David's Diary #1: The Summer Camp Disaster

by Bunmi Laditan, Elisa Rocchi (Illustrator)

128 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2026

About the author

Hello, my name is Bunmi Laditan. I am a writer living in Quebec, Canada by way of northern California. My writings include The Honest Toddler and Confessions of a Domestic failure and poetry such as Dear Mother and Dear God: Honest Prayers to a God Who Listens.

instagram.com/HonestToddler

facebook.com/BunmiKLaditan

Reviews

[Kira's NetGalley Book Blog]

David's Diary #1: The Summer Camp Disaster by Bunmi Laditan follows a precocious nine-year-old on his very first sleepaway camp experience, which quickly spirals downhill after a messy pudding incident. While the book excels in capturing an authentic child's perspective, the narrative choices heavily weigh down the reading experience.

The Standouts
Clear and Accurate Writing: The writing style is clean and accessible, and the internal thought process feels fairly accurate for a nine-year-old.
Strong Concept: The diary-format premise starring a neurodivergent kid with good intentions gone wrong has a lot of innate potential for humor and heart.

The Disappointments
Overwhelming Negativity: Nearly 75% of the book focuses on negative emotions and thoughts. Out of a six-day camp, five full days are spent wallowing in frustration, with zero positive input or balance provided by the adult staff.
Unprepared Adults: The climax relies on some frustrating tropes such as adults with dead walkie-talkie batteries and no proper first-aid items, forcing a child to step in with duct tape. It makes the camp staff look excessively incompetent rather than letting David's helpfulness shine organically.
Pacing Issues: The negative issues take far too long to resolve. With the conflict dragging through most of the book, the positive resolution and lesson ("do to others as you would have others do to you") feel rushed into the final moments before camp abruptly ends on day six.

Final Verdict
While the book nails the voice of a young protagonist, the heavy emphasis on prolonged misery and contrived adult incompetence makes it a frustrating read. A quicker turnaround toward fun, teamwork, and redemption would have made this a much more enjoyable camp adventure!

*ARC received via Netgalley. Opinions are my own.

[Joana Gonçalves]

This book was so much fun! I loved following David on his adventure at summer camp. The book is very easy to read, and the inclusion of images and emails throughout the diary made the reading experience even more engaging and immersive. In my opinion, the target audience for this series will love getting to know David, as well as his friend Nate, who became my favourite character.

Este livro foi super divertido! Adorei acompanhar o David durante a sua aventura no campo de férias! O livro lê-se muito bem e como no meio do diário temos imagens e e-mails, por exemplo, tornou a experiência de leitura ainda mais completa. Na minha opinião, o público alvo desta coleção vai adorar conhecer o David e também o seu amigo Nate, que se tornou a minha personagem preferida deste livro.

[Tama Fortner]

When David heads off to summer camp with his church youth group, he is ready for the fun to begin. But a series of hilarious misadventures and mishaps leaves the oh-so-dramatic David longing for home and plotting revenge.
Told through a series of emails to home and entries in his diary, David’s story is one kids will not only love but completely relate to.
Despite the pickles on his sandwich and the pudding on his head, somewhere along the way David learns to let go of his anger and trust God to help him through life’s difficult—and embarrassing—moments.
Laugh-out-loud funny and not evenly remotely “preachy,” this is a great read for kids! (And this grownup enjoyed it too!)

[Mandy]

I thought this book was great! It's the first in a series of faith-based early chapter books starring David, a sweet and hilarious 9 year old with ADHD and his adventures we see through his diary entries. I love that this book has themes of friendship, forgiveness, and points towards God and prayer. It's also funny - I genuinely laughed out loud while reading this. I will absolutely check out the others in the series, and will pass this book along to my son to read when he's old enough! (Recommended age says 6-10 and my son is 2! Haha).

[Kim Wilch]

If you're looking for a fun read for middle-grade readers, this one is an easy pick. Told through David's diary entries, the story feels personal, funny, and full of personality. His summer camp adventures kept me smiling, and the sketches sprinkled throughout made it even more entertaining. My almost-middle-school neighbor raced through it and immediately wanted the next book in the series. Along with plenty of laughs, the story weaves in meaningful lessons about friendship, forgiveness, prayer, and trusting God without ever feeling heavy-handed.

[Luminous Reads]

About the book:
This story follows David who is thrilled to be going to sleepaway camp, but his dream week takes an unexpected twist when a fellow camper accidentally dumps a bowl of pudding right on his head!
Is summer camp ruined, or is there still a way to have a fun week?

