cover image Postcards from Camp

Postcards from Camp

Simms Taback. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-399-23973-1

Using postcards and removable letters, Taback depicts a boy's first time at sleep-away camp through correspondence with his father, Harry. It's easy to see where Michael gets his imagination: when he pleads for his father to save him from his six-armed alien camp counselor, Harry sends a photo-collage postcard depicting desperate urbanites leaning out of windows, a New York Times headline announcing, "Big Heat Wave Grips City: Kids Stay at Camp." Harry's responses are consistently encouraging, positive, and funny, and Michael gradually acclimates to%E2%80%94and even enjoys%E2%80%94his time at camp. Those nervous about camp will relate to Michael's hyperbolic anxieties while treasuring his father's reassurances and good humor. All ages. (June)