Kids and Camping

 

Cooking in a Can by Katherine L. White is the perfect activity book for kids who love to camp and cook! The newest book in our successful children's activities series introduces dozens of techniques for cooking outside. Author Kate White shows kids the beauty of cooking over a campfire, with dozens of delicious and easy recipes like Hot Rock Chicken and Wilderness Wonder Chocolate Cake. From cooking in a can to cooking in a paper bag to cooking on a rock, this activity book produces scrumptious results that kids of all ages will enjoy. Also included are dozens of related activities to keep kids busy, such as making a family banner to identify your camp, planning menus, and organizing cooking supplies and groceries. There are also tips on natural refrigeration, food storage and camp clean up. Chapters include topics such as:

• Cooking Over a Campfire
• The Outdoor Kitchen
• No Pot Cooking
• Hot Rock Cooking
• Pit Cooking
• Make-Your-Own Oven Cooking
• Spit Cooking
• Dutch Oven Cooking

The Girls' Guide to Campfire Activities by Elizabeth Encarnacion is an encyclopedic, nostalgic, and with just a tiny shiver of risk, this collection of enjoyable activities gives girls all the information they need to have the perfect campfire experience. They’ll learn the basics of building a fire; the difference between an A-frame and a teepee fire; how to put the flames out properly; a range of safety procedures; and first aid for minor burns. Girls will also find plenty of fun things to do as the embers glow: recipes for tasty treats, instructions on making a comfy campfire seat, camp songs to sing, and ghost stories guaranteed to frighten the pants off everyone. For those who can’t make it to the great outdoors, there are even suggestions for bringing the campfire experience inside, from starting a fire in a fireplace to making fondue-style S’mores. No fireplace? No problem! The kit includes a DVD of a super campfire with a singalong soundtrack and scary music for story hour. (from Amazon.com)

And here are a few more Kid's Camping Titles:

Camping and the Great Outdoors

Engage your child in outdoor play, nature outings, and environmental explorations. Chase and be chased in a game of capture the flag. Use the power of the sun to craft your own shadow prints. Explore the stars on a late night walk. Create a field guide to your neighborhood. Through 52 ideas—some classic and some new—Let's Go Outside! by Jennifer Ward offers a range of activities perfect for children ages 8 to 12. Whether you're in the country, the city, or anywhere in between, this book is sure to help you get outside—and run, dance, hike, or camp—with your preteen. Sections of the book include: 

• Back to Basics: Reconnecting with twists on traditional games and activities such as Capture the Flag
• Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: Picnics, doing homework outdoors, and socializing opportunities outdoors
• Outdoor Adventures: Canoeing, biking, and camping
• Environmental Experiments: Ways to explore how nature works (from Amazon.com)

Plan your family camping adventure with The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping With Kids by Helen Olsson! Whether you’re a first-time camper or a veteran backpacker befuddled by the challenges of carting a brood—and all the requisite gear—into the great outdoors, here you’ll find all the tips and tools you need to plan the perfect nature adventure with your family. Humorous and irreverent, yet always authoritative, this guide to camping with kids, from babies through pre-teens, is filled with checklists, smart tips, recipes, games, activities, and art projects.

Helen Olsson, a seasoned camper and mother of three, shares lessons learned over the years of nature outings with her own family. Learn the basics of family camping, from choosing a destination and packing gear to setting up a campsite and keeping little ones safe. Create the perfect camp menu with simple and tasty recipe ideas. Discover foolproof tips and tactics for keeping kids happy and entertained while hiking. Explore nature through clever and creative camp arts and craft projects. This guide is your game plan to unplugging from the digital world and connecting your kids to nature. Whether it’s roasting marshmallows around a crackling campfire or stretching out on a camp mat to gaze at the stars, the memories you’ll be making will last a lifetime. (from Amazon.com)

Want to save cash, your child's imagination and possibly even the planet? Then Born To Be Wild: Hundreds of Free Nature Activities for Families by Hattie Garlick is the book you need.

Packed with great photos of real families in the outdoors, Born to Be Wild contains easy-to-follow instructions for activities that require nothing more sophisticated than a small person's imagination and access to a little outdoor space.