My thoughts:
I loved this chapter book! It had me laughing out loud several times, and the illustrations were so fun. David and his friend Nate are fun, funny, and relatable characters that kids will love. I particularly appreciated the representation of neurodivergent characters overcoming obstacles.

This story also has such wonderful themes of kindness, forgiveness, and the importance of treating others the way we’d like to be treated. It beautifully shows kids how they can give their feelings to Jesus, seeking his help with any anger or feelings of unforgiveness.

What you will find inside:
🏕️ Summer camp fun
🧇 Hilarious scenarios
🛶 Meaningful Friendships
📔 Neurodivergent Characters
☀️ Solid Christian Values

Perfect for both hesitant and avid young readers, this series mixes faith and fun!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Mrs.MakesReadingFun]

This is perfect for Grade 2–3 readers! It has just the right amount of text, colourful illustrations on almost every page, and a fast-moving story that is packed with humour and lots of real-life moments kids will relate to!

David is such a fun character, and I loved how his good intentions keep getting him into trouble. The diary format also makes this a really accessible choice for kids who are ready to move into chapter books but still enjoy plenty of illustrations and shorter sections.

Kids LOVE diary-type stories, and this one is an easy "sell" to my students! :)

[Vera Godley]

I think this is a delightful series. It includes the bad side of growing kids' characters and helps them overcome their faults. It isn't real "preachy" but it is definitely Christian. The kids are in a Christian Academy and face their school-day challenges. They attend a Christian sleepover camp with their church group. They learn faith based ways of changing their behavior and learning to forgive. A good series written as a boy's diary in his own quirky "kid-voice."

I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

[Melanie Dulaney]

A highly illustrated novel for grades 2-4 written in emails and journal entries by “David,” an elementary aged, neurodivergent/ADHD boy who goes to summer camp and learns valuable lessons in how to have fun, be kind and forgive.

David and his best friend Nate are going to summer camp with a group of kids from their church and he is certain it is going to be the most fun he’s ever had. But that is before a fellow camper accidentally dumps chocolate pudding on his head during mealtime, other campers laugh and he becomes focused on revenge against Harrison, a camper who seems to allow do and be everything David wishes he was doing and being! In emails home and heartfelt journal entries, David shares all that he is feeling in an authentic-feeling and often humorous tone. As he begins to miss out on the fun happening all around him and the morning devotions seem to be directed entirely on his jealousy and vengeful feelings, David becomes aware of his need to forgive and when a cake rock pop craft reminds him to cast his burdens on Jesus, he finally prays, asking for forgiveness and help in being kind towards others.

Love the messages, of course, but they are especially wonderful being fully immersed in fun filled summer camp experience with highly relatable activities and plenty of humor. David’s best friend Nate is a huge part of David’s growth, is also neurodivergent, and models adaptive techniques for handling his sensitivity to loud noise and certain textures as well as some food aversions. Readers are sure to come away both entertained and armed with practical application of Biblical principles, primarily based on Luke 6:31 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Great book for libraries at Bible-based churches and schools and in homes looking for books with Christian principles included.

Thanks for the eARC, NetGalley and Penguin Random House/Waterbrook Children’s Publishing.

[Karen Wendling]

David’s Diary is a fun, laughter and faith-filled book full of heart as David navigates the joys and pitfalls of church summer camp. I enjoyed the book and highly recommend.

[Mariah]

I'm not a religious person, but the culture of religion fascinates me. All the little rules and traditions and history is really interesting. It's always interesting to learn about how different religions do things since it is so far removed from what I experienced.

David's Diary is largely a vehicle for the message that God wants you to choose forgiveness. That isn't to say it's not a fun ride just that it does not totally manage to make a story that exists outside of this fact. I was always aware that this was a religious book rather than a book wherein the characters are religious; there's a big difference. That's by no means a bad thing simply an observation.

The diary made for a fun format. David had a distinct voice that stood out in his narrative. His best friend is heavily autistic coded and I liked the casual inclusion of his different needs. It was nice to have him simply exist in the same space with no info-dump. David knows what's up and meets him where he's at the same as any good friend would; nothing else matters.

The conflict was silly, but I've held grudges for far less.

Overall lighthearted, easy to read, and much better than a lot of Christian media for children tends to be - though to be fair that's not very hard.

[LovelyOtter]

The best book ever!! Recommended for middle grade kids looking for a nice read!!