Campfire Morgan.

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University and the co-author of
Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary Classroom.

Aldeen Hummel, the Godzilla of Grade 3, invites Morgan to her birthday party. However, Morgan is going on a weekend camping trip with his family. Using her own personal brand of logic, Aldeen explains that Morgan must still give her a present and she wants to go camping with Morgan.

Morgan protests, but Aldeen is allowed to go on the camping excursion. The sibling-rivalry-like jealousies begin immediately—in the car Aldeen eats more than her share of snacks and hogs the best comics. Morgan is annoyed by Aldeen’s behaviour, which not only shows him up (she helps set up the tent and sings well during the sing-along), but inconveniences him (she takes his sleeping spot in the tent). The following morning, Aldeen easily baits her fishing line with a squishy worm and manages to catch a fish for supper.

Morgan suspects that Aldeen is frightened by the dark. So, in an opportunistic moment when his parents are busy, Morgan decides to tell her a scary story. But the plan backfires when the story scares not only Aldeen, but Morgan himself. However, a surprise for Aldeen enables Morgan to regain his sleeping spot the second night of the camping trip.

Staunton’s writing is amusing and the well-paced plot is highly engaging and realistic. The descriptive writing reveals much about the characters and authentically reflects the narrator’s age. The black-and-white cartoon illustrations effectively complement the novel. Highly recommended.