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Choose Your Own Adventure: Young Readers #14
The Search for Champ
Champ is a mysterious creature that lives in the lake beside your grandparents' house. You and your sister spend the summer searching for Champ. In your search, you might discover some stolen emeralds, explore an old haunted house, or find yourself swimming for your life! It all depends on the choices you make. Some of your adventures will be scary, some will be exciting, but all of them will be fun!
64 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1983
2 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Shannon Gilligan
38 books7 followersShannon Gilligan began writing fiction for a living after graduating from Williams College in 1981. She has written over fifteen books for children, including eleven in the Choose Your Own Adventure series. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages. She spent a decade working on story-based computer games in the 1990s. Gilligan's day job is publisher of Chooseco, a company she co-founded alongside her late husband, R.A. Montgomery. She lives in Warren, Vermont, but travels widely.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 28, 2024
Mystery creatures lurking in large bodies of water factor into more than one Choose Your Own Adventure book; The Search for Champ isn't even the first time the idea was used in the Bantam Skylark series. It is summer in Vermont, and you and your older sister Mag are visiting your grandparents on Lake Champlain. You come every year, but this time you want to look for Champ, a creature the size of a small dinosaur that lives in the lake. No one has ever successfully snapped a photo of Champ, but the underwater recluse is said to be gentle, not a threat to humans. You and Mag are determined to get that first photo of Champ, but what strategy will you use in your search?
For an animal Champ's size to be seen so rarely, it must linger in the secluded parts of Lake Champlain. Grand Isle is a possibility, but if you choose to investigate there, your trip is interrupted by a lightning storm. On the island you spot an elaborate, broken-down mansion you never noticed. You need shelter from the rising storm, but the house is scary; do you want to risk going inside? You could return to your canoe and attempt to outrace the storm home, but there may not be time to avoid the pouring rain and angry waves. Who will save you from this storm on the open water? Seeking shelter in the mansion confirms the interior is as eerie as the outside, but at least it's deserted. You could stumble onto the solution to a theft from half a century ago, earning the thanks of the authorities. No storyline on Grand Isle ends with more than a brief glimpse of Champ, but you had a memorable little adventure.
Would you rather explore Shelburne Point than Grand Isle? Last summer a few picnickers there reported seeing Champ after they spilled shrimp salad into the water. You and Mag try to lure Champ to the surface using a cage full of shrimp, but you still have the coming storm to deal with. If you tarry too long before recognizing the storm's severity, you'll face danger as you paddle your canoe toward shore, but even if disaster strikes, you may have a special guardian looking out for you. You never see Champ for more than a fleeting moment, but what a story you'll have if you get close to the legendary sea serpent of Lake Champlain for even that long. Visiting your grandparents was never so exciting.
The Search for Champ isn't much of a search. You're easily distracted from your goal of photographing the elusive creature, and no branch of the story yields an in-depth encounter. Champ remains an enigma, a species that transcends the modern world and leads you to wonder what other secrets it might contain. Anthony Kramer's illustrations are impressive for the most part, in particular his panoramas of Grand Isle and Lake Champlain during the storm. A few simple illustrations of the mansion on Grand Isle greatly enhance the house's spookiness; the best two are pages ten and twelve. If not for Kramer's subpar skill at drawing human faces, I'd be tempted to call him one of the best illustrators in Choose Your Own Adventure history. I rate The Search for Champ only one and a half stars because the story is short on content and meaning, but you'll have some fun if you let your imagination roam. You never know what you'll discover on Lake Champlain.
For an animal Champ's size to be seen so rarely, it must linger in the secluded parts of Lake Champlain. Grand Isle is a possibility, but if you choose to investigate there, your trip is interrupted by a lightning storm. On the island you spot an elaborate, broken-down mansion you never noticed. You need shelter from the rising storm, but the house is scary; do you want to risk going inside? You could return to your canoe and attempt to outrace the storm home, but there may not be time to avoid the pouring rain and angry waves. Who will save you from this storm on the open water? Seeking shelter in the mansion confirms the interior is as eerie as the outside, but at least it's deserted. You could stumble onto the solution to a theft from half a century ago, earning the thanks of the authorities. No storyline on Grand Isle ends with more than a brief glimpse of Champ, but you had a memorable little adventure.
