School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-This entry in the series finds book-eschewing Charlie Joe exactly where Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Extra Credit (Roaring Brook, 2012) left off, with the youngster facing three weeks at Camp Rituhbukkee-pronounced "read-a-book-ee." Instead of fitting in, he plans to save his fellow campers from a life of dorkdom by making them nonreaders, too. But when an award (including a tuition-free return next summer) for the camper who best represents "integrity, community and scholarship" is announced on the first day of camp, it's hardly a spoiler to reveal that Charlie Joe wins. Readers will enjoy seeing how he earns it, in his own way. The episodic plot will hold children's interest, and strong characters lift this series above the norm: Charlie Joe's evolving relationship with best friend Katie reflects their middle-school angst. Adult characters are comical when appropriate but aren't clueless buffoons, often the case in this type of novel. Coovert's cartoon illustrations are appealing but tend to reinforce the text rather than enhance it. Charlie Joe's grudging realization that reading isn't always horrible feels completely in character, carefully written to persuade reluctant readers that he might be right. If they're not convinced, kids with an aversion to books still have a character they can relate to. An ideal choice for summer reading lists.-Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Charlie Joe Jackson gets involved in extracurricular activities to improve his grades in Extra Credit. In Summer, he goes to a camp for gifted kids (a.k.a. nerds) and tries to remake the campers in his own image. These second and third installments contain some caricatures, but Charlie Joe's middle-school wise-guy voice is entertaining. Black-and-white drawings add humor. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Attending camp, especially an academic enrichment camp, turns out to be more than notorious slacker Charlie Joe Jackson bargained for. Picking up where he left off in Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Extra Credit (2012), Charlie knows he is in for a miserable time at camp. The water sports and basketball courts are not enough to take the sting out of singing the camp song, "Learning to Love, and Loving to Learn," or the horror of spending whole days with book geeks, reading and writing. Told in Charlie Joe's sarcastic voice, interspersed with letters home to maybe-girlfriend Zoe and others, the tale moves along at breakneck speed. In the first week, the visiting jocks from a neighboring camp come for their yearly romp to find that Charlie Joe has some tricks up his sleeve. When Charlie Joe joins the newspaper staff in the second week, his interpretation of a Lech Walesa biography leads the campers to strike. In the last week, he helps a fellow camper handle a cheating dilemma. Underlying all the action are the inevitable but sweet changes that happen to middle school nerds when they discover the opposite sex. Fans of Joey Pigza and Big Nate will find a lot to love here. Charlie is no longer a caricature but a fully fleshed-out, likable young man. A series that improves with each offering. (Fiction. 9-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
As threatened in Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Extra Credit (2012), Charlie Joe's parents make him attend Camp Rituhbukkee (pronounced read-a-bookie ) for three weeks. He thinks the kids there are all nerds, so from day one he decides to turn the other campers into normal kids (like himself) who don't always have their noses in books. Right off he irritates the camp leader, Dr. Mal, and knows he must watch himself sort of. He leads the camp basketball team in a win over Camp Wockajocka; he writes a newspaper opinion column in which he leads campers in a strike; and, on the last day, he skips the final exam to protect another camper from having someone cheat off her. Ultimately, rather than Dr. Mal barring him from ever attending camp again, Charlie Joe becomes a hero. This third book in the series is so very middle school: full of laugh-out-loud humor as well as adolescent drama, growth, and development. A great read for reluctant readers or readers just looking for a little harmless fun.--Petty, J. B. Copyright 2010 Booklist
Excerpts
1 I knew what the place was going to be like as soon as I saw the sign on the way in to camp. CAMP RITUHBUKKEE: MOLDING YOUNG MINDS SINCE 1933 I'm sorry, but I don't want my mind to be molded. Mold is gross. It reminds me of that green stuff that grows on bread. I hate mold. I'd prefer my mind deep fried, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and then covered in chocolate sauce. * * * On the surface, Camp Rituhbukkee looked like pretty much any other nice summer camp. It had a big lake for swimming, a basketball court, a tennis court, and baseball and soccer fields. The campers lived in cool log cabins in the woods, and the dining room was huge, with big wooden tables and chairs everywhere. There was a room for arts and crafts and stuff like that, and a theater where you put on shows. It was actually a really nice place, if you were able to forget about what you were there to do. Which was read and write. Even though Katie and Nareem were at camp with me, I couldn't stop thinking about everybody else back home. Mostly I thought about the awesome and amazing Zoe Alvarez, my almost-girlfriend. She was the only girl who could ever compare to the awesome and amazing Hannah Spivero. I missed Zoe already, and I'd only been gone five hours. I also thought about the rest of the gang--Jake, Timmy, Pete, and yeah, Hannah. I pictured them at the beach, having a great time doing nothing; or at the movies, eating French fries and talking about what a loser I was. Which is exactly what I would have been doing if I were them. Sadly, though, I wasn't them. I was