Stacy Davidowitz's Blog, page 6
May 11, 2016
Unleashing Readers: Review, Interview, Classroom Application!
Review and Author Interview:
Camp Rolling Hills series by Stacy Davidowitz
by KELLEE on MAY 11, 2016 · LEAVE A COMMENT · in CHARACTERIZATION, CLASSROOM LIBRARY BUY,COMPARE/CONTRAST, NOVEL, POINT OF VIEW, REALISTIC FICTION/CONTEMPORARY FICTION, ROMANCE, SETTING
Other SharingCamp Rolling Hills
Camp Rolling Hills: Crossing Over
Author: Stacy Davidowitz
Published May 10th, 2016 by Amulet Paperbacks
Author Q&A: Thank you to Stacy Davidowitz for answering some questions I had about the books and her writing!
Kellee: You share in your author’s note that your time at camp inspired these books. Can you tell us more about what inspired you, and how it directly affected the novels?
Stacy: I love camp. Truly, deeply love it. Experiencing it as a camper and then counselor and then head staff, I really got to understand its in and outs, and most importantly, the kind of positive impact it can have on a kid. So of course plots and activities and even the camp‘s layout are derived from my experiences, but also the bigger themes: friendship, being true to who you are, firsts–that’s the heart of the inspiration. I made such fantastic friends and helped nurture friendships among campers when I worked as a counselor; I experienced life-changing firsts I could never experience at home; and I learned to embrace my quirkiness with my bunkmates by my side.
Kellee: The sequel to Camp Rolling Hills is told from different perspectives than the first. Why did you decide to switch point of views? Will the next books go through the other campers’ POVs?
Stacy: When I wrote the initial draft of the first book, it was actually told from five perspectives: Slimey, Smelly, Play Dough, Jenny, and Steinberg. But when Abrams picked it up to be a series, we talked about what would work best. Ultimately we decided that each book should be told from the perspective of a different boy and girl. So Book One is Slimey and Smelly. Book Two is Melman and Steinberg. Book Three is Jenny and Play Dough. And Book Four is Missi and Wiener. If Abrams extends the series to six books, then we’ll get the perspectives of Sophie, Jamie, Totle, and Dover, too! Camp Rolling Hills is such an ensemble piece that having the series narrated by all the kids just feels right.
Kellee: You are a teacher of theater in NYC. How has your time teaching kids influenced you to want to write and want to write specifically these books?
Stacy: I teach a lot of playwriting and creative writing, even in the theater classes I lead. My students inspire me every day. Their ideas are so uninhibited. Exciting. Fresh. Alive. Honest. So of course that makes me want to do the same! It’s really cool to be able to write wacky, sweet, and adventurous characters my students can identify with. Also, writing middle grade is just so fun! Kids are smart and silly and it’s rewarding to be able to shine that light on them.
Kellee: Other than (hopeful) sequels, what’s next?
Stacy: I’m working on a dark young adult novel at the moment called Leper. I’m also co-writing a musical for Big Block Entertainment, the producers of Rock of Ages. Camp Rolling Hills the Musical. Yup, it’s a musical, too!) is getting two productions this summer. One in Westport, Connecticut at Center Stage and another in NYC at New York Musical Festival (NYMF). Plus a play of mine calledSacred Water is being workshopped at Symphony Space, NYC in early July through a festival about social change!
----------
My Review: The crazy cast of characters are what really make this book. Oh, and the reminiscing of camp. Camp really is something that is hard to explain unless you go yourself, but Stacy Davidowitz does a great job bringing the reader into Camp Rolling Hills and all of its quirkiness. And to add to the quirkiness, the characters in the books are so much fun! They are quite the mix of personalities. From stereotypical girly-girls to a cat-obsessed, sweet girl to a do gooder to a philosophical jock. Their interactions and characterization are what keep you reading the most! I also love the mix of letters home throughout the books.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The Camp Rolling Hills books would be a fun way to get letter writing into the classroom conversation. First, I’d use the letters as conversation starters into characterization asking the students, “What can you tell about these characters based on their letters?” And discuss what clues the students used to figure it out. I’d then move to a RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) activity asking each student to write a letter as a made up character they were assigned. The Camp Rolling Hills website even has stationery!
