Books

Average customer rating:

I recommend FAT CAMP COMMANDOS.
Revolutionary!
More preaching than anything
Do you think you could handle this camp?
My kids love the pictures

Fat Camp Commandos
Daniel Pinkwater
Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Fat Camp Commandos Go West

ASIN: 0439155274

Amazon.com

When Ralph and Sylvia Nebula's pudgy parents get suckered into sending their chubby offspring to fat camp, the siblings first get angry--then they get revenge. Along with their feisty, sociopolitically savvy new friend, Mavis Goldfarb, they flee the bogus camp, where rattlesnakes run amok in the dried-up lake and clear-cut woods and inmates are forced to take classes in Creative Abuse and Motivation. (Lectures by Camp Noo Yoo owner, Dick Tator, run something like this: "Here's what you have to look forward to as a fat adult... People laugh at you in the street, insult you, and throw doughnuts at you. You lose your job collecting dead skunks for the Fish and Wildlife Service, because you're too fat. You wind up in prison for stealing pumpkin pies from the postdated pie store the day after Thanksgiving.") Disgusted by the absurdity and prejudice at camp, the three declare war on culturally supported chauvinism, and spend the rest of the summer hiding out in Mavis's house while her parents are away. Armed with biting wit and a fine-tuned sense of injustice, the friends alter billboards, heckle Junior Weight Whippers speakers, and entrap the local fat-quack doctor in his own lies on a call-in radio show. It's not until a cop nabs them at one of their commando activities that their careers as undercover social reform activists are redirected--into an equally productive and empowering (and far more legal) channel.

Daniel Pinkwater's legions of passionate fans will jump up and down for joy at his latest wacky, right-on-target story. Pinkwater, known for his National Public Radio commentaries, as well as his many kids' book titles (The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Lizard Music, 4 Fantastic Novels, 5 Novels, and the Werewolf Club series), never, ever shies away from controversial, weird, or eccentric topics, for which we are very grateful. By the way, there is no miraculous skinny finale in Fat Camp Commandos, thank goodness--the kids end the story fit, healthy, and as pleasingly plump as ever. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

It's not enough that Ralph and Sylvia Nebula and their dear friend, Celtic witch Mavis Goldfarb have absconded from fat camp. It's not enough that they've perpetrated pranks on the people of Pookooksie. These anti-social tubs of lard won't stop there. Now, they're primed to challenge the great traditions of our nation, the things we learned as children in dark movie theaters, and in front of the TV during the four o'clock John Wayne spaghetti western.Yes, that's right, theyre headed to the Great American West. Imagine the fat camp kids against the setting of the west: down the dusty street, tumbleweeds tumbling, the languid sun beating down. Doc Atkins, a dissolute gunfigter, will learn that these kids are not to be trifled with. If you give them a trifle, they will eat it.

Customer Reviews:

I recommend FAT CAMP COMMANDOS........2004-07-21

Spending their summer at a fat camp (where chubby children are sent to be slimmed down) was not what Ralph and Sylvia wanted to do for their summer vacation. Unfortunately their plump parents listened to Simon Primly who said, "I see so many round, fat, unhappy children. They will grow up to be miserable. They will be hated. They will become stupid. And many of them will turn to crime."

Which is why Ralph and Sylvia are stuck at Camp Noo Yoo, eating shredded carrots and playing softball with four layers of clothes on. They can't stand it there, but it doesn't look like they have much of a choice. Until, that is, a little, round, fat ball of fury by the name of Marvis Goldfarb comes up with an escape plan. Twenty-four hours later, Ralph, Sylvia and Marvin are at Marvis Goldfarb's home, eating bacon and eggs, and coming up with a plan to get back at their parents for being dumb enough to send them to Camp Noo Yoo. That's when the real fun in this book begins.

FAT CAMP COMMANDOS is a real gem. At first glance, and first read, it comes across as a slightly corny book, with small words, and big print. Indeed it is only 88 pages, and that is with the illustrations. But there is a lot of truth in those 88 pages. And there are a lot of things about stereotypes that are very true, which is why I recommend FAT CAMP COMMANDOS to people who are above the age of 13 as well as below.

--- Reviewed by Kathy Hale

Revolutionary!.......2002-07-09

Although some complain that the message is too strong, I think that given the fact that the self esteem of a fat child is constantly abused from every imaginable angle including simple cartoons, they need some heavy duty fire power to combat the other strong messages that tell them to hate themselves. I only wish that the strong message of this book was mirrored by other books. Something wimpy that beat around the bush wouldn't be at all effective, and you can be certain that the author does not beat around the bush! I also like that it does not insult the intelligence of children, which we all too often underestimate. The kids got the jokes, enjoyed the illustrations, and received a defined boost in their self esteem.
I hope that those with fat children, or even those with thin children who are fearful of fat, will purchase this incredible book and teach their children self respect instead of self hatred. I highly recommend it!

More preaching than anything.......2002-06-02

While there is a valid point that overwieght children are often made fun of and people should be more tolerant, the author spends far too much time reminding us of his not-so-hidden agenda. As a story, though, this book doesn't really deliver the goods.

Do you think you could handle this camp?.......2002-02-08

This book is kind of confusing in the start but as you to read it makes more sence. This book is about two kids that have to go to fat camp, because their mom and dad said that you would be miserable if you stayed fat. You will have to read the rest to find out what happens to the kids!

My kids love the pictures.......2001-07-07

Illustrations by Andy Rash really set my kids to laughing. He has a great way of expressing the character. Way to go.

The story is pretty good too.

Average customer rating:

Fat Camp Commandos Go West
Daniel Pinkwater
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Fat Camp Commandos
Fat Men From Space
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency

ASIN: 0613625110

Amazon.com

Thoroughly disgusted to find that, once again, they've been tricked by their parents into attending a fat camp (thinly disguised as Deepdip Cha-cha's Fun Ashram for Kids), Ralph and Sylvia Nebula hightail it out west to join their friend Mavis Goldfarb at her camp. But even here, at Rough-Ridin' Rudy's Rootin'-Tootin' Rancho, things are not as they should be. The aging, softening resident cowboys believe that the "dang-blasted, dad-gum healthies" who are converting the local dude ranches to health ashrams are driving away the customers who want the authentic Wild West experience. It's going to take some quick (and bizarre) thinking on Mavis's part to bring the two factions together again.

Bitingly clever, with jabs galore at cultural icons and social clichés, Daniel Pinkwater's sequel to Fat Camp Commandos is not quite as dazzling as the first--mostly due to the necessary recap of the earlier book's plot. Still, accompanied by Andy Rash's goofy drawings, Pinkwater's short chapter book is a big, happy step outside the norm. (Ages 8 to 13) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

Saddle up, cowpokes, and welcome to the Wild, Wild West! Ralph, Sylvia, and Mavis, the pudgy pranksters from FAT CAMP COMMANDOS, are back--and this time they are out to shake up the sleepy Western town of Horny Toad. After escaping from yet another fat-camp--this time in the guise of a fun ashram for kids--the chubby Nebula sibs join Mavis at Rough Ridin Rudy's Rootin-Tootin Rancho. Soon the feisty trio have kicked off an incredible campaign to draw crowds to Horny Toad--giving new meaning to the term "Wild West." And their surprise plan is literally out of this world!

Average customer rating:

FAT CAMP COMMANDOS GO WEST
PINKWATER DANIEL
Manufacturer: SCHOLAST BOOK SERVICES
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PGO5UK

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