Nature lays on magical materials for free each season, from fallen leaves and twigs, molted feathers, sand and shells, to mud, puddles and rain. Everything else you'll need for these activities is already hiding in your cupboards at home. No expensive art supplies of outward-bound kit required. All you need are the toolkit items at the front of the book - ordinary household essentials like scraps of paper, string, glue, recycled food containers and an empty jar or two.

Along the way Hattie talks to families, organizations and communities who have rebuilt their relationships with nature with extreme or inspiring results, and she introduces scientists, psychologists and other experts who explain why, as modern families, we should revive our waning relationships with nature, whatever age or stage we're at. (from Amazon.com)

If you think camping means big mosquitoes, big headaches, and big effort, this book is for you. Camping Made Easy by Michael Rutter presents a practical, informative approach to carefree camping. After putting to rest the myths concerning the hardships and frustrations of camping, Michael Rutter presents nuts-and-bolts information on every aspect of camping, relating advice garnered from his twenty-plus years of experience. You will learn how to select the right equipment, including tents, stoves, sleeping bags, lanterns, backpacks, and more; plan for a painless camping trip; pack efficiently; select a good campground; set up camp; take fun day hikes and more.

With more than 300 photographs and illustrations to help you get started, you will be setting up camp, stoking the campfire, and relaxing before you know it. Whether you are setting up a tent in a local campground or planning a cross-country camping odyssey, this comprehensive guide will answer all your camping questions. (from Amazon.com)

June is...

(From NationalDayCalendar.com)

NATIONAL CAMPING MONTH

National Camping Month in June is an excellent time to pack up your gear and experience nature. Whether you like roughing it or prefer to have a few modern conveniences when heading out to the trail, it’s important to keep a few things in mind.

1. Make sure you have plenty of freshwater or a freshwater source.

2. Take a first aid kit and that it is stocked.

3. Pack waterproof matches.

4. Take non-perishable food such as granola bars, jerky, peanut butter, chocolate bars, and dried fruits,         especially if you are not taking a cooler.

5. Pack fruits, vegetables, and meats separately and keep chilled in a cooler.

6. Include sunblock, even for cloudy days.

7. Rain gear, jackets, and blankets are necessary for cooler weather.

Around the country, there are a variety of campsites available. The more modern campsite includes showers and recreational facilities. These often include water hookups and parking pads for RVs and campers and cabins to rent as well as more primitive sites with no electrical hookups designed for tent usage.  Other parks only allow primitive camping and require everything you pack into the park to be packed out. So, seriously consider your needs if you are hiking into the park for your stay. These are not for the glampers.

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalCampingMonth

Gather family and friends, don’t forget the s’mores supply and go camping! Nature is calling and there are so many ways to enjoy a weekend or even more camping.  Use #NationalCampingMonth to show us how you camp. Educators and families, check out National Day Calendar’s Classroom for lots of fun ideas and projects to help you #CelebrateEveryDay!

(From NationalDayCalendar.com)

NATIONAL GREAT OUTDOORS MONTH

National Great Outdoors Month in June reminds us to explore our nation’s abundant wildlife refuges, parks, and natural beauty. Whether we hike or bike the trails, kayak or canoe the many rivers and canyons or pitch a tent in the forest or on a hillside. No matter our preferred mode of enjoying the great outdoors – hiking, biking, kayaking to name a few – nature is calling. Pursue the beauty and majesty of the big skies and open spaces the outdoors offers.

This month also raises awareness of the accessibility of the great outdoors. Depending on where we live, sometimes reaching nature is more difficult. Many cities create relaxing and vibrant green spaces with trails and paths designed for easy access by the community. However, in some inner-city neighborhoods, access to parks or the ability to get outside the city to visit State or National Parks is difficult. National Great Outdoors Month is an excellent time to consider making access possible.

HOW TO OBSERVE:

Visit a State or National Park. Volunteer as a summer camp counselor.  Take an outdoor photography class. Sign up for Northern lights tour. Get blisters where you’ve never had them before.  Go deep sea diving. Learn how to identify birds and go birding. Share your enthusiasm for nature with a group of students and take them on a nature hike.  Become a Big Brother or Big Sister and go on a group nature bike trail. Share your ideas on social media using #GreatOutdoorsMonth.

