THE GIANTS GO CAMPINGs

When the giants of Fe-Fi-Fo-Farm go camping, Dab, "the little giant," drives the camper because "he was the only one who fit behind the wheel." Once into the mountains, Dab shows twins Grab and Grub what a hammock is for; ever-hungry Stout catches a fish but can't bring himself to kill and eat it; Grizzle makes friends with a bear—whom he first fears as a monster but then introduces to the others as dog Spot ("I know you are really a bear. But they would never let me keep a bear for a pet"); and finally, on Dab's orders, they pack up and go home. Yolen relates the five flimsy bits in jerky easy-readerese and, as in The Giants' Farm (1977), she relies on the turnabout trick of the little giant's superior wisdom to give them a needed twist—but Dab is no more engaging than he was before, which is to say no more than any other know-it-all kid.