Discussion Questions: Although each cabin is filled with friends, each character is quite unique. How do the characters differ? Compare?; What would your camp nickname be?; What makes camp so special?; How did the campers change between books?
Flagged Passages: “Things to Do No that I’m in Anita Hill Cabin (Upper Camp!)Be a good role model.Make a special camp collage of my friends and our inside jokes.Box-stitch extra lanyard key chains for Mom, since stress makes her lose her keys.Spend A LOT of time with my camp sister/soul sister/BFF.
Slimey had always wanted a sister, and she treasured the times she and Melman pretended they were fraternal twins separated at birth. Fraternal, because they looked nothing alike. Twins, because their birthdays were only three days apart, and they’d always understood exactly how the other felt.” (Camp Rolling Hills, p. 2)
“‘Well, how do you like camp so far?’
‘It’s fine.’
Fine? No one describes camp as fine. Amazing, incredible, life-changing, maybe. But never fine.”
‘The first time I came here,’ she offered, ‘it took me a couple of days to realize how much I loved it, but once you do, you love it forever. You’ll see.'” (Camp Rolling Hills, p. 41)
Read This If You Loved: Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash, Hidden by Helen Frost, Brain Camp by Susan Kim, Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs, Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Like Bug Juice on a Burger by Julie Sternberg
**Thank you to Caitlin at Abrams for providing copies for review!!**
Camp Rolling Hills series by Stacy Davidowitz
by KELLEE on MAY 11, 2016 · LEAVE A COMMENT · in CHARACTERIZATION, CLASSROOM LIBRARY BUY,COMPARE/CONTRAST, NOVEL, POINT OF VIEW, REALISTIC FICTION/CONTEMPORARY FICTION, ROMANCE, SETTING
Other SharingCamp Rolling Hills
Camp Rolling Hills: Crossing Over
Author: Stacy Davidowitz
Published May 10th, 2016 by Amulet Paperbacks
Author Q&A: Thank you to Stacy Davidowitz for answering some questions I had about the books and her writing!
Kellee: You share in your author’s note that your time at camp inspired these books. Can you tell us more about what inspired you, and how it directly affected the novels?
Stacy: I love camp. Truly, deeply love it. Experiencing it as a camper and then counselor and then head staff, I really got to understand its in and outs, and most importantly, the kind of positive impact it can have on a kid. So of course plots and activities and even the camp‘s layout are derived from my experiences, but also the bigger themes: friendship, being true to who you are, firsts–that’s the heart of the inspiration. I made such fantastic friends and helped nurture friendships among campers when I worked as a counselor; I experienced life-changing firsts I could never experience at home; and I learned to embrace my quirkiness with my bunkmates by my side.
Kellee: The sequel to Camp Rolling Hills is told from different perspectives than the first. Why did you decide to switch point of views? Will the next books go through the other campers’ POVs?
Stacy: When I wrote the initial draft of the first book, it was actually told from five perspectives: Slimey, Smelly, Play Dough, Jenny, and Steinberg. But when Abrams picked it up to be a series, we talked about what would work best. Ultimately we decided that each book should be told from the perspective of a different boy and girl. So Book One is Slimey and Smelly. Book Two is Melman and Steinberg. Book Three is Jenny and Play Dough. And Book Four is Missi and Wiener. If Abrams extends the series to six books, then we’ll get the perspectives of Sophie, Jamie, Totle, and Dover, too! Camp Rolling Hills is such an ensemble piece that having the series narrated by all the kids just feels right.
Kellee: You are a teacher of theater in NYC. How has your time teaching kids influenced you to want to write and want to write specifically these books?
Stacy: I teach a lot of playwriting and creative writing, even in the theater classes I lead. My students inspire me every day. Their ideas are so uninhibited. Exciting. Fresh. Alive. Honest. So of course that makes me want to do the same! It’s really cool to be able to write wacky, sweet, and adventurous characters my students can identify with. Also, writing middle grade is just so fun! Kids are smart and silly and it’s rewarding to be able to shine that light on them.
