Camping

by Nancy Hundal, Nancy Hundal

With little money and a bit of reluctance, a family goes on a camping trip for the first time, experiencing some surprising moments.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Poetry, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2002

About the author

Nancy is the author of ten picture books and two novels, one middle grade and one YA. Her focus as a writer is on using evocative language to create a powerful atmosphere in each book. Her style of writing has been referred to as poetic prose, and her books are often used in the classroom as pattern books for student writers.

She lives in Vancouver, where she divides her time between her family and friends, and her other family and friends, writing and reading. She is a retired teacher-librarian

-Information courtesy of Children's Writers and Illustratrs of British Columbia website, http://www.cwill.bc.ca/

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic, ecstatic and marvellously evocative, Nancy Hundal's words, her free flowing rhyme-less lyricism for her 2002 picture book Camping imaginatively, magically, glowingly but at the same time also delightfully very much realistically demonstrate and describe the oh so many joys, the delights, the multifaceted nuances of a summer vacation family camping trip. However and yes I for one do think importantly, Nancy Hundal's text for Camping also pretty clearly points out that her young narrator at first does not really want to go camping, that for the family, camping is in fact the only decent summer vacation that is actually affordable (if the entire family is going to be able to go on vacation together and as a unit). And indeed, that in Camping our young narrator's original annoyance, frustration and reluctance with her family "having" to go camping pretty soon turns to absolute and poetical ecstasy, to both loving and appreciating a family vacation full of everything bright, beautiful and fun to be savoured and experienced with ALL the senses, close family ties and wondrous experiences both during the day and at night (in front of an inviting outdoor fire), for me and to me, this really makes Camping much more special and much more of a textual pleasure than if Nancy Hundal would just be describing something that happens for every vacation, that the slow but steady switch from reluctance to acceptance and delight make Camping truly spectacular.

Accompanied by Brian Deines' illustrations, which for me and my aesthetics do totally colour and depicted content wise capture and reflect the very essence of summer camping and how much fun going on an extended camping trip is turning out to be for the family, for ever member of the family, Camping both textually and visually presents a brilliant, emotive and absolutely superb marriage of Nancy Hundal's text and Brian Deines' images, a both visual and narrational (poetic) celebration of summer, of family, and of camping as a fun and rewarding type of holiday (and most definitely, a four star rating).

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family embarks on their first camping trip together in this poetic picture-book from Canadian author/illustrator team Nancy Hundal and Brian Deines, discovering that, although each of them initially had other ideas about how to spend the holidays, the experience of being out in the wild is a rewarding one. From the unexpectedly delicious camp food to the shivery pleasure of swimming in a lake, not to mention the joy of sitting out under a star-filled sky at night, their time together flies past, and they find themselves converted to true campers by the end of the week.

I'm glad I was able to track down a copy of Camping, as I am a great admirer of its illustrator - Brian Deines' artwork, as seen in such picture-books as SkySisters and A Bear in War , is always just lovely - and the author's work has been recommended to me by a friend. The narrative here is presented in free verse, with somewhat mixed results - there were moments of true poetry, and others that felt rather awkward - but the gorgeous impressionistic vistas created by Deines will lift the reader through the less accomplished passages. All in all, this was a charming picture-book, one I would recommend to young campers and outdoor-lovers, and to fans of the artist.

[Trace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this book very unexpectedly hit me right where it counts.. I totally didn't expect the tears that came out of nowhere!

It sooooo perfectly described the smorgasbord of senses that camping provides... And we could kind of relate to the family in this story - not because it was our first time camping, but because it was our first time in a few years not having our trailer at our campsite.... but when we returned to tent camping at our favorite provincial park - all of the wonderful memories came flooding back and it felt so "right"...

The words in this book are also very elegantly and powerfully chosen....

We want to buy this book to read during the winter and keep that camping feeling alive until next summer!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually teared up when I read this with my son, as it reminded me of our own family camping trips. Very well-written, with lovely illustrations.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully captures the essence of family and camping. Of the great lines, my favorite is...."More time, less o'clock."

[Bonnie Ferrante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone in the family has their own idea of the perfect vacation, museums and art galleries, fancy hotels, malls, arcades, and Disneyland. But, due to a lack of money, the family goes camping. Bit by bit the simple wonders of campfires, swimming in the lake, evening stars, cold drinking water, and doing absolutely nothing win over the family.

Nancy Hundal’s writing is beautifully poetic, “We feel the sun’s journey across our campsite. It taps her tent in the morning, pours like syrup warm and sick at noon. By evening, gentle fingertips of light massage the trees good night.” She gets across the silence and restfulness of the forest and the family’s connection to its simple, gentle beauty.

Brian Deines uses one and a third to full double page spreads for his illustrations. They look like oil paintings, some striking enough to belong in an art gallery. They capture the sense of gratitude and wonder perfectly.
This is a perfect picture book for anyone who’s ever said, “Why would you ever want to go camping?”

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another Hundal masterpiece, using her impressive grasp of language to share the story of a family camping experience. This is the kind of writing that children should be exposed to in a writing workshop setting if we expect them to produce compelling work of their own. Really well done. The illustrations are dark and deep and will catch you up in the experience with one look. Great book.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart-warming story of a family's first camping trip. They decide to camp when money is tight and find that the bonding, new experiences, and simple pleasures will bring them back again next year.

Used for October, 2009 "Let's Camp-Out!" storytime.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone in the family has different ideas of the perfect vacation ranging from museums to Disneyland but money is tight and the decision is made to go camping. In verse with art in a pointillism style, the story of their camping adventure is related. Nice option for early elementary.