Adventures at Camp Lots-o-Fun

ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

Text copyright © 2010 Marilyn Helmer
Illustrations copyright © 2010 Mike Deas

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be
invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Helmer, Marilyn
Adventures at Camp Lots-o-fun / written by Marilyn Helmer ; illustrated
by Mike Deas.

(Orca echoes)

Also available in an electronic format.
ISBN
978-1-55469-347-4

I. Deas, Mike, 1982- II. Title. III. Series: Orca echoes.
PS
8565.
E
4594
A
73 2010        j
C
813'.54        
C
2010-903523-2

First published in the United States, 2010
Library of Congress Control Number
: 2010928734

Summary
: DJ's wild imagination takes the boys in Cabin Six by surprise
and makes for an adventurous, fun-filled week at summer camp.

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs
provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund
and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia
through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Orca Book Publishers is dedicated to preserving the environment and has printed this book
on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Typesetting by Teresa Bubela
Cover artwork and interior illustrations by Mike Deas
Author photo by Gary Helmer

www.orcabook.com
Printed and bound in Canada.

13 12 11 10 • 4 3 2 1

To Cameron, Riley and Andrew
,
three very adventurous guys. —M.H.

Contents

Chapter One: Camp Not-so-Fun

Chapter Two: Bear Scare!

Chapter Three: Barely Escaped

Chapter Four: Sockster

Chapter Five: Something Fishy

Chapter Six: A Surprise

Chapter Seven: Hermit Island

Chapter Eight: Noises in the Night

Chapter Nine: Pillow Fight

Chapter Ten: Creepy Crawler

Chapter Eleven: Stargazing

Chapter Twelve: Power Man to the Rescue

Chapter Thirteen: Lots-o-Fun Day

Chapter Fourteen: Something Lost

Chapter Fifteen: Going Home

CHAPTER ONE
C
AMP
N
OT
-
SO
-F
UN

DJ sat on the bottom bunk, chewing the end of his pencil. He read over what he had written.

Dear Lots-o-Fun Journal,

Here I am at Camp Lots-o-Fun. Me and the other
guys in Cabin Six call it Camp Not-so-Fun. It's on
Great Bear Lake. But we can't go swimming or canoeing
or any of that fun stuff. It's been raining since we got
here. Some of the puddles are so big there are creepy
crawlers in them. There are bugs and mosquitoes all
over the place!

Chris sprayed our cabin with Bug-Be-Gone. He's our
counselor. His hair is so long he wears it in a ponytail.
He has big muscles too. He showed us his biceps.
They look like boulders. You don't want to mess
with Chris. I hope the Bug-Be-Gone works. I saw a
cockroach in the dining hall this morning. Raj said it
was a cricket, but he didn't have his glasses on. I know
a cockroach when I see one.

Buggily yours,
DJ

DJ looked at the other boys in Cabin Six. Raj, Ernie and Andrew were sprawled on the floor, making their journals. DJ had finished his yesterday. He had also made a monkey mask, a bucket hat and a rock paperweight. He was tired of crafts.

DJ glanced at the rain-streaked window. Wait a minute. Something yellow peeked through the trees. DJ shot to his feet. “The sun's out!” he shouted.

Chris opened the door. “Looks like it's clearing up. Get your rain gear, guys. We're going for a hike.”

The boys scrambled for their jackets and boots. DJ rummaged through his duffel bag. His fingers touched something soft. He started to pull it out. When he realized it wasn't his rain jacket, he shoved it back into his bag.

“DJ, hurry up. We're waiting to go,” said Andrew. He swiped his dark hair off his forehead.

“I'm looking for my rain jacket,” said DJ. He remembered taking the jacket out of his bag to pack something else. Something he had decided to bring at the last minute. But had he remembered to put his jacket back in?

“You did bring a jacket, right?” Chris asked.

“I think I forgot it,” said DJ.

“There's a Lost and Found in the dining hall,” said Chris. “See if you can find something there.”

The Lost and Found was crammed full. DJ found a jacket among the jumble and pulled it out.

The jacket was bright green. Across the front, in big letters, were the words
Girl Power
. DJ groaned. He couldn't wear that jacket. The guys would laugh at him.

DJ stared at the letters. He dashed to the supply cupboard and grabbed a roll of red tape. He taped over the word
Girl
. Then he taped the word
Man
after
Power
.

“Did you find something?” Chris asked through the screen door.

“Yup,” DJ shouted back. He shrugged into the jacket and ran outside. “Meet—Power Man!” he said, pumping his fists in the air.

CHAPTER TWO
B
EAR
S
CARE
!

The hike was fun, even if the woods were wet.

DJ led the way. His red hair was curlier than usual from the dampness. It stuck out the sides of his baseball cap. DJ didn't care. He liked his hair the way it was.

Thoughts raced through DJ's mind. He could climb the tallest tree. He could leap over the biggest rock. Power Man wasn't afraid of anything.

DJ spotted an empty bird's nest, high in an old dead tree. “Power Man can climb up and get it,” he said.

“No way,” said Chris. “I want Power Man on the ground where I can keep an eye on him.”

DJ sighed. What was the fun of being Power Man if he couldn't do any power stuff?

The boys stopped to rest in a grassy clearing. Chris passed out juice boxes and granola bars.

Andrew sat across from DJ, gobbling down his granola bar. DJ thought Andrew had the biggest teeth he had ever seen. No wonder he could eat so fast.

“Let's play I Spy,” said Andrew, brushing crumbs from his mouth. “I'll go first. I spy something that begins with the letter
B
.”

Everyone took turns guessing. “Nope,” Andrew said each time. “It's your turn, DJ. I bet you won't guess it either.”

DJ wasn't listening. He stared into the woods. Something was moving among the trees. Something very big. Something very hairy. Something very, very scary.

“Bear!” shouted DJ.

Andrew snickered. “Dumb guess. I don't see any bears around here.”