Backyard to Backwoods: Camp Out! The Ultimate Kid's Guide by Lynn
Brunelle

camp-out-ultimate.html>
http://tinyurl.com/2r4br7

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Lynn Brunelle, author of Soda Pop Science, field guide to all things
fizzy, should know her way around in the natural sciences, having
worked as a writer for Bill Nye, the Science Guy. In her new book Camp
Out: The Ultimate Kids' Guide she's created a guide to everything you
need to know to be a happy camper.

Billed as covering the subject "from the backyard to the backwoods,"
Brunelle includes camping techniques for all climes and regions, from
the mountains to the prairies to the oceans....well, to the beaches
anyway. The book is a how-to manual for picking a campsite, pitching
tents, constructing a safe fire pit, preparing your impromptu porta-
potty, making s'mores and so much more, including pizza, chili, and
even ice cream.

Brunelle's real strength is in her directions for nature study and
craft projects to undertake while whiling away your time in the wild.
She has directions for a "pond peeper," (coffee can with both ends
out, plastic wrap, rubber bands) for viewing underwater pond life
without getting your hair wet, a "fast food sundial," from a drink cup
and straw, and a leaf print T-shirt which requires no paint and lots
of kid-satisfying pounding. There is a section on clouds and weather
watching and a fun project called "Sock Sprouting," in which you cover
your shoes with roomy socks and tromp around through the fields and
woods collecting assorted seeds in said socks. When the socks are
spritzed with water and left in the sun, they are supposed to start
sprouting flora. (Here's an idea for a, er, seminal science project:
pair the camp-out socks with old socks from locker room and see which
ones sprout first!)

Camp Out! sounds like a great book for families who like to sleep
under the stars (and recognize them, too) and for teachers heading off
for those autumnal environmental camping experiences ahead. In fact,
most of the how-to sections, in the best spirit of The Dangerous Book
for Boys, don't actually require that you pitch any tents to enjoy
them. Just don't forget the marshmallows!

Labels: Camping, Nature Science (Grades 2-7)

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