LOVE AND POLLYWOGS FROM CAMP CALAMITY

Fourth grader Effie Maloney, with her crazy red hair and a heart of gold, has been waiting to go to Camp Wickitawa forEVER. Her one desire? To win the Outstanding Camper of the Week Award. But she can’t even swim and has a terrible case of “altitude sickness.” A week full of high expectations becomes fraught with calamity when her “Bosszilla” big sister Maxey arrives to work in the kitchen. In addition, her two best friends, Nit and Aurora, lose themselves in their favorite activities, leaving Effie alone to worry about swimming tests and bullies. But her adventures, full of confessions, emergencies and prep for the camp talent show, help her reach out across the entire campground. Occasionally, Effie’s thoughts seem too mature, as when she thinks about giving her friends room to grow. Also, there are a few holes in the plotting—readers may have a hard time keeping track of the secret pep-talk messages she receives. Nonetheless, Hershey has created a big-hearted, hilarious heroine who will surely generate interest in the first two books of the series (10 Lucky Things..., 2008, etc.). (Fiction. 8-12)