Summer Camp Critter Jitters

Critter Jitters #2

by Jory John, Liz Climo (Illustrator)

The critters are nervous about going off to camp in this companion book to First Day Critter Jitters.

Some familiar faces and some new ones meet up at summer camp . . . and they all feel nervous! There's a duck afraid everyone will find out he can't swim, a bear afraid of noises in the woods, and a sloth who worries he'll have to catch his own lunch. But can they get over their nerves to have some fun and make new friends?

Genres: Picture Books, Summer, Animals, Childrens, Friendship, Humor, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2021

About the author

Jory John is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and two-time E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor recipient.

Jory's work includes the #1 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Good Egg, and the #2 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Bad Seed, both illustrated by Pete Oswald. He is also the author of the popular picture books, Penguin Problems and Giraffe Problems, both illustrated by Lane Smith, the award-winning Goodnight Already! series, illustrated by Benji Davies, the New York Times bestselling Terrible Two series, the recent picture books Quit Calling Me a Monster! (with Bob Shea), Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back? (with Liz Climo), and the international bestseller, All my friends are dead, among many other books for both children and adults.

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

It hit all the right notes for me. Lots of connections here for students. Even though this is only the second book with these critters, I can still predict what will happen based on the characters. That is nice with kids as well.

[Michelle (FabBookReviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Jory John and illustrated by Liz Climo, Summer Camp Critter Jitters is the brilliant second tale featuring the anxious animal cast from First Day Critter Jitters. Perfect for summertime (and for those of us who can relate to over-thinking worriers!) this is an extremely funny and warmhearted story.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two of my favorite authors created a delightful adorable book.

[ShanTil]

Shoutout to my friend the children’s librarian for leaving this adorable mood booster on my desk today! ❤️

[♥Sabulous ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it.

10 outta 10

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

These critter books are so cute and funny. I love that the sloth missed the bus. 🤣

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaming Jory John and Liz Climo together is just asking for perfection. I'm so excited to see more of their critters-- even if those critters still have some jitters! Everyone's nervous about camp and how they'll cope with this new environment-- a mouse hopes he won't have to climb a tower to get on a bunk bed, and a skunk hopes the campfire stories aren't too scary, or he might start to stink from fear. Those are just a couple of the charming animals that will confide in the reader over their worries. I want to give all of them some reassurance, as well as some fuzzy hugs!

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Critters are going to Summer Camp! They are - for the most party - nervous about what to expect. Will there be scary stories? (Skunk is not a fan.) Will they have to swim? (Duck never learned how!) And Rabbit has so much energy - how will he calm down at night! Our friends arrive and discover they are all in the same cabin! Hooray! And their kitty cat counselor is stuck up in a tree! Oh no! But they work together to help their counselor. And have a great first day at camp but their first campfire has a few surprises.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ten nervous animals from First Day Critter Jitters are back and this time they are fretting about going to camp. They each have their own fears, for example, the rabbit worries about hopping too much at night while the parrot worries about doing too much repeating. However, when they finally arrive, they find their camp counselor needs their help. A gently humorous picture book with a nice message about making friends and working together. A handy book to read before going to camp.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers see each camper share their concerns and fears about summer camp before they leave home. Then when they get there, they discover their counselor also has a fear. They work together to rescue them and then support each other in facing things that make them nervous. Love the humorous ending as the sloth struggles to make it on time the second day too.
Clever illustrations capture the fun. Readers will relate to at least one of the concerns and feel supported by the story.

[Keren]

The perfect book for when introducing new topics and going to new places. The books has the animals express their feelings and why they are all nervous about going to summer camp. Just like in "First Day Critter Jitters" not only are the students nervous but the teacher is too. In the book it is the Counselors first year and he too is nervous and together they help each other have the best experience!

[Jasper Thelin]

This wonderful book hits all the right notes for kids facing sleepaway camp anxiety. It works as lovely sneak peek into the tropes of most camps and alleviating some of the most common fears, and it does so by validating all the feelings the different critters have rather than having them "get over it."

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going to camp can be a frightening thing, especially if it’s your first time. Each animal has a specific fear that they tell the reader about. But when they arrive at camp, they are presented with a challenge that brings them together as a team. After that, camp doesn’t seem scary at all.

Cute book.

