Sending Your Child to Sleepaway Camp? Here Are Some Good Books to Read
Summer Sleepaway Camp Books to Read
Sending your kids off to a sleepaway camp in California this summer may seem like a big and overwhelming experience to many parents. If you are considering a summer sleepaway camp for your child or teen, there are some great resources that can help you make that decision. Even after you’ve done your research, you may still be looking for some reassurance and solid advice for making sure your camper has the summer experience you’ve both been dreaming of. Here’s a list of our favorite books about prepping for summer sleepaway camp.
Sleepaway Camp Prep Books
Homesick and Happy
Written by Michael Thompson Ph.D., Homesick and Happy is a reassuring look at why summer camp really is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children. He explains how not sending your child to camp in an effort to keep them sheltered, actually deprives them of major developmental milestones that occur through letting them go. If you’re interested in reading this awesome book, it can be found on Amazon. For a similar, shorter read, you can view this NY Times article ‘Kids Can Be Homesick and Happy at Camp’.
The Summer Camp Handbook
Written by Thurber and Malinowski, The Summer Camp Handbook is a great read for first-time campers and their parents as they navigate the process of choosing and preparing for a summer at sleepaway camp. It provides very useful information on how to decide when the time is right for your child to go to camp, how to find and evaluate different camp options, and how to prepare for adventure and homesickness. It also explains everything you need to find, choose and get ready for sleepaway camp. This book can also be found easily on Amazon!
Last Child in the Woods – Saving Our Kids from Nature-Deficit Disorder
This book is a must-read for parents! Written by Richard Louv, this book serves up some thought-provoking reading on how the digital age has affected our kids. If you haven’t considered what it means to grow up without the opportunity to unplug, this book offers some great food for thought and arguments for camp. And you guessed it! It’s available for purchase on Amazon.
Happy Camper
Written by Audrey Monke, Happy Camper shares 9 awesome parenting techniques and tips – inspired by the research-based practices of summer camp – to bring families closer together and to help kids thrive on their own. Monke, being a mother of 5 children and a camp owner/director, has great insight on the benefits of summer camp socially and emotionally. She uses these insights to offer strategies that parents can use to reap the benefits of camp but in the home. It can be found on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble.
Catalina Island Camps
Still looking for the right sleepaway camp in California for your child or teen? Browse our summer camp program offerings and look into our camper leadership programs to get your child extra experience.