I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am not a fan of camping but thought this was a very cute book. I liked the way the pictures were done and that Ernestine was willing to try something new. The story was done well.

LOVED this darling picture book - made me want to pack up and go for an overnighter in a tent! Definitely going on my annual list of best 100 picture books.

This is purely a guess, but I feel like there are a lot more books showing kids in urban or completely rural areas than there are showing kids in suburbs or small towns. And there really aren't many showing a typical camping trip. There especially aren't many showing kids of color in the outdoors. So I was on this book right away when I first heard of it.
Ernestine is very excited to go camping with her cousin Samantha and her aunt Jackie. She gets a sleeping bag and the other basic things she needs and they set off on a trip out of the city. With the car packed, they drive out of the city and set out on a long journey to Cedar Tree Campground. There they see trees, make their first attempt at putting up a tent, and Ernestine has her first experience of swimming in a lake, not a swimming pool. Ernestine also goes on her first hike and finds out it's a lot harder than walking on the sidewalk to school! The weekend goes on this way, with all sorts of new experiences, from finding a banana slug to eating tofu hot dogs. Ernestine has her first experience of sleeping outside (scary but wonderful) and finally conquers her fears of the lake. She says goodbye to her aunt and cousin and is reunited with her dad, happy to be home but already looking forward to going camping next year.

Ernestine and her family are all Black. She appears to live solely with her father while Samantha lives with her mother. She's a city kid and is definitely nervous about some of the new experiences she faces, but she's willing to try and her cousin and aunt are kind and helpful, comforting and not pushing her as she tries new things.

The art is drawn mostly in panels, with some separate illustrations of supplies, Ernestine ready with her backpack, and other little vignettes. The art was drawn in pencil and then colored in digitally and collaged, giving a fun depth to the pictures, especially of the natural areas.

Verdict: This is a great book for kids who have never been camping before or those who want to revisit a fun family experience. It's long for a storytime read-aloud, but would be great to read with an elementary school class or one-on-one. It also fills a gap, showing warm family relationships and outdoor experiences in a Black family. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781536207361; Published April 2020 by Candlewick; Purchased for the library

This is a charming book about friendship and the great outdoors, overcoming fears and finding joy in nature. I interviewed the creator at https://dulemba.blogspot.com/2020/04/jennifer-k-manns-camping-trip.html .

This was a lovely book! We really liked that it taught a lesson about facing your fears and going on adventures. It is beautifully illustrated, making Ada fall in love with the book. We highly recommend.

Summary: Ernestine has never been camping, but when her Aunt Jackie invites her to go with her and her cousin Samantha, she’s sure she’s going to love it. Aunt Jackie and Samantha seem to be experienced campers, sending Ernestine a packing list in advance. When they get to the campsite, things turn out to be a little different from what Ernestine is expecting. The lake full of fish is different from the swimming pool back home, putting up a tent is not as easy as building a blanket fort, and tofu hot dogs with broccoli salad are not exactly what Ernestine is craving for dinner. But it’s fun to explore nature on a hike (even if the hills are a bit steeper than what she’s used to), and the s’mores are delicious. When homesickness hits at bedtime, Aunt Jackie takes the girls out to gaze at the stars until they’re both sleepy enough for bed. A pancake breakfast rounds out the camping trip, and when Ernestine gets home, she decides she loves camping and is ready to go again. 56 pages; ages 4-9.

Pros: Ernestine is a likeable guide to the camping experience for beginners with the G. Brian Karas-inspired illustrations showing what she is telling. The whole book would serve as a good intro to kids who are about to embark upon their first excursion into the wilderness.

Cons: As someone who camped out of the back of a van with my family for as long as three weeks (in tents), I’d like to give Aunt Jackie some packing tips. There’s no excuse for having your car so full you can hardly close the hatchback for an overnight camping trip with three people.

Ernestine is beyond excited when she is invited to go camping with her Aunt Jackie and cousin Samantha. She's never been camping before but luckily Aunt Jackie has given her a list of things she will need to bring with her. Then she and her dad make some trail mix to take. It's a long drive to the campground, but Ernestine and Samantha find things to do in the car to make the trip go faster. Setting up camp isn't exactly like the blanket tents Ernestine builds at home, it's hard work. Everyone is hot and sweaty afterwards, so they decide to take a swim. But lake swimming isn't like pool swimming, and Ernestine isn't comfortable sharing the lake with all those fish and decides to sit the swim out. Later, it's off for a hike, but hiking in nature isn't exactly what Ernestine thought is would be - it's much harder than "hiking" to school everyday. But there's lots to explore and the downhill trip is much easier. Back at camp, Tofu hot dogs for dinner aren't a hit with Ernestine, but the s'mores sure are. And when night comes, Aunt Jackie and Samantha fall right asleep, but not Ernestine - homesickness and missing dad make her want to go home. What to do? Wise Aunt Jackie takes the girls stargazing until she hears some yawns. The next day, a very different Ernestine wakes up, one who can't wait to go camping again next year. Narrated by Ernestine, this is a wonderful book about some of the realities of camping for the first time. But Mann wisely shows readers Ernestine's growth as she faces and overcomes her fears and learns to enjoy these new experiences. All this is wrapped in the warm family love of her single father, her aunt and her cousin. The humorous pencil illustrations are digitally collaged and painted, really capture what camping is all about from the individual items packed to the night sky full of stars. I can't wait to share this book with my young readers when we are able to be together again. I know they will love Ernestine.

This book is perfection.
I need it. My sister needs it. My classroom needs it. Your auntie Jo needs it.

It’s so relatable, perfectly paced, loving, and exactly the right note.. It’s exactly what a household needs (kiddos and guardians!) to remember the beauty and tough parts of trying something new.. being with family.. the sheer starry awe-someness of nature and an adventure.