Kellee: Other than (hopeful) sequels, what’s next?
Stacy: I’m working on a dark young adult novel at the moment called Leper. I’m also co-writing a musical for Big Block Entertainment, the producers of Rock of Ages. Camp Rolling Hills the Musical. Yup, it’s a musical, too!) is getting two productions this summer. One in Westport, Connecticut at Center Stage and another in NYC at New York Musical Festival (NYMF). Plus a play of mine calledSacred Water is being workshopped at Symphony Space, NYC in early July through a festival about social change!
----------
My Review: The crazy cast of characters are what really make this book. Oh, and the reminiscing of camp. Camp really is something that is hard to explain unless you go yourself, but Stacy Davidowitz does a great job bringing the reader into Camp Rolling Hills and all of its quirkiness. And to add to the quirkiness, the characters in the books are so much fun! They are quite the mix of personalities. From stereotypical girly-girls to a cat-obsessed, sweet girl to a do gooder to a philosophical jock. Their interactions and characterization are what keep you reading the most! I also love the mix of letters home throughout the books.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The Camp Rolling Hills books would be a fun way to get letter writing into the classroom conversation. First, I’d use the letters as conversation starters into characterization asking the students, “What can you tell about these characters based on their letters?” And discuss what clues the students used to figure it out. I’d then move to a RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) activity asking each student to write a letter as a made up character they were assigned. The Camp Rolling Hills website even has stationery!
Discussion Questions: Although each cabin is filled with friends, each character is quite unique. How do the characters differ? Compare?; What would your camp nickname be?; What makes camp so special?; How did the campers change between books?
Flagged Passages: “Things to Do No that I’m in Anita Hill Cabin (Upper Camp!)Be a good role model.Make a special camp collage of my friends and our inside jokes.Box-stitch extra lanyard key chains for Mom, since stress makes her lose her keys.Spend A LOT of time with my camp sister/soul sister/BFF.
Slimey had always wanted a sister, and she treasured the times she and Melman pretended they were fraternal twins separated at birth. Fraternal, because they looked nothing alike. Twins, because their birthdays were only three days apart, and they’d always understood exactly how the other felt.” (Camp Rolling Hills, p. 2)
“‘Well, how do you like camp so far?’
‘It’s fine.’
Fine? No one describes camp as fine. Amazing, incredible, life-changing, maybe. But never fine.”
‘The first time I came here,’ she offered, ‘it took me a couple of days to realize how much I loved it, but once you do, you love it forever. You’ll see.'” (Camp Rolling Hills, p. 41)
Read This If You Loved: Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash, Hidden by Helen Frost, Brain Camp by Susan Kim, Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs, Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Like Bug Juice on a Burger by Julie Sternberg
**Thank you to Caitlin at Abrams for providing copies for review!!**
Mrs. Mommy Booknerd - Interview & Review!
The full interview and review is here!
The weather is finally warming up and summer is right around the corner, which means it is almost time to travel to the best place on earth: CAMP ROLLING HILLS!
CAMP ROLLING HILLS by Stacy Davidowitz (Amulet Paperbacks; May 2016; $8.95) and CAMPROLLING HILLS BOOK 2: Crossing over (Amulet Paperbacks’ May 2016; $8.95), the first two books in the laugh-out-loud series that captures everything that is perfect about summer and the years before you are a teenager. Our reviews will be coming in July, so stay tuned!!!
Young readers will want to devour books 1 and 2 in this quirky, laugh out loud series if they’re on the bus to summer camp, bored at home, or on a family vacation because where there is camp there are prank wars, smores, and the beginnings of lifelong friendship.
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, STACY DAVIDOWITZ
Q. What inspires your writing?
A. I’m inspired by every day stuff. A lot of my friends laugh when they read my books and plays because pieces of our lives, conversations, jokes, etc. seem to make it in. I am also inspired by my students who are so brilliant and passionate!
