Kid's chapter books from the 90s about camping on an island + prank war
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1melannen
Inspired by timspalding's post in book talk:
I read this book once from the library as a child in the early-to-mid-90s, when in was a fairly new book. It was a humor chapter book about some kids who were going to camp on a small island in a lake that you could only reach by boat, and they were going to be the only ones on the island (I don't remember if they had adults along or not; if so, the adults were close relatives.) Except, Horrors! There were other kids camping too! Either on the same island, or on shore/another island visible from theirs, thereby ruining the whole "Private Island" adventure. A prank war ensues in an attempt to chase them off and then gets a bit out of hand.
IIRC, it was boys vs. girls, but it could have just been two different families. Also I may be confusing some parts of it with similar books I was reading. There may have been a sequel or two, but it wasn't part of a series. It definitely wasn't Swallows and Amazons; it was set in America (I think in the Upper Midwest somewhere), in the late 20th century, and a fairly short middle-grade chapter book. And it wasn't I Want To Go Home; it wasn't an organized summer camp with counselors and stuff, just some kids getting to have an adventure. I think the title did in some way reference how the other kids had ruined everything, though.
Tagmash has failed me on this one. :/
SOLVED! This Island Isn't Big Enough For The Four Of Us by Gery Greer and Bob Ruddick
I read this book once from the library as a child in the early-to-mid-90s, when in was a fairly new book. It was a humor chapter book about some kids who were going to camp on a small island in a lake that you could only reach by boat, and they were going to be the only ones on the island (I don't remember if they had adults along or not; if so, the adults were close relatives.) Except, Horrors! There were other kids camping too! Either on the same island, or on shore/another island visible from theirs, thereby ruining the whole "Private Island" adventure. A prank war ensues in an attempt to chase them off and then gets a bit out of hand.
IIRC, it was boys vs. girls, but it could have just been two different families. Also I may be confusing some parts of it with similar books I was reading. There may have been a sequel or two, but it wasn't part of a series. It definitely wasn't Swallows and Amazons; it was set in America (I think in the Upper Midwest somewhere), in the late 20th century, and a fairly short middle-grade chapter book. And it wasn't I Want To Go Home; it wasn't an organized summer camp with counselors and stuff, just some kids getting to have an adventure. I think the title did in some way reference how the other kids had ruined everything, though.
Tagmash has failed me on this one. :/
SOLVED! This Island Isn't Big Enough For The Four Of Us by Gery Greer and Bob Ruddick
2Hope_H
Something from the Phyllis Reynolds Naylor series that starts with The Boys Start the War, perhaps?
3sueelleker
Not Secret Water (also by Arthur Ransome ) then ?
"John, Susan, Titty and Roger, the crew of the Swallow, take on the job of mapping the mass of small islands round Pin Mill while living on the biggest one. But who are the mysterious savages who lurk in the islands - and is the tribal totem they find in their campsite a threat of attack. ?"
"John, Susan, Titty and Roger, the crew of the Swallow, take on the job of mapping the mass of small islands round Pin Mill while living on the biggest one. But who are the mysterious savages who lurk in the islands - and is the tribal totem they find in their campsite a threat of attack. ?"
4bookel
Ghost island by Carolyn Lane? Lane, Ghost island
5melannen
Thanks for the suggestions!
It's definitely not any of the Arthur Ransomes - I've read most of them, and this one had a very different tone and was definitely a late 20th century American kids' novel, not something older.
Ghost Island sounds like one I would like! But I am pretty sure mine was humor and about a deliberate prank war, and that doesn't sound like it.
The Boys Start The War's title really rang a bell with me when I was tag-mashing, but the part where they were out having an adventure in the middle of nowhere away from ordinary life was a big part of my memory of the book. And there was definitely a lot of messing around on boats in order to get to each other's base. But none of the books in that series look like they are The Camping One. Or is the series more wilderness-y than it sounds? Some of the summaries say the girls live across the street, and some say they live across the river...?
I don't think it would have been a middle book in a series, at least I remember looking for more books with the characters and not finding any (if there was a sequel or two, they came out some time after I read the first.)
It's definitely not any of the Arthur Ransomes - I've read most of them, and this one had a very different tone and was definitely a late 20th century American kids' novel, not something older.
Ghost Island sounds like one I would like! But I am pretty sure mine was humor and about a deliberate prank war, and that doesn't sound like it.
The Boys Start The War's title really rang a bell with me when I was tag-mashing, but the part where they were out having an adventure in the middle of nowhere away from ordinary life was a big part of my memory of the book. And there was definitely a lot of messing around on boats in order to get to each other's base. But none of the books in that series look like they are The Camping One. Or is the series more wilderness-y than it sounds? Some of the summaries say the girls live across the street, and some say they live across the river...?
I don't think it would have been a middle book in a series, at least I remember looking for more books with the characters and not finding any (if there was a sequel or two, they came out some time after I read the first.)
6Timelapse
This island isn't big enough for the four of us by gery greer and Bob ruddick may possibly be what you are looking for.
8melannen
>6 Timelapse: That looks like it exactly! I'm going to put in an ILL request but as soon as I saw "gary greer" and "turtle island" bells started ringing.
Sorry the reply took so long - I've been on vacation away from the computer (sadly not on a deserted island.)
Sorry the reply took so long - I've been on vacation away from the computer (sadly not on a deserted island.)
9melannen
It came in! That was definitely it - thanks, Timelapse.
I had a distinct memory of a scene where a prank goes overboard and someone's in serious trouble in the water, which didn't happen - I must have mixed that up with another book - but everything else was definitely what I remembered. As soon as I read about the gingerbread tent I knew it was right.
I also got The Boys Start The War while I was at it. Also good! But for the record, there's no boats involved - they are across a river from each other, but there's a bridge between the backyards.
I had a distinct memory of a scene where a prank goes overboard and someone's in serious trouble in the water, which didn't happen - I must have mixed that up with another book - but everything else was definitely what I remembered. As soon as I read about the gingerbread tent I knew it was right.
I also got The Boys Start The War while I was at it. Also good! But for the record, there's no boats involved - they are across a river from each other, but there's a bridge between the backyards.
