Camp Rex

By Molly Idle

Parents of campers are just about beginning to get the jump on camp preparations for their young ones this summer. Some may be headed for day camp, sleep away camp or just to the back yard for an overnight with their neighborhood best friend. All of this, of course, begins when schools close for the summer that in case you haven’t checked is almost upon us! And I’ve found a great book to ease into the change.

If you loved Ms. Idle’s tongue-in-dinosaur-cheek treatment called “Tea Rex”, you will enjoy this outing of dinosaurs and kids called “Camp Rex” and perhaps might want to tuck a copy of it into their duffle for reading by flashlight on a mosquito buzz filled night!

Get out your Wilderness Camp Guides and venture forth for this rollicking riff on fresh air, exercise, wildlife, campfire building; all of which, I might add should be proceeded by the Scout Motto – “BE PREPARED!! When dinosaurs are part of the outing of this young miss who tries not to miss much, but does, and a stalwart brother that together pitch tents, try to stick to the trail, all while not disturbing the natural landscape, it’s well, “what’s wrong with this picture funny”!

Take bees for example. These swarming biters did NOT get the non-disturbance memo and are MUCH disturbed by the young camping contingent. And it put me in mind of the time that an errant wasp decided to fly up the leg of my “pedal pushers” (they’re the same as Capri pants), and by the way, a great fashion word, for it defined WHAT you did when you wore them and that was fly like the wind on a bike! It wasn’t the wasp’s fault he didn’t know the way OUT was DOWN, so he kept stinging me till he expired. Luckily for Camp Rex campers, they know how to RUN!!!

The juxtaposition of Ms. Idle’s charming words and illustrations will rate many giggles from the young reader set as in “there’s nothing more refreshing than a dip in a mountain lake or a bit of canoeing” as the illustrations depict a sample of something akin to white water rafting, dinosaur style. Just hold on!

Molly Idle’s two “Rex books” have cornered the market on what it means when gentility and grace meet immovable objects called dinosaurs that are sweetly eager to learn the rules of the rituals. And whether it be a tea party or camping, there is sure to be a bit of a learning curve for BOTH that will have you and your young camper laughing by flashlight! Bring a BIG tent!