February 1, 2018
What's worse than being forced to go to summer camp? Monsters at summer camp.Ben Beederman is an indoors kind of kid, but his outdoorsy parents have decided he needs to get out more, so they've sent him to Camp Nature. He's assigned to Troop D, the one Troops A, B, and C call "Troop Dweeb." Under the sometimes-sleeping eye of wizened senior troop leader Walter, Ben and his troop mates, video game-addicted Manuel, hypochondriac Asma, and tiny ball of anger Ginger, suffer the slings and (thankfully not literal...yet) arrows of the bullies in the other troops. When Ben finds a moldy old camp handbook that includes information on monster wrangling even as giant footprints start appearing around camp, it's clear that something's...afoot. When the troop leaders go missing, it's up to Troop Dweeb to find them--but there is more to this camp's history than any camper knows! Cody's cryptozoological camper caper is a good kickoff for a new series aimed at those newly comfortable with chapters. Plentiful illustrations by Lambe show his roots in television animation, offering just enough Saturday-morning goofiness of a Scooby variety to hook new readers. Characters seem to be white by default, with diversity hinted at in Manuel's name.Merit badge No. 2 for Ben and his new friends will arrive soon. (Fantasy. 6-10)
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March 15, 2018
Grades 2-4 Cody kicks off a series that brings Scouts, cryptids, and conservation together. Despite a confirmed aversion to the outdoors, nerdy 10-year-old Ben Beederman is sent to a co-ed Nature Scouts sleepaway camp where he joins a trio of misfits in Troop D. Beneath the floorboards of the shabby boys' cabin, he finds a battered copy of The Scouts Handbook of Cryptozoology and Manners. The Nature Scouts have a secret branch, the Strange Scouts, dedicated to studying and caring for the chupacabra and other elusive creatures. Said manual quickly comes in handy as an important source of information on how to track and handle a shy but excitable bigfoot that has taken to rummaging through the camp. Lambe's frequent cartoon illustrations add comical notes to Ben's simply phrased, spaciously leaded narrative.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)