It’s also the sweet brown girl magic rep my outdoorsy sister and I always needed. And my group of badass black women friends who work in the environmental field— all would’ve felt so seen by this book. And my very city-kids 7th graders I took camping for the first time in their lives— they needed this too! Nature is for everyone. Adventures are a little tough, but with love and care and curiosity we can make it through and enjoy them and even find new things we enjoy, & new things about ourselves.

All that is to say-
I LOVE this book I’m buying it.

Did I mention your second counts in Freddie needs this book, too? I trust you’ll get on that..

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this solid picture book. I really liked everything about it. I camp a fair bit, and with my kids, and this story has a lot of the same experiences that we would love about our camping trips. I think my students would enjoy this and make a lot of connections to it. The camping life is not always easy for young Ernestine. Setting up is harder than she thought, swimming is more challenging in a lake than a pool, the food is not the same, and she has a hard time falling asleep (not to mention that she misses her Dad). But with help from her camp mates she is able to overcome and have a great time. The art is interesting to look at and pleasing to the eye.

Ms. Mann’s drawings are a lovely accompaniment to the story, and I love that it’s recounted from a child’s perspective. I also appreciate that much of the text and images are broken up into panels, making for a reading similar to comic books. While Ms. Mann doesn’t mention race/ethnicity, it IS always heartening to see a family of color depicted so wonderfully.

This book interested me as an elementary school teacher who has a classroom camping theme. However, that alone is not enough for a book to make it into my classroom. A book has to have real substance that my students can learn something from and relate to. This book will be making it in! First off, the illustrations in this book are beautiful and whimsical. I love that the main character is someone that many of my students can relate to. She is someone who is full of confidence, but still gets nervous and uncomfortable in new situations. I also enjoy that she is a child who lives with her dad, as many of my students come from one parent households and like to see that represented in their stories. I love that this book teaches children that new experiences can be scary or make us nervous, but also has a main character who is able to persevere and look for the adventure in the situation. This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had great lessons, beautiful illustrations, and a relatable character.

That was adorable. I probably would have liked it in some way no matter what just because if the hole it fills. As a librarian in the city, we are always asked for books about going camping. There are very few picture books about camping, especially where the child lives in the city and it's their first time camping. This book is fantastic. The text flows nicely for a read-aloud, the words are simple but informative, and it's funny! I loved the illustrations as well. I think this book is a winner and I can't wait to share it at my library!

Ernestine has never been camping, but is excited to go when Aunt Jackie invites her. She has a list of items needed and she packs them all. The new experiences at the campground leave Ernestine a bit uneasy and she misses her dad. After Aunt Jackie takes Ernestine to look at the stars, Ernestine begins to feel more comfortable in her new surroundings and enjoys the trip.

The Camping Trip is full of rich vocabulary for a young child unfamiliar with camping. The illustrations are beautiful and very fitting for the story. The story and the illustrations work well together for an engaging experience. As an educator, I would use this book with young elementary students for a unit on camping and outdoors.

Thank you to Candlewick Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Camping Trip is a cute story about a girl who is not sure what it means to go camping and is worried about how she will feel. There are some ups and downs and she goes from missing home to looking forward to camping again next year! This is great to give to younger students who are looking for books in a graphic novel format.

This story reminds us to open our mind to new experiences, no matter how challenging, can lead to great memories.

Thankyou Netgalley and publisher for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review

The Camping Trip is uniquely done, but talking about a very common topic: a night away camping. There are a few diverse elements: the characters are African American, the main character, Ernestine, lives with her dad, and her first camping experience is with her Aunt Jackie and her cousin Samantha.

It's like those books that prepare kids for their first something: dentist appointment, plane flight, train ride. This is about a girl's first camping trip.

The illustrations are simplistic, not too crowded on the page, they are beautiful and they catch the idea of the story beautifully. Even the first and the last pages of the book are cute because they have drawings of camping accessories. The story is darling and encouraging because it never once played into the fears of a new experience, but showed ways to work around possible scares.

I think this would be suitable for children aged 5-7 years.

Ernestine is going camping with her Aunt Jackie and cousin Samantha. She says: "Its so quiet. And big!" In a graphic story, Jennifer Mann shares all the truths about camping for Ernestine's first time. There's the long, long list of things to pack (also drawn on the inside covers of the book), the long, long drive to get to the woodsy camping spot, by a lake, and the dark night when Samantha cannot go to sleep and misses home. That first day, she is also shy about lake swimming. The fish might bite! But by the time patient Aunt Jackie takes her to look at the stars so she can finally get to sleep, Ernestine snuggles into her sleeping bag and quickly comes a new and wonderful day of fun. Finally home, she thinks her dad might have missed her and suggests a sleepover the following week! It's a lovely story from start to finish, showing all the madness of camping, but the wonder, too, like stars and s'mores! Told by Samantha, a newbie to this camping stuff, readers might see their own fears supported.
It is a book I would want to share with students and will share with my granddaughters!

My kids LOVE this one! The story is sweet, charming, and informative if you've never been camping before. It takes a lot of the unknown aspects away for curious kids. My kids are familiar with camping but they still enjoyed identifying the different objects commonly used while camping and they thought the characters were fun. They even related to Ernestine when she wanted her Daddy at bedtime because that has happened to them many times!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This books is about a little girl who has never been camping before and her first trip. I really appreciate that the characters are black.

Ernestine shares all the important details about her first camping trip from packing to hiking and even getting a little scared in the night. The trip ends up being a wonderful experience! And it’s a wonderful reading experience, too. The comic panels and illustrations feel fresh and atmospheric.