BOKEN’S CRAZY CAMPING CAPER, a children’s chapter book, is narrated in the first person (or first dog) by Boken, a miniature schnauzer with lots of energy and curiosity. When his owner (aka dad) tells him they are going on a camping trip, Boken doesn’t know what to expect—he has never been on one before. His friends Kizzi the cat and Pepe the dog warn Boken about the dangers he may encounter in the forest and mountains, and that concerns him. But when he learns that his best friend Bounce is going to join them, along with Bounce’s owner (aka dad), Boken feels more comfortable with the idea and is anxious to start this new adventure.
Boken is funny, friendly, a little mischievous, and a very likable character—a dog to which many children will be able to relate. His actions, behavior, dialogue, and emotions define him and drive the plot forward. He’s not perfect, and his decisions often get him into trouble, but he learns from his mistakes and grows from them. Children will care about Boken and have empathy for him when he gets himself into precarious situations. The book includes a wealth of information about the animal kingdom. The characters that Boken and Bounce meet along the way—Max the frog, Carlos the crane, Diego the wolf, Boris the boar, Marco the lynx, and Stuart the Iberian red stag—educate them (and readers as well) about themselves and the environment in which they live. Several web links embedded throughout the ebook lead to real-life videos of some of the animals Boken and Bounce meet up with—a brilliant way to entice and educate readers by amplifying various scenes in the novel. For example, the scene where the two dogs poke their heads in the lake to see what is down there is followed by a link to a video of actual fish swimming around in a lake, creating an invaluable teaching tool that entertains while it educates. Other books in the series mentioned throughout the narrative create a clever marketing tool for an already highly marketable book.
BOKEN’S CRAZY CAMPING CAPER is a fun, well-written chapter book with the right amount of action, memorable characters, lively illustrations and educational information to please both kids and their parents.
~Florence Osmund for IndieReader