Q. What is your favorite thing about being a writer?
A. Having a blast with my characters! Every day it’s a party in my head.
Q. What is the toughest part of being a writer?
A. Getting rejections or anticipating rejections or waiting for rejections. Just. Rejections. Also, getting notes for a revision is really scary. My knees literally buckle and it takes me a few hours to think/digest/breathe! Once I start to tackle the revisions, it’s not so bad. It’s great actually, because the work gets so much stronger.
Q. If you could not be a writer, what would you do/be?
A. I already wear so many hats (everything from a teaching artist to a Bat Mitzvah MC)! But if I had to throw myself whole-heartedly into something other than writing it would be acting again. I actually got my MFA in Acting and do miss it—but there are just so many hours in a day!
Q. What would the story of your life be entitled?
A. I think it would be called Join the Circus, which is actually the title of my compilation of short plays published by Indie Theater Now. That, or it would just be a series of exclamation points.
Q. What is your favorite book of all time?
A. Wonder by RJ Palacio. I think I cried reading every single page.
Q. Which character from ANY book are you most like?
A. Oh man! What a question. I polled my students for this one.
Katera said: “Taylor from the Michael Vey series. She’s fun and uplifting and fights crime pretty good, like you, Miss Stacy!”
Haidee said: “Lydia Small from Bad Girls Don’t Die. Because she’s an actress. Actually nevermind.”
Zola said: “Colette from Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer because she’s smart and sees visions.”
So, there you go.
Q. What character from all of your book are you most like?
A. Melman! (With a little bit of Slimey and a little bit of Play Dough.)
Q. Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?
A. The Summertime Girls by Laura Hankin. So much friendship and all the feels.
Q. What is your favorite season?
A. Summer, baby! But fall is a close second.
Q. What inspired your book cover(s)? Or what is your favorite book cover and why?
A. I actually had no part in designing the book covers, but designer Pamela Notarantonio and illustrator Melissa Manwill did such an awesome job! I don’t think I can choose favorites between the two of them—they’re both so pretty! Be sure to check out the back covers too where Smelly and Steinberg live. Also so adorable.
Q. Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.
A. In an interview for Summer 365, I mentioned my favorite camp tradition: The Watermelon Sacrifice. After that, the director of Tyler Hill Camp up until 2005 got in touch. He wanted to let me experience the tradition as an adult. He mailed me a series of photos of the ceremony and a watermelon rind to wear on my head. The whole thing was so amazing and funny. You can read the full story on my Camp Rolling Hills blog here: http://www.camprollinghills.com/book-news
Q. Are you working on something new?
A. Always! I’m working on a dark young adult novel titled Leper. Also, I’m co-writing a musical called One Day that’s produced by Big Block Entertainment, the producers of Rock of Ages. It’s inspired by teenage diary entries.
Q. Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?
A. Hello! Keep doing you. Thanks for reading and for loving books! They love you back, as I’m sure you know.
The weather is finally warming up and summer is right around the corner, which means it is almost time to travel to the best place on earth: CAMP ROLLING HILLS!
CAMP ROLLING HILLS by Stacy Davidowitz (Amulet Paperbacks; May 2016; $8.95) and CAMPROLLING HILLS BOOK 2: Crossing over (Amulet Paperbacks’ May 2016; $8.95), the first two books in the laugh-out-loud series that captures everything that is perfect about summer and the years before you are a teenager. Our reviews will be coming in July, so stay tuned!!!
Young readers will want to devour books 1 and 2 in this quirky, laugh out loud series if they’re on the bus to summer camp, bored at home, or on a family vacation because where there is camp there are prank wars, smores, and the beginnings of lifelong friendship.
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, STACY DAVIDOWITZ
Q. What inspires your writing?
A. I’m inspired by every day stuff. A lot of my friends laugh when they read my books and plays because pieces of our lives, conversations, jokes, etc. seem to make it in. I am also inspired by my students who are so brilliant and passionate!
Q. What is your favorite thing about being a writer?
A. Having a blast with my characters! Every day it’s a party in my head.
Q. What is the toughest part of being a writer?
A. Getting rejections or anticipating rejections or waiting for rejections. Just. Rejections. Also, getting notes for a revision is really scary. My knees literally buckle and it takes me a few hours to think/digest/breathe! Once I start to tackle the revisions, it’s not so bad. It’s great actually, because the work gets so much stronger.
