Camp Can't

February 1, 2008
Gr 5-7-Claudia Cristina Cortez is a single-minded seventh grader. In "Camp Can't", she is determined to become a junior counselor. She is great at managing bratty kids, peers, icky bugs, and her friend's fear of horses, but she really struggles on the long swim. Through ingenuity and perseverance, she achieves her goal. "Claudia's Camp Survival Tips" are interspersed throughout the narrative. In "Dance Trap", she is on the committee to plan the first seventh-grade dance and immediately runs into trouble as popular Anna wants a fancy formal that boys wouldn't attend. She creates a theme around her brother's hot new video game, works really hard, and helps produce a fantastic event that everyone loves. Fans of TV shows like "Hanna Montana" or "That's So Raven" will relate to these short novels. The texts have many formatting and font variations, as well as some graphic doodles. There are decorated chapter headings and black-and-white head shots of the various characters to break up the writing. Readers can refer to the four pages of "Cast of Characters" at the beginning of each book to see who is friend or foe. Discussion questions and writing prompts appear at the end. With their open format and short chapters, these titles are perfect hi/lo books for middle school girls."Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI"

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