me. And so, instead of having a great time doing nothing, I found myself standing with all the other campers, in a giant circle around a flagpole. Because it was the first day, we had to do what was called the "Welcome Ring." Meaning, we all held hands and sang the camp song, which was called "Learning To Love, and Loving To Learn." That's pretty much all you need to know about that song. I stared at Katie and Nareem, who were singing at the top of their lungs. "Are you guys serious?" Katie giggled. "Charlie Joe, you're at camp now," she said, while somehow managing to not miss a note. "Stop being such a Negative Norman and get with the program." "But I'm not with the program," I explained. "I'm very much against the program." "I still can't believe you decided to attend the camp, Charlie Joe," Nareem said. "You are not someone I normally associate with books and reading and learning." "Ya think?" Katie added, which made them both giggle all over again. I rolled my eyes and pretended to sing, until finally the song ended. Then an extremely tall man with extremely short shorts stepped into the center of the circle. All the kids clapped, until he put his hand up to stop them. They stopped immediately. "Greetings, and welcome to Camp Rituhbukkee!" the tall man announced. "Welcome back, to those many familiar faces I see. And to those newcomers, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Malcolm Malstrom, but you can call me Dr. Mal. I'm not a medical doctor, though, so if you get sick, don't call me at all." He paused for laughter, and it came in a huge wave. Which was strange, since what he said wasn't actually funny. "We're all excited for another wonderful season here at Rituhbukkee," Dr. Mal continued. "We've got many new surprises in store to make this our best summer ever." I looked at Katie as if to say, Seriously ? She looked back at me as if to say, Behave . Dr. Mal glanced down at his clipboard. "Before we go to our cabins to get settled in before dinner, I wanted to mention one last thing." He smiled like a dad who is about to give the most awesome present ever. "This year, we'll be introducing the Rituhbukkee Reward. This extraordinary honor will go to the one camper who best displays the camp's core values of integrity, community, and scholarship." Everybody ooh -ed and aahh -ed. "The winner of the Rituhbukkee Reward," Dr. Mal added, "will be awarded a full scholarship to camp next year, at absolutely no cost, and will be admitted to the counselor training program when he or she reaches the appropriate age." The ooh s and aahh s turned into excited squeals of delight. Even Katie and Nareem were nodding happily. "Sounds more like a punishment than a reward," I whispered, a little too loudly. The girl on my left looked at me like I'd just eaten a plate of fried slugs. Katie tried to shush me, but it was too late--it turned out that Dr. Mal had really good hearing. He walked over to me. "Hello, young man." I looked up at him. He was really tall. His face was a long ways up. "Hello, sir." "Call me Dr. Mal," he said, smiling. "What's your name?" "Charlie Joe Jackson." "Ah yes," said Dr. Mal, nodding. "Mr. Jackson. You come to us with a bit of a reputation." "Thanks," I said, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't a compliment. "I'm glad you're here, even if you consider it a punishment," said Dr. Mal, putting his big hand on my shoulder. "Can you tell us what it is you hope to learn here at Camp Rituhbukkee?" I said the first thing that popped into my head, which was exactly what I told Timmy and Pete, my friends back home, when they asked me the same thing. "I hope to learn how to read while napping." Everyone gasped, then went silent. Nobody moved. I think even the birds stopped chirping. Oops. Katie gave me the classic eye-roll. But Dr. Mal never stopped smiling. "So you're not a fan of reading." "Nope," I said proudly. "In fact, I've pretty much never read a book all the way through, except under emergency circumstances beyond my control." I expected the kids to laugh, like they usually did when I made a joke. Instead, they all just stared at me. Some were even whispering to each other, pointing at me, like who is this guy ? I did notice one kid who looked like he was about to laugh--but he was wearing a Harvard T-shirt, so I immediately ruled him out as a fellow book-hater. Dr. Mal nodded again. "In that case, do you mind if I ask you why you've joined us here at camp?" "Good question, Dr. Mal. I guess I did it to make my parents happy. It was a moment of weakness, to be honest with you." That line would have gotten a laugh back home too, for sure. But not here. It was like I'd entered some kind of permanent Opposite Day, where the dorks were the cool kids, and the cool kids--or at least the funny kids--were the outsiders. Dr. Mal looked down at his clipboard again, then nodded at a big guy who was standing across the circle. "It seems you'll be in with Dwayne, who's one of our best counselors." Dwayne nodded back without smiling. He was by far the least nerdy-looking guy at the whole place. He looked more like a marine than a counselor. Dr. Mal headed back to the center of the ring. "You may find, Charlie Joe, that you're more like your fellow campers than you realize," he said. Then he looked me right in the eyes and added, "We'll make you one of us yet." Make you one of us? Oh, please. I would never become one of them. But ... I started thinking ... maybe I could make them one of me ! I realized it would at least be a way to make the next three weeks bearable. I could help these kids change their ways. I could turn them into normal, non-reading people. I would save them from a life of dorkdom. Text copyright © 2013 by Tommy Greenwald Illustrations copyright © 2013 by J. P. Coovert Excerpted from Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Summer Vacation by Tommy Greenwald All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.