Nerd Camp

by Elissa Brent Weissman (Author)

Nerd Camp
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
For 10-year-old Gabe, the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment is all that he dreamed it would be, but he must work hard to write about the fun in letters to Zach, his cool future stepbrother, without revealing that it is a camp for "nerds."
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School Library Journal

Gr 4-5--Gabe, 10, is excited about getting two things he has wanted: a brother and to go to camp. The brother is Zack, the son of his father's fiancee, who is also 10 and lives across the country in L.A. The camp is the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment. Gabe wants to appear just as cool to Zack as he thinks Zack is, so he keeps the "nerd" details about camp to himself. At SCGE, the campers have lessons in the morning, then traditional camp activities in the afternoon and evening. The campers are typical kids, pulling pranks, whining about some things, and getting homesick; they just happen to be extremely bright. Gabe enjoys his bunkmates and loves everything about camp except the food. Zack is envious of Gabe's experience, so Gabe keeps him up-to-date on what's happening, sort of. He keeps a chart of things he can tell his stepbrother and the details that probably shouldn't be mentioned, e.g., that they like learning the digits of Pi. The boys' characters are well developed and although the three adults play a minor role in the story, they are civil to one another and to both boys. In addition to being a good, humorous story, the book also illustrates that kids who are bright are just kids and can enjoy a lot of different things.--Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

What 10-year-old Gabe wants more than anything is a sibling, and he gets his wish when his father announces his fiancee has a son, Zack, precisely Gabe's age. But after Gabe meets super-cool skater dude Zack, he feels self-conscious about everything, especially his upcoming trip to sleepaway camp. Zack mistakenly believes that Gabe is going on an exciting wilderness adventure and is envious; what Gabe hasn't revealed is that the camp is actually geared toward brainiacs, with daily activities like problem-solving using the postulates of logical reasoning. Will Gabe's relationship with his new stepbrother sour if Zack finds out what a nerd Gabe is? Gabe composes lists of what he can safely tell Zack about camp, leaving out the poetry writing, singing songs written in binary code, and taking part in a "Lice 101" class in which they enthusiastically study the louse that has infested the camp. Though Weissman's message about individuality is mildly prescriptive and Zack's character is absent for much of the narrative, she persuasively conveys Gabe's anxiety over both living up to the perceived expectations of others and his desire to escape being labeled. Ages 8-12. (May)

Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Nerd Camp.
Weissman, Elissa Brent (Author)
May 2011. 272 p. Atheneum, hardcover, $15.99. (9781442417038).

Perfect for kids whose quest for knowledge isn't satisfied by nine months of school, Weissman's latest
novel features an appealing 10-year-old who's more certain of facts and figures than of his worth. Gabe
questions his own "coolness" when he meets the boy who's about to become his stepbrother; they're the
same age but worlds apart intellectually, and Gabe tries to hide from Zack all traces of his own nerdy
tendencies. Weissman portrays Gabe as a sweet only child who's as excited about getting the sibling he
has always wanted as he is about being admitted to a "Gifted Enrichment" camp. Over the course of six
weeks of camp, he revels in his adventures and then analyzes them for their nerdiness quotient, working
out logic proofs to help him figure out how much to tell Zack. Weissman depicts a camp whose academic
classes sound almost as fun as kayaking and color war. These smart, funny kids learn something from a
lice infestation, and it's only logical that Gabe also gains confidence in his own opinions and individuality.

—BOOKLIST, May 1, 2011
Elissa Brent Weissman
Elissa Brent Weissman is the author of many books for young readers, including The Renegade Reporters, The Length of a String, and the Nerd Camp series. She grew up on Long Island in New York and now lives on the South Island of New Zealand, where her birthday is in spring rather than fall.
Omer Hoffmann is an illustrator and comics artist. He has illustrated 10 published children's books, lots of comics, numerous advertisement campaigns, and dozens of editorials. He likes drawing funny and humorous pieces. He also likes coffee. He lives in Givatayim, Israel, with his wife, Maia, and their daughter, Zoe, and son, Lenny.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781442417038
Lexile Measure
810
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date
April 26, 2011
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
JUV013020 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Marriage & Divorce
JUV032000 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | General
Library of Congress categories
Individuality
Interpersonal relations
Camps
Ability
Stepbrothers
Individuality in children
Ability in children
Interpersonal relations in children
Cybils
Winner 2011 - 2011
Sunshine State Young Reader's Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016

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