Summer Camp Queen

By Marci Peschke and Tuesday Mourning

Kylie Jean is determined to be the queen of summer camp!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Feb 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479523078

Marci Peschke

Marci Bales Peschke was born in Indiana, grew up in Florida, and now lives in Texas, where she is a librarian. She has lived in three haunted houses, but now lives with her husband, two children, and a feisty black and white cat named Phoebe. She loves reading and watching movies.

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Today is the last day of school before summer vacation. I can’t believe that all of my fun school days are over for this year! While I finish getting dressed, I think about how much I am going to miss my teacher, Ms. Corazón, and my bus driver, Mr. Jim.

Momma hollers, Kylie Jean, breakfast is ready!

Yes, ma’am, I call.

Ugly Brother barks, Ruff, ruff. Two barks means yes.

I look at him, all wiggly and full of excitement. He’s glad school is nearly over and we can play every single day of the summer. Summer days are longer than regular days. We can play until it gets dark outside, but I’m not sure I’m ready for summer just yet!

You better be good until I get home, I tell him. Then we can play tag in the backyard.

I head downstairs. In the kitchen, there are some pretty roses in butterfly paper on the counter. I press my nose into the bouquet, taking a deep breath.

I gasp. Momma, these flowers smell like heaven!

Momma laughs. Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know your teacher is an angel, she says. Now, if you don’t hurry and eat your breakfast, Mr. Jim will have to wait for you.

I eat three spoons of fruity rings cereal before I hear the bus pull up in front of my house and the horn goes BEEP, BEEP!

I grab my backpack and run for the door. Then I have to run back because I forgot my teacher’s flowers. I can’t forget those!

When we get to school I see my best cousin, Lucy. We walk to class together. She is feeling a little blue about the end of school, too.

It’s hard to stay sad, though, because our teacher has a surprise for us! Lucy spots them first. She asks, Do you see those bags on our desks?

Sure do! I reply. We can’t wait to see what’s inside them, so we skip right over and look.

I peek in.

The first thing I see in my bag is a book. That makes me happy. I just know that beauty queens love to read. They like to read so they can be extra smart.

Lucy dumps her bag out on the table. Candy, a toy ring, bookmarks, and other goodies scatter over her desk like little birds in the sky.

Yay! Lucy shouts.

Cara and Paula run over. We’re having a pizza party, too! Cara says.

Paula adds, And cupcakes!

We are so excited we can hardly wait.

The day zooms by. After lunch we get to play board games. I like old-fashioned checkers. Pa taught me how to play like an expert. I’m always red and Lucy is always black.

While we play, I have a great idea! Do you know what I’m thinking? I ask Lucy. Wouldn’t pink checkers be just divine?

Lucy says, Well, the boys wouldn’t like them, but I would.

When the

Reviews for Summer Camp Queen

[aileenstewart-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My daughter picked out this book and started reading it to her father and I. She picked it originally because her cousin's name is Kylie, but soon she kept reading it because the Kylie Jean of the story was cute, and girlie, and interesting. We all thought it was quite fun that her dog's name was ugly brother, and her determination to become a rodeo queen make her a good role model. It's not so much about Kylie Jean wanting to be a rodeo queen as it is about working hard to achieve a dream and n...moreMy daughter picked out this book and started reading it to her father and I. She picked it originally because her cousin's name is Kylie, but soon she kept reading it because the Kylie Jean of the story was cute, and girlie, and interesting. We all thought it was quite fun that her dog's name was ugly brother, and her determination to become a rodeo queen make her a good role model. It's not so much about Kylie Jean wanting to be a rodeo queen as it is about working hard to achieve a dream and not giving up if there are set backs. I would encourage all little girls to read Kylie Jean Rodeo Queen and to find a dream of their own!

[karafrib · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Eight year old Kylie Jean wants nothing more than to be a beauty queen! She practices her beauty queen wave all the time so she can be ready when the big day comes. When the rodeo comes to town, Kylie Jean is struck by the rodeo queen riding in the parade. She makes up her mind that if she cannot be a beauty queen, then perhaps she can be a rodeo queen. Kylie enlists the help of all of her family members—from her uncle to her grandmother—to try to find a rodeo event she can learn in two weeks. When her dad buys a new horse and says it can be hers, she turns to her grandmother (who was once a rodeo queen herself) to teach Kylie how to barrel race. What follows is a whirlwind of bonding with her new horse, Star, and training for the rodeo, culminating in the big event itself.Kylie Jean is a wonderfully spirited character, who brings a taste for the Texas lifestyle to this transitional chapter book. Her family is loveable, and her relationship with her dog, Ugly Brother, is endearing. Kylie’s love for the color pink is emphasized in the cartoon drawings that are dispersed throughout the story, where it is the only color present other than black. While this is cute, her affinity for all things pink is mentioned excessively throughout the story. It is also hard to believe that an eight-year-old could learn barrel racing in just two weeks. Even though Kylie becomes interested in winning the barrel race competition, the end of the book finds her back at her old self, hoping to be a beauty queen, and the character growth that happened during the story is lost. Best suited for grades 3-5.