Customer Reviews

The Summer Camp Handbook: Everything You Need to Find, Choose and Get Ready for Overnight Camp-and Skip the Homesickness

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This book really covers what you need to know before you send your child to sleepaway camp. The part that was most helpful to me was the research the authors have done on homesickness. Before I got this book I was guessing about how to handle my daughter's homesickness, and I came up with one or two of their recommendations. But after I read this book I felt I understood how to handle this with my daughter and also what the camp and counselors can do to help. There's a great list of all the things you can do. And everything the authors said rings true with my experience.

It's well written, easy to follow, and has parts written just for kids to read. There's even a section to tell kids how to get the most out of camp - from general guidelines on how to treat others to good advice on how to deal with living with lots of kids in a small space.

Every parent, camper, counselor and camp director should read this book! Parents will have a more relaxing time while their kids are away, campers will know better what to expect and how to have the most fun, counselors will know better what to do, and camp directors will have fewer problems with kids AND parents.

I bought Chris Thurber's book on Friday, and watched him on NBC's Today Show this morning (June 9, 2003). Seeing him in person confirms what I thought: he is a camping expert with a wealth of helpful information for parents and kids alike. I feel so much better sending my son to camp knowing that Chris and Jon's research has helped us prepare in a way that will maximize the fun and minimize the homesickness at camp. Buying this book is a small investment in a positive experience whose benefits, I am sure, will last a lifetime. (I found the perfect camp for my son by visiting the American Camping Association's web page: acacamps.org.)

I am a psychotherapist and mother of four,and I cannot express how pleased and grateful I am that I now have, for the first time, a wonderful resource to recommend to parents. Moms and Dads can read and use this book WITH their children to find the camp best suited for their child. All the wonderful suggestions for preparation, especially the emotional insights, make this book a real gem! Summer camp is SUCH an influential experience, that no child or parent should make camp decisions without first reading THE SUMMER CAMP HANDBOOK.

This is a must read book for any parent who plans on sending their child to camp. The information on homesickness is invaluable and based on studies done by Dr. Thurber. This is not a book of testimonials but is backed up by honest to goodness scientific studies and presented in a very readable and pleasurable way.

The best thing about this book was that it was so helpful to both me and my daughter when it came time to start preparing for her first stay at summer camp. We relied on the suggested internet search engines in the book to find the camps and used the section on co-ed vs. single-sex camps to come to a conclusion that my daughter and I(!) were comfortable with. I've already spread the word about this book to all the parents I know that are thinking about sending their kids off to camp. Every parent will feel better once they've read the homesickness section.

As a former camper, counselor and staff member at summer camp, I enjoyed reading this book. As the mother of future campers, I will keep this book handy for me and for the kids. Thank you Chris and Jon for a job well done!

This book really covers what you need to know before you send your child to sleepaway camp. The part that was most helpful to me was the research the authors have done on homesickness. Before I got this book I was guessing about how to handle my daughter's homesickness, and I came up with one or two of their recommendations. But after I read this book I felt I understood how to handle this with my daughter and also what the camp and counselors can do to help. There's a great list of all the things you can do. And everything the authors said rings true with my experience.

It's well written, easy to follow, and has parts written just for kids to read. There's even a section to tell kids how to get the most out of camp - from general guidelines on how to treat others to good advice on how to deal with living with lots of kids in a small space.

Every parent, camper, counselor and camp director should read this book! Parents will have a more relaxing time while their kids are away, campers will know better what to expect and how to have the most fun, counselors will know better what to do, and camp directors will have fewer problems with kids AND parents.

This book is fantastic for kids and parents searching for and learning more about camps. It is easy to navigate to find exactly what you are looking for. As a camp counselor myself I can tell anyone that Drs. Malinowski and Thurber are giving great advice about every aspect of the camp experience.

This is a really helpful book for preparing for summer camp. Here's a tip I got from a friend: if you buy it through acabookstore.org (ACA = American Camping Association) then it comes with a DVD-CD set. My son, who's pretty anxious about going to camp, watched the DVD and that really helped turn his anxiety into excitement. The book and DVD give great tips on preparing (packing, etc.) for camp, but also gives great insight on how to approach the camp experience. Together they answered a lot of questions I didn't even know to ask. It's one of those things you can't afford not to get.

I was a summer camp counselor for seven summers, and this guide was fantastic for those years. It is a staple reference at our camp for other counselors to read. A true reference from a distinguished psychologist and counselor given to other counselors. Thanks