Q. If you could not be a writer, what would you do/be?
A. I already wear so many hats (everything from a teaching artist to a Bat Mitzvah MC)! But if I had to throw myself whole-heartedly into something other than writing it would be acting again. I actually got my MFA in Acting and do miss it—but there are just so many hours in a day!
Q. What would the story of your life be entitled?
A. I think it would be called Join the Circus, which is actually the title of my compilation of short plays published by Indie Theater Now. That, or it would just be a series of exclamation points.
Q. What is your favorite book of all time?
A. Wonder by RJ Palacio. I think I cried reading every single page.
Q. Which character from ANY book are you most like?
A. Oh man! What a question. I polled my students for this one.
Katera said: “Taylor from the Michael Vey series. She’s fun and uplifting and fights crime pretty good, like you, Miss Stacy!”
Haidee said: “Lydia Small from Bad Girls Don’t Die. Because she’s an actress. Actually nevermind.”
Zola said: “Colette from Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer because she’s smart and sees visions.”
So, there you go.
Q. What character from all of your book are you most like?
A. Melman! (With a little bit of Slimey and a little bit of Play Dough.)
Q. Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?
A. The Summertime Girls by Laura Hankin. So much friendship and all the feels.
Q. What is your favorite season?
A. Summer, baby! But fall is a close second.
Q. What inspired your book cover(s)? Or what is your favorite book cover and why?
A. I actually had no part in designing the book covers, but designer Pamela Notarantonio and illustrator Melissa Manwill did such an awesome job! I don’t think I can choose favorites between the two of them—they’re both so pretty! Be sure to check out the back covers too where Smelly and Steinberg live. Also so adorable.
Q. Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.
A. In an interview for Summer 365, I mentioned my favorite camp tradition: The Watermelon Sacrifice. After that, the director of Tyler Hill Camp up until 2005 got in touch. He wanted to let me experience the tradition as an adult. He mailed me a series of photos of the ceremony and a watermelon rind to wear on my head. The whole thing was so amazing and funny. You can read the full story on my Camp Rolling Hills blog here: http://www.camprollinghills.com/book-news
Q. Are you working on something new?
A. Always! I’m working on a dark young adult novel titled Leper. Also, I’m co-writing a musical called One Day that’s produced by Big Block Entertainment, the producers of Rock of Ages. It’s inspired by teenage diary entries.
Q. Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?
A. Hello! Keep doing you. Thanks for reading and for loving books! They love you back, as I’m sure you know.
May 10, 2016
Shelf Awareness Pro - Book Trailer of the Day
Thanks for the birthday gift, Shelf Awareness Pro!
May 7, 2016
Book Signings in Manhattan, Astoria, NJ, and Connecticut!
Ok, here's the run down so far:
Sunday, May 15th 11:30am -12:30pm
Astoria Bookshop, Queens, NY
Friday, May 20th 6 - 8pm
Books of Wonder, Manhattan - LAUNCH PARTY!
Saturday, June 4th - all day!
Center Stage, Westport, CT - after performances of Camp Rolling Hills the Musical
Friday, June 10th 6 - 7pm
Barnes & Noble - Woodland Park, NJ
Sunday, May 15th 11:30am -12:30pm
Astoria Bookshop, Queens, NY
Friday, May 20th 6 - 8pm
Books of Wonder, Manhattan - LAUNCH PARTY!
Saturday, June 4th - all day!
Center Stage, Westport, CT - after performances of Camp Rolling Hills the Musical
Friday, June 10th 6 - 7pm
Barnes & Noble - Woodland Park, NJ
May 3, 2016
Publishers Weekly review!
