while only 12% of children in the United States Attend overnight summer camp programs is still a popular topic among young readers. Whether they attend summer camps or not, kids love to imagine being away from home without their parents and all the obstacles they can face with that newfound freedom. Middle grade books about summer camps often explore friend drama, first crushes, and self-discovery. Children solve problems and go on their own adventures without adult supervision.
From camps focused on black history to LGBTQ+ and monster camps, these five novels explore all the drama and personal growth that happens at summer camps.
It doesn’t take any talent By Olugbemisola Rude-Perkovich
Black excellence and black happiness take center stage in this delightful novel. When 13-year-old Emmett’s older brother gets a job at an exclusive black summer camp far from home, Emmett secretly applies for a scholarship and joins the camp, much to his brother’s dismay. While Emmett is known as a genius in his middle school, everyone at this summer camp excels with much more praise than Emmett receives. This summer camp is intensive, and students take classes in Black excellence and specialize in certain areas. Emmett chooses dancing, but by trying to do too much and losing confidence in his abilities he jeopardizes his friendships and his position as a dancer.
I especially love how deeply this book is filled with black history; There’s a lot to dig into. Plus, the characters are fun and relatable. It is a companion novel to the film “Boy Genius”, but the two stand as separate stories.
camping quilt bag By Nicole Meleby and AJ Sass
I mean, who doesn’t have a crush on Laura Dern Jurassic Park? Correct? Twelve-year-old Abigail, one of the stars camping quilt bagIs with me. Unfortunately, when she admits she has a crush on her BFF’s mom (besides Laura Dern), her Catholic school classmates shun her. Looking for community, Abigail signs up for a quirky summer camp.
Meanwhile, Kai is struggling with his friend drama from Ear. After coming out as nonbinary with neopronouns, E gets jumped, and Ear’s hand is injured. Kai also arrives at Camp Quiltbag, though more reluctantly. Abigail and Kai make a pact to help each other at camp on the first day, but things get a little complicated when the camp announces a competition.
So glad to read about a queer-affirming summer camp! All the crush angst and friend drama is a little stressful but super fun for kids.
summer in squis by Andrea Wang
This middle grade novel is based on a Chinese-culture summer camp called SCCWEE (pronounced “squee”). Fei’s mother is one of the camp’s directors. Fei and her BFFs will be moving out of camp after this year, and Fei has high hopes for what her final year as a camper will be like. When a group of Chinese adoptees join the camp, many of whom are not interested in learning about Chinese culture, Fei feels as if all her summer plans with her friends are dashed. Wang tackles a wide range of topics with ease, from Asian American hate crimes to exposing internalized prejudices. There’s also lots of friend and crush drama that kids will enjoy, as well as a fashion show!
the children are absolutely fine
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Camp Twisted Pine by sierra burch
This is a terrifying middle grade horror story about the Jersey Devil. Naomi’s parents are getting divorced, and they decide to send her and her twin younger brothers to summer camp because they are working on something – something Naomi doesn’t want at all. But Naomi has trouble communicating, especially when she disagrees with others, so she remains silent. He immediately realized that something was wrong at the camp. There’s too much kudzu out there, and it shouldn’t be here at all. Then, the campers start disappearing. He also develops a crush on another camper girl, who is deaf. To figure out what’s happening and how to get the other children back, Naomi will need to overcome her anxiety about speaking out and sharing with others.
Summer camps are the perfect setting for horror stories like this.
camp monster By Kate Messner and Falynn Koch
Young middle grade readers will love this fun graphic novel about a monster summer camp. Yeti Camp closed years ago due to a lack of Yeti campers, but now Tasha’s family is rebuilding the camp to accommodate all the monster children. Tasha can’t wait to make new friends and set up her first camp! But not all the campers get along, and the possibility of humans finding the camp poses a real threat.
Full of friendly melee and great world building, this is a very fun read and I hope it gets turned into a series. My eight year old demands it!
I’ve read a lot of excellent middle grade books about summer camps. Here are some more that I like: miss camper By Kat Fajardo, leave behind By Robin Easter, unhappy camper By Lily LaMotte and Ann Xu, be prepared By Vera Brosgol, camp maniac by Liz Montague, and camp prodigy By Caroline Palmer.
Want even more? Here are some graphic novels based on summer camps. Curious about the world of summer camp in YA fiction? You’re covered there too.
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