The first day of summer camp is almost here, and one little camper doesn’t know what to expect. For a while everything is hunkydory . . . until rest time rolls around and he gets a bad case of nervous butterflies. But an unlikely friend appears out of the crowd and reassures him that the best cure for the summertime blues is tons of summertime fun! A sweetly reassuring story, once again told in verse to the meter of Clement Moore’s classic.

MARCH is Community Social Services Awareness month! Is your organization looking for service project ideas? An increasing number of schools, workplaces, and organizations are doing family service projects as a way to make positive change in their communities. The 101 projects in Doing Good Together answer this growing demand for family service with hands-on projects focused on easing poverty, promoting literacy, supporting the troops, helping the environment, and more.

This book is about children exploring the wonders of nature, while having fun and enjoying their self at summer camp.

A new series of colorful, imaginative, magical adventures with Wallace The Brave, recently awarded the Reuben Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip by the National Cartoonist Society. The world of Wallace The Brave is one of imagination, discovery, and wonder, as Wallace and his friends explore the coastal surroundings of Snug Harbor, Rhode Island, uncovering new mysteries, adventure, and mischief wherever they turn. Brought to life by the wonderfully detailed ink-and-watercolor art of Will Henry, Wallace The Brave (named the 2018 Newspaper Comic Strip of the Year) will delight young readers as well as their parents, who will recognize a camaraderie and heart similar to classic strips like Calvin & Hobbes.

Audrey "Sunshine" Monke, mother of five and camp owner-director, shares nine powerful parenting techniques-inspired by the research-based practices of summer camp-to help kids thrive and families become closer. Research has proven that kids are happier and gain essential social and emotional skills at camp. A recognized parenting expert, Audrey Monke distills what she's learned from thousands of interactions with campers, camp counselors, and parents, and from her research in positive psychology, to offer intentional strategies parents can use to foster the benefits of camp at home. Our screen-obsessed, competitive society makes it harder than ever to raise happy, thriving kids. But there are tried-and-true methods that can help. Instead of rearing a generation of children who are overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, and who struggle to become independent, responsible adults, parents can create a culture that promotes the growth of important character traits and the social skills kids need for meaningful, successful lives. Thousands of parents attest to the "magical" benefits of summer camp for their kids, noting their children return more joyful, positive, confident, and resilient after just a few weeks. But you can learn exactly what it takes to promote these benefits at home. Complete with specific ideas to implement the most effective summer camp secrets, HAPPY CAMPERS is a one of a kind resource for raising happy, socially intelligent, successful kids.

An insightful and powerful look at the magic of summer camp—and why it is so important for children to be away from home . . . if only for a little while. In an age when it’s the rare child who walks to school on his own, the thought of sending your “little ones” off to sleep-away camp can be overwhelming—for you and for them. But parents’ first instinct—to shelter their offspring above all else—is actually depriving kids of the major developmental milestones that occur through letting them go—and watching them come back transformed. In Homesick and Happy, renowned child psychologist Michael Thompson, PhD, shares a strong argument for, and a vital guide to, this brief loosening of ties. A great champion of summer camp, he explains how camp ushers your children into a thrilling world offering an environment that most of us at home cannot: an electronics-free zone, a multigenerational community, meaningful daily rituals like group meals and cabin clean-up, and a place where time simply slows down. In the buggy woods, icy swims, campfire sing-alongs, and daring adventures, children have emotionally significant and character-building experiences; they often grow in ways that surprise even themselves; they make lifelong memories and cherished friends. Thompson shows how children who are away from their parents can be both homesick and happy, scared and successful, anxious and exuberant. When kids go to camp—for a week, a month, or the whole summer—they can experience some of the greatest maturation of their lives, and return more independent, strong, and healthy.

In a world where our families are more scattered than ever, true and lasting family connections are hard to forge and even harder to maintain--and they don't happen by accident. For grandparents who long to create a close-knit bond in their family, popular speaker and parenting expert Susan Alexander Yates has a revolutionary new book. Cousin Camp is an inspiring, practical book that outlines how grandparents can plan and host a camp. Grandmother to 21 grandchildren, Yates has been creating cousin camps and family camps for years. Now she passes on what she's learned so you can help your children and grandchildren develop meaningful, lasting connections with each other--and with you! Full of specific, practical ideas and hilarious stories, this book contains everything you need to know from initial planning (who, when, and where) to a daily schedule to specific ways to build friendships among family members. Yates also includes plenty of ideas for family camps and reunions to draw everyone closer.