Would you rather explore Shelburne Point than Grand Isle? Last summer a few picnickers there reported seeing Champ after they spilled shrimp salad into the water. You and Mag try to lure Champ to the surface using a cage full of shrimp, but you still have the coming storm to deal with. If you tarry too long before recognizing the storm's severity, you'll face danger as you paddle your canoe toward shore, but even if disaster strikes, you may have a special guardian looking out for you. You never see Champ for more than a fleeting moment, but what a story you'll have if you get close to the legendary sea serpent of Lake Champlain for even that long. Visiting your grandparents was never so exciting.
The Search for Champ isn't much of a search. You're easily distracted from your goal of photographing the elusive creature, and no branch of the story yields an in-depth encounter. Champ remains an enigma, a species that transcends the modern world and leads you to wonder what other secrets it might contain. Anthony Kramer's illustrations are impressive for the most part, in particular his panoramas of Grand Isle and Lake Champlain during the storm. A few simple illustrations of the mansion on Grand Isle greatly enhance the house's spookiness; the best two are pages ten and twelve. If not for Kramer's subpar skill at drawing human faces, I'd be tempted to call him one of the best illustrators in Choose Your Own Adventure history. I rate The Search for Champ only one and a half stars because the story is short on content and meaning, but you'll have some fun if you let your imagination roam. You never know what you'll discover on Lake Champlain.
November 25, 2019
Mystery creatures lurking in large bodies of water factor into more than one Choose Your Own Adventure book; The Lake Monster Mystery certainly isn't the first time the idea was used. It is summer in Vermont, and you and your older sister Hannah are visiting your grandparents on Lake Champlain. You come every year, but this time you want to look for Champ, a creature the size of a small dinosaur that lives in the lake. No one has ever successfully snapped a photo of Champ, but the underwater recluse is said to be gentle, not a threat to humans. You and Hannah are determined to get that first photo of Champ, but what strategy will you use in your search?
For an animal Champ's size to be seen so rarely, it must linger in the secluded parts of Lake Champlain. Grand Isle is a possibility, but if you choose to investigate there, your trip is interrupted by a lightning storm. On the island you spot an elaborate, broken-down mansion you never noticed. You need shelter from the rising storm, but the house is scary; do you want to risk going inside? You could return to your canoe and attempt to outrace the storm home, but there may not be time to avoid the pouring rain and angry waves. Who will save you from this storm on the open water? Seeking shelter in the mansion confirms the interior is as eerie as the outside, but at least it's deserted. You could stumble onto the solution to a theft from seventy years ago, earning the thanks of the authorities. No storyline on Grand Isle ends with more than a brief glimpse of Champ, but you had a memorable little adventure.
Would you rather explore Shelburne Point than Grand Isle? Last summer a few picnickers there reported seeing Champ after they spilled shrimp salad into the water. You and Hannah try to lure Champ to the surface using a cage full of shrimp, but you still have the coming storm to deal with. If you tarry too long before recognizing the storm's severity, you'll face danger as you paddle your canoe toward shore, but even if disaster strikes, you may have a special guardian looking out for you. You never see Champ for more than a fleeting moment, but what a story you'll have if you get close to the legendary sea serpent of Lake Champlain for even that long. Visiting your grandparents was never so exciting.
The Lake Monster Mystery isn't much of a mystery. You're easily distracted from your goal of photographing the elusive creature, and no branch of the story yields an in-depth encounter. Champ remains an enigma, a species that transcends the modern world and leads you to wonder what other secrets it might contain. Anthony Kramer's illustrations for the 1982 Bantam Skylark edition (titled The Search for Champ) are more impressive than Keith Newton's in this version, particularly Kramer's panoramas of Grand Isle and Lake Champlain during the storm. If not for Kramer's subpar skill at drawing human faces, I'd be tempted to call him one of the best illustrators in Choose Your Own Adventure history. One notable difference in the The Search for Champ is that your sister's name was Mag, not Hannah; I don't know the reason for the change, but The Lake Monster Mystery is dedicated "To Mag, who helped me not to be afraid of monsters." I rate The Lake Monster Mystery only one and a half stars because the story is short on content and meaning, but you'll have some fun if you let your imagination roam. You never know what you'll discover on Lake Champlain.
For an animal Champ's size to be seen so rarely, it must linger in the secluded parts of Lake Champlain. Grand Isle is a possibility, but if you choose to investigate there, your trip is interrupted by a lightning storm. On the island you spot an elaborate, broken-down mansion you never noticed. You need shelter from the rising storm, but the house is scary; do you want to risk going inside? You could return to your canoe and attempt to outrace the storm home, but there may not be time to avoid the pouring rain and angry waves. Who will save you from this storm on the open water? Seeking shelter in the mansion confirms the interior is as eerie as the outside, but at least it's deserted. You could stumble onto the solution to a theft from seventy years ago, earning the thanks of the authorities. No storyline on Grand Isle ends with more than a brief glimpse of Champ, but you had a memorable little adventure.