Summer Eating!

According to National Day Calendar (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/july-monthly-observations/), July is National Culinary Arts Month, National Grilling Month, and National Picnic Month. It is also National Baked Bean Month, National Hot Dog Month, National Ice Cream Month, National Horseradish Month, and, apparently, National July Belongs to Blueberries Month. So, in honor of all this, here are a few cookbooks to help you through this tasty, tasty month!

In Buttermilk & Bourbon: New Orleans Recipes with a Modern Flair, author Jason Santos cooks up a boatload of traditional New Orleans dishes with a story or two and a whole lot of flair. "On screen and in the kitchen, Jason Santos is known for two things: his smack-you-in-the-mouthflavored dishes and his larger-than-life personality. Buttermilk & Bourbon, the name of Jason’s wildly popular restaurant and his standout cookbook, showcases incredible recipes inspired by the exciting flavors and culture of New Orleans.Jason has gathered his best Southern-inspired recipes―the ones that restaurant-goers write about impassioned letters and the ones even his line cooks can’t resist―and laid them bare for you. Make his signature dishes at home like Literally the Best Fried Chicken Wings in the History of Chicken and Flamin‘ Hot Cheeto Mac & Cheese. Binge on Smoked Gouda Cornbread or go all in on New Orleans BBQ Shrimp with Jalapeño Grits. Finish with a signature cocktail like Voodoo on the Bayou and desserts like Fresh Fried Beignets." (from Amazon.com)

Emma Frisch offers up easy tantalizing recipes for camping season in Feast by Firelight: Simple Recipes for Camping, Cabins, and the Great Outdoors. Amazon.com calls the book "A transporting, lushly photographed book with easy-to-prepare recipes for gatherings at campgrounds and cabins alike. Feast by Firelight offers solution-oriented recipes that make cooking outdoors feel effortless and downright fun and it shows how to utilize clever cooking methods, prep food at home, and pack smart. The book includes recipes for camp cooking as well as detailed menus, shopping and equipment lists, and tips showing how to prepare before you leave. Featuring 70 accessible recipes, it is the first of its kind in the outdoor-cooking niche to pair useful information with evocative photography of finished dishes and useful illustrations (such as how to pack a cooler and how to build a fire), setting a new standard for camping cookbooks."

Want some recipes to take to the beach? Why not try The Beach House Cookbook: Easy Breezy Recipes with a Southern Accent? According to Amazon.com, "You don’t have to own a beach house to enjoy Mary Kay Andrews’ recipes. All you need is an appetite for delicious, casual dishes, cooked with the best fresh, local ingredients and presented with the breezy flair that make Mary Kay Andrews’ novels a summertime favorite at the beach. From an early spring dinner of cherry balsamic-glazed pork medallions and bacon-kissed Brussels sprouts to Fourth of July buttermilk-brined fried chicken, potato salad, and pudding parfaits to her New Year’s Day Open House menu of roast oysters, home-cured gravlax, grits 'n’ greens casserole, and lemon-cream cheese pound cake, this cookbook will supply ideas for menus and recipes designed to put you in a permanently carefree, coastal state of mind all year long."

Author Carlo Sernaglia kicks the summer season in high gear with food and drink pairings from the Margaritaville restaurants. "Warm sun, cool drink, and nowhere to be―that’s Margaritaville! It’s a celebration of relaxation and an invitation to enjoy good food and good company. Margaritaville: The Cookbook is filled with recipes that bring the flavor of island living and the spirit of Jimmy Buffett's iconic song straight into your home. The first official cookbook from the beloved world of Margaritaville features laid-back favorites like the explosively good Volcano Nachos and the heaven-on-earth-with-an-onion-slice Cheeseburger in Paradise, alongside more sophisticated options that will wow your guests (Coho Salmon in Lemongrass-Miso Broth, anyone?). With its combination of recipes, stories, and gorgeous full color food and lifestyle photographs throughout, it is sure to put you in a Margaritaville state of mind! Margaritaville isn’t confined to single spot on the map -- the recipes draw inspiration from around the world, from Jerk Chicken to Tuna Poke with Plantain Chips and Jimmy’s Jammin’ Jambalaya. And we've got you all covered, from family-friendly Aloha Hotdogs to drool-worthy Vegetarian Burgers. It's 5 o'clock somewhere and no vacation is complete without a cocktail―preferably a margarita, of course! Margaritaville: The Cookbook is loaded with drink recipes to inspire your blissful island cocktail hour―from Jimmy's Perfect Margarita and Paradise Palomas to Cajun Bloody Mary's and the quintessential Key West Coconut and Lime Frozen Margarita." (from Amazon.com)

Ready for Summer Fun?