[Taylor Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about different animals that all meet at summer camp. Each animal is very nervous about a specific thing that might happen at summer camp. In the end, each animal overcomes their fear and they are all friends, a "team" as they like to say. The book is super cute and a short read for children who like to read about animals, and can learn from being brave.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animals are going to summer camp and they are all a little nervous about what they will find and what will happen. Each has a fear or their own. When they arrive they interact with each other and work together to help the counselor who is up a tree. All the different animals join together and work as a team and enjoy the camp.

[Lori Tart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh MY Goodness! Jory John and Liz Climo together at last! Everyone going to summer camp has a fear of something that threatens to make camp life miserable. Team work and friendship save the day in the charming, disarming , adorable story.

[Katie Reilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beloved group of friends is back! Just as fun as the first book, First Day Critter Jitters, this story follows the group as the prepare (and worry) about heading to summer camp. Lots of laugh out loud moments and a sweet ending.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun camp story I loved it

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Cute summer book!

[Kelly K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freakin' adorbs.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable relatable story sprinkled with humor. Love this!

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jory John can do no wrong. Great illustrations by Liz Climo.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun collection of characters! Something for everyone to relate to.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes I like picture books by Jory John. But I draw the line at this one.

First, in my view, there's way too much emphasis on kids having fears. Far too much emphasis, not only for my personal taste but, even worse, for too much discussion of fears in a way that can negatively influence children.

If you read your child this book, in effect, you're teaching that having fears -- and talking about them with any random person -- is good. Is helpful. Is cool. Is therapeutic.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Who knows what seeds of that kind are planted from this book. But then the story's teaching (and consequences) get worse -- again, in my opinion.

Teamwork is the perfect cure for fears?

Hardly.

Sure, friendships and social pressures and even groupthink may work wonders for some human beings. But not for all of us, not by a long shot.

Moreover, I'm not a fan of books that tell kids about any "perfect" solution that very likely won't work for them.

In real life experience, how does that feel? Somebody encourages you to believe in a panacea. Then you try it and wind up feeling worse, not better.

Regarding most kids influenced by this preposterous idea from Jory John, will they blame him for their disappointment? Not likely.

More likely? They'll blame themselves.

ONE STAR, then for this missfire by talented author Jory John.

[Scottsdale Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Camp Critter Jitters is a clever book written by Jory John and perfectly illustrated by Liz Climo. It's time for summer camp, and all the young campers (a sloth, a bear, a duck, a skunk, a rabbit, a parrot, a kangaroo, a mole, a mouse, and a snake) each have their own concerns about what to expect and what may be expected of them at camp. (For example- Do they tell ghost stories? Skunk 'smells things up' when they're feeling scared. What if Parrot can't stop talking while everyone is trying to listen to the camp counselor? Kangaroo would rather sleep at home than have to use a sleeping bag.) After they arrive, the campers learn that with teamwork and friends, they can face anything - even the jitters!

It was nice to see that all of the characters had something they were worried about, showing young readers that everyone feels a bit insecure about something! In addition, the adorable illustrations by Liz Climo inspired me to get out my markers and learn to draw this cast of characters. -Diana F.

Find a copy at Scottsdale Public Library

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since our students enjoyed First Day Critter Jitters so much, this book made sense to add to our collection. Oh, and of course it helps when I often hear from students is there another book by this author (Jory John). Summer Camp Critter Jitters is a cute book that I think my students will enjoy, although I wonder how many kids actually go to camps these days. Engaging storyline with a SEL focus! Overall, a good book about being nervous about an upcoming event and how it all works out! Two thumbs up for this book! I look forward to sharing it with my students.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too cute! The critters are all nervous about going away to summer camp. Each has their own fears. Duck can’t swim, parrot talks too much and repeats everyone, bunny hops all around to calm himself and skunk produces a bad odor when frightened. They all work together as a team and treat each other with kindness and understanding and end up enjoying their camp time. We could all learn a little from this story.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as cute as the critters’ debut in the first day of school, but still cute and fun. The gang learns that it’s still okay to be nervous or scared about something new, and if they work together they can overcome their fears. Someone needs to get sloth a personal driver - he’s always missing the bus ;)

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ponderous and painful. I have grown to expect more from Jory John, but there have been a few disappointments lately. Why did EVERY character have to say something EVERY time. Just look at the cover to get an example of the inanity of the dialogue. Ugh! This one was not for me.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cute Critter Jitter adventure. Although, now that I’m familiar with the formula of these books, I didn’t find this one as charming as I did the first Critter Jitters book I read. Still, very adorable overall and a good book to talk to kids about anxiety, worries, and fears.