Publishers Weekly - 5.2.16
Stephanie (aka Slimey) and Bobby (aka Smelly) learn a lot about relationships in this quirky debut novel, first in the Camp Rolling Hills series. Twelve-year-old Slimey has been a camper at Rolling Hills every summer for as long as she can remember, and she loves almost everything about it. Smelly feels like he has been thrown to the wolves, sent to camp so his parents can work out their marital problems. Moreover, he has to keep "Bizarro Bobby" ("the name he'd given to his anxiety, after Superman's Bizarro") in check, hidden from his welcoming and eclectic bunkmates. Slimey senses a connection with Smelly when they talk, especially after she discusses her father's recent death. When an epic miscommunication complicates the tenuous relationships Smelly has formed, he must rise to the challenge in order to make things right. Spot-on combinations of sweet adolescent romance and teenage angst round out an engaging summer read with plenty of energy and originality to keep kids tuning in for more. Available simultaneously: Crossing Over.
Ages 8–12. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Sterling Lord Literistic. (May)
Stephanie (aka Slimey) and Bobby (aka Smelly) learn a lot about relationships in this quirky debut novel, first in the Camp Rolling Hills series. Twelve-year-old Slimey has been a camper at Rolling Hills every summer for as long as she can remember, and she loves almost everything about it. Smelly feels like he has been thrown to the wolves, sent to camp so his parents can work out their marital problems. Moreover, he has to keep "Bizarro Bobby" ("the name he'd given to his anxiety, after Superman's Bizarro") in check, hidden from his welcoming and eclectic bunkmates. Slimey senses a connection with Smelly when they talk, especially after she discusses her father's recent death. When an epic miscommunication complicates the tenuous relationships Smelly has formed, he must rise to the challenge in order to make things right. Spot-on combinations of sweet adolescent romance and teenage angst round out an engaging summer read with plenty of energy and originality to keep kids tuning in for more. Available simultaneously: Crossing Over.
Ages 8–12. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Sterling Lord Literistic. (May)
May 2, 2016
Bay State Parent
http://www.baystateparent.com/May-2016/The-Perfect-Books-For-Summer-Camp-Fun/
THE PERFECT BOOKS FOR SUMMER CAMP FUN
Playwright Stacy Davidowitz releases her first two novels, Camp Rolling Hills and its sequel, Camp Rolling Hills: Crossing Over
By Melissa Shaw
There is many a novel about summer, but few about summer camp, a surprise when you think about the ever-growing middle-grade reader (ages 8-12) market.
Playwright and lifelong summer camper and advocate Stacy Davidowitz is out to fill that gap with her first two novels, Camp Rolling Hills and its sequel, Camp Rolling Hills: Crossing Over, both out this month.
“I’m 31 and I’ve technically skipped only one summer of not working at a camp,” the Long Island native says.
Davidowitz attended day camps until 5th grade, when she took on sleep-away camp in a decidedly non-traditional fashion: her family came, too.
“As a family, we all decided to do sleep-away camp together, Tyler Hill Camp in Pennsylvania,” she says. “Mom worked as head of girls’ side.
“It became a very big family thing,” she continues, noting her siblings and cousins stayed as well. “My whole family is so immersed in that scene. It’s been a big part of our lives and still is.”
Over the years, Davidowitz progressed to counselor, then head staff member, and still works day camp programs. In fact, her family is still active in the camp industry, with her brother, who met his now-wife at camp, now Tyler Hill’s assistant director. Her mother, a retired educator, is now running a day camp in Southampton.
So it’s no surprise the self-described “camp lifer” turned to the topic for writing inspiration. In 2012, she joined two brothers, also summer camp veterans, and wrote a musical, Camp Rolling Hills, which revolved around a group of 12-year-olds’ camp adventures. The piece caught the attention of publisher Abrams Books, which signed Davidowitz to adapt it into a four-book series.
In the ensuing years, the first-time novelist set out to turn the musical into a novel, then extend the adventures of pre-teen Stephanie, Bobby, and their bunkmates, into three subsequent books.
“It was very difficult, super different from writing plays and screenplays,” laughs the Tufts University graduate. “I was like, ‘I don’t know how to write sentences!’ It was definitely an adventure.”
In the first book, readers meet 12-year-old Stephanie, who is thrilled to be heading back to her favorite place, Camp Rolling Hills. In the boy’s bunk there’s Bobby, who’s on the opposite end of the spectrum, not knowing what to make of his bunkmates and camp traditions like sing-alongs, pranks, and nicknames. The pair narrates the book and takes readers through the weird, wonderful, and wacky world of summer camp.