     Tired of the same old summer activities? Wish you and your family could reconnect with nature? Not quite sure how to pull that off? My friends, you are in luck! Let me introduce you to The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids: How to Plan Memorable Family Adventures & Connect Kids to Nature by Helen Olsson. I know, I know, it’s a mouthful to say; but this tiny book is chocked full of juicy info for camping with the kiddos! Ms. Olsson has handily arranged her book in four different parts: Getting Started, In the Field, Activities and Adventures, and last, but certainly not least; Hygiene, First Aid and Safety. Even if you won’t be going camping until after the summer has wound down, I heartily suggest checking out this book now to give yourself an idea of what you are going to need to pull off a spectacular adventure.
     The first section covers the planning. When are we going? Where are we going? How long will we stay? What gear are we taking with us? What about food and water? Most importantly; what will I wear? If you have small children or, if you haven’t really been camping before, I would highly recommend going over this part of the book a couple of times to get yourself prepared.
     Once you’re all organized and have the kids psyched about spending time in the woods with all sorts of critters, parts two and three give you the low-down on how to actually pull this off. How do I set up my campsite? Part two tells you how and where to build your campfire, planning & prepping camp meals, how to clean up the camp kitchen and how to break down the camp. Part three deals with all the adventures to be had in the great outdoors. Activities like hiking, stargazing, fishing, swimming, rafting, and bicycling are all covered. Also in part three are the activities to stave off boredom: reading, coloring, bird watching, ghost stories, and don’t forget the crafts!
     Part four is all about hygiene, first aid, and safety. Chapter 8, for instance is titled: “Staying Clean in a World of Dirt”. This section of the book is dedicated to all the things that can go wrong and how to prepare for the aches, pains, and bugs that you will most certainly encounter on your trip. How do you navigate in the backcountry? What will you do if there is a thunderstorm? Can you drink the water from that lovely little stream? What about critters; big and small? All of these questions will be answered in this section of the book.
     Peppered throughout this book, Ms. Olsson has graciously included “Smart Tip” sections and various checklists to help a family get things together for their trip. In the back, packing checklists and lists of online resources have been included to help you plan a wonderful and, hopefully, meaningful trip with your family. Have fun and, Bon Voyage!

Succulent River Cuisine

Every now and then a book with a snazzy cover or title catches my eye! The library recently purchased The Paddling Chef: A Cookbook for Canoeists, Kayakers and Rafters, by Dian Weimer. Being a canoe and kayaker myself, I was intrigued when this book was cataloged and made available for checkout. The author was born and raised in Vancouver, and is a big fan of adventure kayaking, which she does all over Canada. Whether you are an experienced paddler, or strictly a beginner, you will love this book! In a friendly, non-nonsense manner, Weimer explains how to plan your menus, whether you are taking a two-day or a seven-day trip, and how to organize your food in dry bags (pack the frozen meat on the bottom and place the cheese on top of it so it will stay cool as the meat unfreezes) or in plastic tubs. She also gives great tips on how to pack your items so that your veggies receive the least amount of bruising and you don't have to empty your whole pack each time you make a meal. The best part of the book are the recipes included: from meat to pasta to vegetable and dairy recipes, the recipes range from easy to hard and include helpful advice about how many pans or pots you need to prepare the recipe. I especially enjoyed the dessert and saucy companions recipe sections. I agree with Weimer--the right sauce can cover up any mistakes made by overcooking your meat on a camp stove you can't regulate properly! Weimer also includes a section on drying food for longer trips and several anecdotes about disasters and successful meals she has prepared on her paddling trips. This is a great book for any paddling or camping enthusiast!