Campout! Biscuit Goes Camping by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

It is a warm, late summer evening. Just the time to do something special!

A girl, already in her PJs, heads out into the backyard and under the clothesline with a pillow and a bundle of blankets.

This way, Biscuit. It's time to go camping.

WOOF!

She has her tarp. She has her blankets and pillow and flashlight and baggie of cookies. She tries to toss one side of the tarpaulin over the clothesline. Biscuit grabs another corner and starts pulling.

Silly puppy!

The girl evens up the four corners and anchors them down with four big rocks. Voila' A tent!

WOOF! Biscuit is distracted by something new that hops! The girl shines her flashlight on Biscuit's find. It's a frog! Then Biscuit spots something blink-blinking in the air. Biscuit barks again!

It's a FIREFLY!

Leaves blow in the wind, Whooooooo! Biscuit is a little bit intimidated.

WOW! The wind and the firefly seems to be telling them it's time to turn out the light. By the moonlight the girl, one flip flop on and one off, and Biscuit curl up together, cookies forgotten, and close their eyes.

But then.... UH-OH!

CRACK! BOOM!

Rain begins to splatter down, as the race is on to the kitchen door that Mom is holding open for them. Biscuit gets there first, making a B-line for his doggie bed.

The campout continues on the little round rug beside Biscuit's bed, as the two snuggle up together under their own covers, in Alyssa Satin Capucilli's Biscuit Goes Camping (My First I Can Read) (Harper). In fact, someone else came inside with them--the firefly!

Author Capucilli's simple narrative sticks to the high points of the action, accompanied by artist Pat Schories' sweetly and skillfully-drawn accompanying illustrative cues to make this My First I Can Read book for emergent readers a fun and funny adventure for the primary set, of which the Biscuit series are a standout. There are plenty more of these and other landmark beginner reader books in Harper's excellent catalog which help parents and teachers in making reading time fun time.