The Camping Trip

by Jennifer K. Mann

Overview

Ernestine has never been camping before, but she’s sure it will be lots of fun . . . won’t it? An endearing story about a girl’s first experience with the great outdoors.

My aunt Jackie invited me to go camping with her and my cousin Samantha this weekend. I’ve never been camping before, but I know I will love it.

Ernestine is beyond excited to go camping. She follows the packing list carefully (new sleeping bag! new flashlight! special trail mix made with Dad!) so she knows she is ready when the weekend arrives. But she quickly realizes that nothing could have prepared her for how hard it is to set up a tent, never mind fall asleep in it, or that swimming in a lake means that there will be fish — eep! Will Ernestine be able to enjoy the wilderness, or will it prove to be a bit too far out of her comfort zone? In an energetic illustrated story about a first sleepover under the stars, acclaimed author-illustrator Jennifer K. Mann reminds us that opening your mind to new experiences, no matter how challenging, can lead to great memories (and a newfound taste for s’mores).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536207361
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Pages:	56
Sales rank:	58,933
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jennifer K. Mann was an architect before turning to children’s books full time. She is the creator of the picture books Josie’s Lost Tooth, Sam and Jump, Two Speckled Eggs, and I Will Never Get a Star on Mrs. Benson’s Blackboard. She and her family spend a week camping with friends every summer, always at the same campsite in a beautiful state park. They pack their rickety pick-up truck full of gear and dogs, put an old canoe on the roof, and spend the week hiking, exploring, swimming, paddling, cooking outside, telling stories, and sleeping in tents. Jennifer K. Mann lives on an island near Seattle with her husband, children, cats, dogs, and chickens.

Editorial Reviews

If I knew someone who was about to go camping for the first time, Jennifer K. Mann's The Camping Trip would be the perfect gift…The first-person voice is on point…The illustrations, a mix of pencil line drawings with digital collage and painting, are evocative and effective.

The New York Times Book Review - Pat Cummings

★ 04/13/2020

Fans of Alison Farrell’s The Hike will find much to love in this graphic novel–style picture book by Mann (Josie’s Lost Tooth) about Ernestine, a city kid on her first camping trip. Gathering provisions and driving to the campsite with her Aunt Jackie and cousin Samantha is lots of fun, but once they arrive at a lakeside campsite shaded by towering pines—rendered in woodsy-toned collaged pencil drawings—Ernestine is definitely out of her comfort zone (“It’s so quiet. And big. It smells like trees, and fire, and dirt”). Using first-person narration and balloon dialogue, Mann takes Ernestine and readers through a journey of rude shocks and newfound resilience toward mastery. Ernestine discovers, to her wide-eyed horror, that there are real fish in the lake, and the hills are bigger than anything in the city. A bout of late-night homesickness leaves her missing her single father, but there are also s’mores (Ernestine turns out to be an expert marshmallow toaster), an awe-inspiring starry sky, and, in the last swim before returning home, “The fish don’t bite me once.” Mann wisely refrains from tying up her story with a big ribbon, but readers will understand what Ernestine knows: the world looks different after a wonderful adventure. Ages 3–7. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Mann's thin, sometime-scribbly lines and earth-toned colors capture the child's viewpoint masterfully, and the variety of layouts, from pages full of small vignettes with speech bubbles to spread-spanning landscapes, carries readers through anticipation, humor, and awe in this longer-than-usual picture book/graphic novel hybrid...This delightful trip will be savored again and again.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Sweet pencil illustrations, collaged and painted digitally, appear in a variety of sizes, including some graphic-style panels that employ speech bubbles for dialogue. Beginning readers will enjoy being able to look at a picture and read the camping word placed nearby—camera, hat, swimsuit, pillow, sunglasses—on the endpapers as well as in the story. This title can serve as a manual for children who are about to go camping for the first time or as a remembrance for those who have had that exhilarating adventure.
—Booklist (starred review)

Mann's skillfully crafted pencil and "digitally collaged and painted" illustrations, in a nicely paced mix of panels, full-page illustrations, and double-page spreads, quietly foster a love for the wilderness while they show how time spent outside can bring families closer. A rare and welcome depiction of an African American family going camping.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

Fans of Alison Farrell’s The Hike will find much to love in this graphic novel–style picture book by Mann (Josie’s Lost Tooth) about Ernestine, a city kid on her first camping trip...Mann wisely refrains from tying up her story with a big ribbon, but readers will understand what Ernestine knows: the world looks different after a wonderful adventure.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the car ride to the tent setup, young readers will get a solid foundation in what to expect from camping. A great guide for those heading out on their first outdoor adventure.
—School Library Journal

The sequential collage illustrations pick out the humorous contrasts between Ernestine’s gray-toned points of reference and the full color reality the woods offers. This might be a fine step up to Wissinger’s Gone Camping (BCCB 2/17) for families heading out off on their own summer overnights.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

05/01/2020

K-Gr 2—It's Ernestine's first camping trip and she is excited. At the Cedar Tree Campground, Ernestine's aunt Jackie and cousin Samantha introduce her to all the wonders and fun; they swim in the lake, hug huge trees, and eat delicious broccoli salad and s'mores, of course. While there, Ernestine finds certain activities less enjoyable, but with encouragement and support she adjusts. By the end of their stay, she eagerly anticipates next year's trip. From preparation to return, Mann details many steps relevant to camping, using a combination of full spreads, and multi-panel pages. Her narrative voice feels like a journal created by Ernestine. VERDICT From the car ride to the tent setup, young readers will get a solid foundation in what to expect from camping. A great guide for those heading out on their first outdoor adventure.—Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

School Library Journal

★ 2020-02-18
A young black girl experiences her first-ever camping trip, invited along by her aunt and cousin.

Ernestine, the immediately likable narrator, has never been camping, but she knows she is going to love it. She is thoroughly prepared, barely fitting all the gear her aunt listed into her duffel bag. When at last Aunt Jackie arrives, Ernestine says goodbye to her dad. She and her cousin amuse themselves in the car until they arrive at the campground: a full-bleed, double-page spread of lake and trees and mountains that will have readers ready to break out their own tents. After working hard to set up their tent, the girls are ready for a swim—but newbie Ernestine, who loves swimming at the Y, is surprised to find there are fish in the pond. After lunch, they all go on a hike, but someone seems to have packed too much in her backpack. A campfire, dinner, s’mores, some tossing and turning in her sleeping bag, a touch of homesickness, and a star-filled night all await the narrator in her memorable trip that is full of surprises. Experienced campers will smile knowingly while the inexperienced will gain tips about how real camping compares to the imagined. Mann’s thin, sometime-scribbly lines and earth-toned colors capture the child’s viewpoint masterfully, and the variety of layouts, from pages full of small vignettes with speech bubbles to spread-spanning landscapes, carries readers through anticipation, humor, and awe in this longer-than-usual picture-book/graphic-novel hybrid. All characters are black.

This delightful trip will be savored again and again. (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews

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