. by David Catrow, stars the extraordinary growth first introduced in Plantzilla (PW's starred review said, "Nolen delivers another picture book with a far-out premise and plenty of heart"), here forbidden from attending summer camp with Mortimer. However, the plant hatches a plan and arrives at Camp Wannaleaveee just in time to save the boy from a bully. Fans of the first book will not be disappointed. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 3-Plantzilla and his friend, Mortimer Henryson, are back with another far-out adventure. Here, Mortimer is at Wannaleaveee, the summer camp his father attended as a boy. He finds that he especially misses his plant when he meets bully Bulford Whipland, son of his father's old nemesis. With Mortimer's parents gone on vacation, Plantzilla dresses in disguise and boards the bus for camp in order to watch over his little buddy. The story is told through letters, mainly from Mortimer, and would not be complete without Catrow's humorous and exaggerated illustrations done in lush watercolors and pencil. Sprawling plant tendrils wrap around Bulford at the campfire as the kids toast marshmallows. Children would benefit from reading an introduction to these fine characters in Plantzilla (Harcourt, 2002). Even without it, though, they will enjoy poring over the pictures time and time again, noticing nuances in the panoramic scenes not discovered previously. A fine purchase where the first book is popular.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This epistolary follow-up to Plantzilla (2002) sends nerdy young Mortimer to Camp Wannaleaveee, where the customary encounters with bugs and a bully occasion the expected plea for parental rescue. Unfortunately, the parents are off on a "free" trip to an island resort-so into the breach steps Mortimer's overgrown, beloved (and carnivorous) tropical plant which, rather thinly disguised in Groucho glasses, soon undulates off the bus to become a camp counselor extraordinaire. Catrow goes all out in the art, crafting wildly busy outdoor scenes through which Plantzilla's huge prehensile fronds, and sinuous stalks capped by the odd mouth or eye, weave menacingly as children obliviously frolic and the bully gets gentle, but firm, correction. In the end, Mortimer and his tamed nemesis part as best of buddies, while Plantzilla stays happily behind. Fans of Allan Sherman's classic ditty "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah," recently recast into print (2004, illustrated by Jack E. Davis), will camp out around this cousin. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews