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The Critter Club #7
Liz at Marigold Lake
The Critter Club is going camping—but are they really ready for a weekend in the wilderness?
When Liz invites the Critter Club girls to her house at Marigold Lake for the weekend, they are really excited for their camping adventure—especially because Marigold Lake is known for having lots of wildlife! While the girls are there, they plan to do stuff like swim and canoe in the lake, go on a nature walk, and camp out.
But with every activity, something seems to go horribly wrong. Amy accidentally tips over the canoe when the girls are out on the lake; Ellie gets spooked by what she thinks is a snake on their walk; and Marion is not pleased about sleeping outside in a tent. Liz thinks her friends aren’t having fun, and she starts to feel awful. Will the great weekend she planned turn out to be a disaster?
With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, The Critter Club chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.
When Liz invites the Critter Club girls to her house at Marigold Lake for the weekend, they are really excited for their camping adventure—especially because Marigold Lake is known for having lots of wildlife! While the girls are there, they plan to do stuff like swim and canoe in the lake, go on a nature walk, and camp out.
But with every activity, something seems to go horribly wrong. Amy accidentally tips over the canoe when the girls are out on the lake; Ellie gets spooked by what she thinks is a snake on their walk; and Marion is not pleased about sleeping outside in a tent. Liz thinks her friends aren’t having fun, and she starts to feel awful. Will the great weekend she planned turn out to be a disaster?
With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, The Critter Club chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.
128 pages, Paperback
First published April 29, 2014
42 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 13, 2020
This is the second Critter Club we've read. I have two boys and they enjoyed it. The stories are fairly gentle.* The stories show the girls grappling with emotions that children can relate to (in this case, having expectations about sharing your favorite things with your friends... then dealing with the disappointment when your friends don't love it as much as you do). My biggest complaint with these books is that the characters don't really come alive for me... the girls don't have really distinct personalities, IMO, aside from their looks and their interests, they would be very hard to tell apart.
*Note: this does have the girls finding a litter of baby mice that the mother does not return for -- the baby mice survive but the mom is never heard from again (presumed dead) so that could be upsetting to very sensitive young readers. Also, I know these girls are supposedly trained to care for critters in their animal shelter but there is a big difference between taking care of pet animals under adult supervision (including a veterinarian) and feeding wild rodents you find in your cabin in the woods since wild rodents as they can carry disease.
*Note: this does have the girls finding a litter of baby mice that the mother does not return for -- the baby mice survive but the mom is never heard from again (presumed dead) so that could be upsetting to very sensitive young readers. Also, I know these girls are supposedly trained to care for critters in their animal shelter but there is a big difference between taking care of pet animals under adult supervision (including a veterinarian) and feeding wild rodents you find in your cabin in the woods since wild rodents as they can carry disease.
May 30, 2014
This little novel came across my desk at work and I read it quickly. Very cute little book about four best friends and their critter club. Liz's friends come to the lake for the first time and Liz has a bunch of her favourite activities planned out but as they are doing them little things keep going wrong and Liz feels like the whole weekend is a disaster but their friendship shines through and the rest of the weekend is a blast. It has made me long for the lake myself, it has been a long winter.
September 1, 2019
The Critter Club is visiting Liz's favorite spot: her family's cabin on the lake. Liz is overjoyed to have her three friends spending the weekend and planning all the fun things she wants to do with them. Unfortunately, nothing seems to go quite as planned. Marion's nervous about outdoor activities like swimming in a lake and sleeping in a tent, Ellie's too afraid of snakes to go hiking and Amy promptly manages to tip a canoe over and give everyone a dunking! The good time Liz had imagined with her friends isn't working out at all, and she's sure they'll want to leave early and go home. But the Critter Club can't go anywhere without finding a critter to care for. This installment finds them nursemaiding a nest of abandoned baby field mice, and everyone learning what happens when we step outside our comfort zone.
The Critter Club, like Sophie Mouse, is a wonderful sweet series for children who prefer less intense stories. Good friends, good times, and lots of snuggly critters will definitely make it a big hit among second and third grade girls being introduced to chapter reading. Barkley continues to weave positive messages into her stories without being preachy. Liz learns how to trust her friends (and not to jump to conclusions perhaps) and Ellie, Amy and Marion all learn the value and fun of new experiences. A solid addition to the series.
The Critter Club, like Sophie Mouse, is a wonderful sweet series for children who prefer less intense stories. Good friends, good times, and lots of snuggly critters will definitely make it a big hit among second and third grade girls being introduced to chapter reading. Barkley continues to weave positive messages into her stories without being preachy. Liz learns how to trust her friends (and not to jump to conclusions perhaps) and Ellie, Amy and Marion all learn the value and fun of new experiences. A solid addition to the series.
August 28, 2025
In this book, Amy, Ellie and Marion are spending the weekend at Liz's family cabin at Marigold Lake. Lots of things go wrong, but it's okay. They still have fun. And they find some baby mice to take care of!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2021
Very good book. I think Liz was happy to be in the wilderness for vacation.❤️🧡✏️💚💙💜💖🦄
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2022
My daughter loved this one! 😆
August 31, 2014
Liz can't wait until her fellow Critter-Clubbers come to her family's lake house for the weekend, but the visit doesn't go anything like she planned. Marion gets cold swimming in the lake, Ellie is terrified to go into the woods in case she sees a snake, and Amy topples the canoe, dousing them all. Truth is, Liz is having a bad weekend. But after a heart-to-heart with her friends, Liz discovers that things don't have to go according to plan in order to be fun.
Poor Liz! I really felt for her as I read this book, and I could understand why she was sad and frustrated. It was nice to see that a little honesty and a lot of friendship helped all of the girls overcome their difficulties, though. Critter Club fans who are expecting some interaction with animals will not be disappointed either, even if the girls are away from their animal shelter in this one. Although this is the seventh in the series, it stands alone just fine.
Poor Liz! I really felt for her as I read this book, and I could understand why she was sad and frustrated. It was nice to see that a little honesty and a lot of friendship helped all of the girls overcome their difficulties, though. Critter Club fans who are expecting some interaction with animals will not be disappointed either, even if the girls are away from their animal shelter in this one. Although this is the seventh in the series, it stands alone just fine.
August 2, 2017
I have loved reading these books with my daughter but this one is DANGEROUS! Mice carry disease, yet this book is trying to convince kids that they can be saved and continue to live in your pantry. It is especially terrible if you have been dealing with mice in your home because the HOA won't fix holes in the exterior of the building.
Lovely to have to explain that you need to be an evil villain and kill all the mice that come in while looking at the adorable baby mice in the book.
Lovely to have to explain that you need to be an evil villain and kill all the mice that come in while looking at the adorable baby mice in the book.
September 3, 2023
As a vegan people pleaser, I could relate to Liz so much in this book! Liz's family has a lake house and the other girls come to spend the weekend. Liz gets so bummed because she thinks they're not having fun (Food is weird because its vegan, water is cold, bugs are gross, etc.) but theyre actually having a great time. They find a bunch of baby mice in the house that have been abandoned by their mom so they nurse them to health and take them to the critter club. Cute!
February 10, 2024
Liz and the Critter Club spend the 3 day weekend at Marigold Lake. Liz has everything planned out for the weekend. However, Liz feels like everything is going wrong. Amy tips over the canoe on accident, the water was too cold for the girls, and Ellie got scared of a stick snake. Will the weekend actually turn out horribly? Meanwhile, Liz's parents find mice in the corner but not the mama. Thank goodness the Critter Club is here!
December 29, 2020
My mom and I enjoy reading these Critter Club books. In this one, Liz is really excited for her friends to stay at her family's cabin. But lots of things go wrong and it doesn't seem like her friends are enjoying themselves. Are Liz's friends better off heading home early, or can Liz save the trip?
December 10, 2021
Appropriate for: all ages!
My 4 year old daughter loves Critter Club! I like that there's lots of pictures for her. I wish it had more animal related story, as it is the Critter Club, but at least there were cute baby mice.
My 4 year old daughter loves Critter Club! I like that there's lots of pictures for her. I wish it had more animal related story, as it is the Critter Club, but at least there were cute baby mice.
December 6, 2022
Cute little story about friendship. I think all kids (and even adults) have expectations about how things will go when they share their interests with friends. Liz's disappointment is very relatable. My 7-year-old loves these stories.
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August 14, 2019This book was nothing compared to the other 6 books!
February 6, 2021
I love the Critter Club books so much even though they're very easy for me to read. I love reading to my sister and she loves it too.🙂 I'm 7
June 8, 2022
Eh. The girls go to the lake for the weekend and only Liz likes it.
Eliana’s review: “I like this book. I don’t have a favorite part. I like the pictures I guess.”
Eliana’s review: “I like this book. I don’t have a favorite part. I like the pictures I guess.”
January 7, 2023
Liz and her Critter club friend, Amy, Ellie, and Marion are having a big sleepover at Marigold Lake!
May 23, 2025
It's so cute 🥺🥺🥺🥰🥰🥰
January 7, 2023
Liz got in trouble with her friend’s feeling.
February 1, 2018
One of the books I read was Liz at Marigold Lake The critter club #7 by Callie Barkley. The genre of this book is realistic fiction because the stuff that happens in the book can really happen in real life but they never have happen in real life.What made me want to read this book is because I have so many books at home this is one I have never read so I wanted to read it. I liked this book but it was not one that I would read over and over again. I kind of like this book because it had the one thing I loved the most animals and the part why I kind of did not like it is because I like books that really stand out when you read it it was not really exciting or made you go wow. I would recommend this book to people that really like adventure and animlas. I would not recommend for people that do not like adventure type of sene.
July 18, 2016
Things never can go as we plan. That is just what Liz learns in this book. I love how she wants to show her friends some of the things she enjoys at her family's lake house. But things just don't seem to go right for her.But it is friendship to the rescue and they want to do it again. I love how it shows how when you think everything is going wrong, sometimes you just got to talk to your friends about it because maybe they are having a better time then you are thinking they are.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews