Arthur goes to camp

Arthur is off to Camp Meadowcroak, like it or not, with Buster and Francine and Muffy--and from the moment he hears Francine chortle about bats and snakes in the boys' tent, he's sure ""It's going to be just like school: the girls against the boys."" Worse, the girls have a solicitous counselor, while the boys draw gruff, tough Rocky--whose disgust when the girls outperform the boys only deepens their shame. As for Arthur, he didn't want to go to camp, and--as he writes in dally, imploring letters--he doesn't want to stay. Then, ""really weird things"" start to happen: the doing of rival Camp Horsewater. But the annual Meadowcroak-Horsewater Scavenger Hunt turns the trick: boys-and-girls-together get revenge; and runaway Arthur accidentally emerges a hero. The last letter home reads: ""Camp is great. I want to come back next year."" Not the snappiest in the series but passable-plus: authentic summer-camp travails and a made-to-order setting for faint-hearted Arthur. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.