I had a whole lot I was going to write about this strange strange time we find ourselves in, but none of it was anything you don’t already know. The news from here is that we are all currently well. We are comfortable and relatively safe in our cozy bright home, and spring is springing in it’s glorious and unconcerned way all around us. One child is home here with us, starting her final quarter of university on-line, this week, and mourning the loss of the rite-of-passage of graduation and all that leads up to it. Our other child is far from home, having traveled overseas to world-see and volunteer, shortly before the world turned upside down. Fortunately he landed at a great place right before the borders closed, so our daily worry for him is more about when he will ever be able to come home, than about whether he is safe (relatively) or happy. He is both, at the moment.
Meanwhile, The Camping Trip still launches in May, and I am working out a plan despite the cancellation of a lot of awesome events here in the Pacific Northwest and in New England. I am just warming up that engine, so stay tuned for news of some virtual events in the coming months, plus blog visits, interviews, and more good stuff here on my own blog!
Just a reminder that The Camping Trip is available for pre-order here, and elsewhere, and your favorite local bookstore would be so thrilled to have your support. They may even deliver it for free when it is available!
The cool news for the moment is that Kirkus and Booklist have each given The Camping Trip starred reviews! I am infinitely grateful that people are loving this book as much as I do, and letting the world know.
Here is what Kirkus has to say:
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)
And here is what Booklist has to say:
Ernestine, who lives with her father in the city, narrates this story of going overnight camping with her aunt and cousin. It is the small African American girl’s first such trip, and she’s excited to buy needed equipment and spend time outdoors. Though she thinks she knows what to expect, the child is surprised by a number of new experiences. For example, swimming at the Y and swimming in a lake are very different: “There are fish in here!” she exclaims, with eyes wide and teeth clenched. Hiking in the woods is not the same as walking to school, and spending a night without her father nearby is lonesome. But finding new insects, admiring huge trees, and gazing at a startling starlit sky help her discover the wonders of the outdoors. 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.
— Maryann Owen
That’s it for now friends. Stay well, and stay in touch.