Would you rather explore Shelburne Point than Grand Isle? Last summer a few picnickers there reported seeing Champ after they spilled shrimp salad into the water. You and Hannah try to lure Champ to the surface using a cage full of shrimp, but you still have the coming storm to deal with. If you tarry too long before recognizing the storm's severity, you'll face danger as you paddle your canoe toward shore, but even if disaster strikes, you may have a special guardian looking out for you. You never see Champ for more than a fleeting moment, but what a story you'll have if you get close to the legendary sea serpent of Lake Champlain for even that long. Visiting your grandparents was never so exciting.
The Lake Monster Mystery isn't much of a mystery. You're easily distracted from your goal of photographing the elusive creature, and no branch of the story yields an in-depth encounter. Champ remains an enigma, a species that transcends the modern world and leads you to wonder what other secrets it might contain. Anthony Kramer's illustrations for the 1982 Bantam Skylark edition (titled The Search for Champ) are more impressive than Keith Newton's in this version, particularly Kramer's panoramas of Grand Isle and Lake Champlain during the storm. If not for Kramer's subpar skill at drawing human faces, I'd be tempted to call him one of the best illustrators in Choose Your Own Adventure history. One notable difference in the The Search for Champ is that your sister's name was Mag, not Hannah; I don't know the reason for the change, but The Lake Monster Mystery is dedicated "To Mag, who helped me not to be afraid of monsters." I rate The Lake Monster Mystery only one and a half stars because the story is short on content and meaning, but you'll have some fun if you let your imagination roam. You never know what you'll discover on Lake Champlain.
May 25, 2012
Our oldest has been bringing home various You Choose books from her elementary school library. And now at our local library we've discovered some of the books from the original Choose Your Own Adventure series that I read when I was a child. I remember loving books like this in my childhood and I am excited that our girls are discovering them as well.
This is a CYOA book for young readers and it features a search for a lake monster in Lake Champlain in Vermont. I thought it was interesting that the main character is depicted in a somewhat gender-neutral manner, so the reader can easily pretend to be the character. The story is suspenseful in a few places, but not overly scary. Most of the endings are at least somewhat satisfying, with a few pleasant surprises along the way. Some of the narrative gets quite silly in places and the illustrations are often cartoonish.
But overall, it's a fun story with colorful illustrations and we enjoyed reading it together, taking turns following different paths.
This is a CYOA book for young readers and it features a search for a lake monster in Lake Champlain in Vermont. I thought it was interesting that the main character is depicted in a somewhat gender-neutral manner, so the reader can easily pretend to be the character. The story is suspenseful in a few places, but not overly scary. Most of the endings are at least somewhat satisfying, with a few pleasant surprises along the way. Some of the narrative gets quite silly in places and the illustrations are often cartoonish.
But overall, it's a fun story with colorful illustrations and we enjoyed reading it together, taking turns following different paths.
December 14, 2018
Kids will enjoy this cute CYOA.
December 17, 2019
Search for Champ and find ... a lake goddess??! The sheer bizarreness of that ending resulted in my taking away half a star from my original rating; as did the subpar illustrations.
November 21, 2021
A Choose Your Own Adventure book set around Lake Champlain featuring Champ. (Think Nessie for upper New York state.)
August 22, 2023
My daughter and I had a blast finding the different ending.
July 19, 2020
Good intro to the Choose Your Own Adventure series. This easy chapter book has plenty of pictures in its 60 pages, only a few decisions to be made, and eight endings (all of which are happy endings).
One nice thing about these is the repetition. There is some overlap to all the stories, and readers will hopefully get more confident as they read through the separate paths. Also, no struggle of how many pages left to read, since you never know when or where the story will end.
One nice thing about these is the repetition. There is some overlap to all the stories, and readers will hopefully get more confident as they read through the separate paths. Also, no struggle of how many pages left to read, since you never know when or where the story will end.
April 16, 2014
3.75 Stars I gave this a high rating because ..Choose your own adventures is fun. I only read my one adventure but you could read them all. This story wasn't all that great but the adventure part is extremely fun! Great early chapter book!
July 23, 2013
good book!
October 5, 2015
Haven't read a choose your own adventure for years, and this one was directed at a younger audience. Had fun introducing the concept of the books to the family's godsons.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews