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Reviewed by:
  • Like Bug Juice on a Burger by Julie Sternberg
  • Deborah Stevenson
Sternberg, Julie . Like Bug Juice on a Burger; illus. by Matthew Cordell. Amulet/Abrams, 2013. [176p]. ISBN 978-1-4197-0190-0 $14.95 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 2-3.

Having adjusted to her new babysitter (in Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, BCCB 3/11), Eleanor now faces a new obstacle, and this time it's disguised as a treat: a session at the sleepaway camp that her mother adored as a girl. Eleanor is not her mother, however, and her early enthusiasm fades quickly at the reality of facing unfamiliar food, being stuck in the Guppy group for novice swimmers, and just being so far away from home. Eleanor's tentative yet heartfelt voice comes through as clearly as in the first volume, with the short, ragged-right-margin lines as approachable as her personality. Sternberg is particularly deft at leaving young-reader-sized room for interpretation and extrapolation, especially in Eleanor's quasi-random friendship with her eccentric and unflappable cabinmate Joplin. It's also a book that wisely resists tragedy or triumph; ultimately, Eleanor gets past the worst of her distress, and though camp never brings her the joy it did her mother, she finds redemption enough in the good things—her friendship with Joplin, her caring for a sweet young goat—to end up genuinely and age-appropriately philosophical about the experience. That's a plausible developmental challenge and also a bit of literary one as well, but it's achieved with cozy grace, and readers skeptical of abstract gains will be pleased that Eleanor is also rewarded with the dog she's been yearning for. Cordell's squiggly, energetic line drawings are rich with sympathy as well as humor. Many kids will be familiar with the situation where they don't love something they expected to, and they'll appreciate the guidance on surviving the experience; fans of Eleanor from her first outing will definitely want to follow her to camp.

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