The Campground Kids Series by C. R. Fulton

Siblings Isaiah and Sadie and their older cousin Ethan take thrilling trips to many of the country’s most famous National Parks along with Sadie and Isaiah’s parents. Wherever they go, they seem to find adventure and mystery!

Reading Level: 8-12
Read Aloud Age: 6+

This “squeaky clean” series has lots of desirable elements including positive sibling interactions, engaged parents, problem solving, and bravery. While I cannot confirm this, but I have been told the author is a Christian, although these are secular titles. This seems to be the case with some of the language used throughout the books alluding to Christian ideas. For example, when speaking of a wolf’s paws, Mom says they are “designed to be that way.” There are also times where it seems people are praying, and a hymn is sung at one point. The characters often show growth and self-sacrifice. Sometimes this can get a little muddy though, trying to say Christian things without really saying them. For example, a character talks about “being right on the inside” after seeing his dishonesty and vowing not to do it again.

The dialogue can be a bit unrealistic and slightly “cheesy” here and there with a middle school boys saying things like he wants to “ace the test of life.” There are also some obvious character-building efforts, like talking about a budget or having good friends. It’s all well-meaning, but some of it may come off a bit didactic. I have only read books 1-3, so do be aware of that, but I felt like I got a pretty good feeling for the series in those three titles. There are many situations of peril, children being lost in the woods, facing down wild animals, kidnapping and more. Sometimes the children have to do extreme things to survive, like making camp alone in the woods, eating dog kibble, starting campfires, and more. Overall, if your child enjoys the great outdoors, they might enjoy learning and adventuring through them in this series.

Language:
Native-Americans are called “Indians”
One instance of stupid
Isaiah says his sister is great, for a girl

Questionable Behaviors:
There is often a “bad guy” who does clearly bad things, for example, kidnapping the children when they stumble into their hidden gold mine or stealing someone’s horses.

Sexual Content:
Ethan, a middle school boy, is obviously smitten with a girl and asks if she has a boyfriend.

Other Things to Note:
Dinosaurs are mentioned often.
One character in book 2 is on the autism spectrum.
An RV sewage line breaks open.
Stevia is talked about as a healthy alternative to sugar in book 3.

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