Davidowitz says summer camp is a perfect setting for a middle reader book, as it’s a place for children, especially tweens, to learn and grow in new ways.
“Camp gives a child the opportunity to reach his or her full potential in every aspect of being,” she says. “You have a kid learn so many social skills, but also skills that they might not learn otherwise, such as athletics. They’re also going to create these friendships that they’re going to stay with forever. Camp friends are like no other friends — that is the most amazing part about camp.”
One key advantage about the experience, especially at that tender age, is that it can provide a clean slate for a child who may feel pigeonholed at home, with friends they’ve known their entire lives, Davidowitz says.
“You can invent yourself or embrace that side of yourself that might not be embraced at home,” she notes. “You have kids who might be super nerdy building robots at home and not appreciated, but at camp that’s the coolest thing about them and that’s what makes them a superstar. Camp magnifies your strengths and makes you feel so good about who you are and what you do. You may not get that anywhere else. It helps you navigate what you want to do without feeling hindered by how anyone categorizes you at home.”
And she notes the experience empowers children in other ways, building skills that extend far beyond August.
“As a camper, you learn how you are and you learn that everyone loves you for who you are,” she adds. “At camp, there’s such open hearts. Everyone feels like they belong. It helps build confidence you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. You learn to communicate really well. You learn to peer mediate.”
Fans of the book can expect Book 3 next April and Book 4 in 2018. And readers may someday be able to see Camp Rolling Hills live via the musical. The production had its nationwide premiere in San Diego earlier this year and will debut on the East Coast in Westport, CT, next month. The latest news about the musical and book series can be found at camprollinghills.com.
THE PERFECT BOOKS FOR SUMMER CAMP FUN
Playwright Stacy Davidowitz releases her first two novels, Camp Rolling Hills and its sequel, Camp Rolling Hills: Crossing Over
By Melissa Shaw
There is many a novel about summer, but few about summer camp, a surprise when you think about the ever-growing middle-grade reader (ages 8-12) market.
Playwright and lifelong summer camper and advocate Stacy Davidowitz is out to fill that gap with her first two novels, Camp Rolling Hills and its sequel, Camp Rolling Hills: Crossing Over, both out this month.
“I’m 31 and I’ve technically skipped only one summer of not working at a camp,” the Long Island native says.
Davidowitz attended day camps until 5th grade, when she took on sleep-away camp in a decidedly non-traditional fashion: her family came, too.
“As a family, we all decided to do sleep-away camp together, Tyler Hill Camp in Pennsylvania,” she says. “Mom worked as head of girls’ side.
“It became a very big family thing,” she continues, noting her siblings and cousins stayed as well. “My whole family is so immersed in that scene. It’s been a big part of our lives and still is.”
Over the years, Davidowitz progressed to counselor, then head staff member, and still works day camp programs. In fact, her family is still active in the camp industry, with her brother, who met his now-wife at camp, now Tyler Hill’s assistant director. Her mother, a retired educator, is now running a day camp in Southampton.
So it’s no surprise the self-described “camp lifer” turned to the topic for writing inspiration. In 2012, she joined two brothers, also summer camp veterans, and wrote a musical, Camp Rolling Hills, which revolved around a group of 12-year-olds’ camp adventures. The piece caught the attention of publisher Abrams Books, which signed Davidowitz to adapt it into a four-book series.
In the ensuing years, the first-time novelist set out to turn the musical into a novel, then extend the adventures of pre-teen Stephanie, Bobby, and their bunkmates, into three subsequent books.
“It was very difficult, super different from writing plays and screenplays,” laughs the Tufts University graduate. “I was like, ‘I don’t know how to write sentences!’ It was definitely an adventure.”
In the first book, readers meet 12-year-old Stephanie, who is thrilled to be heading back to her favorite place, Camp Rolling Hills. In the boy’s bunk there’s Bobby, who’s on the opposite end of the spectrum, not knowing what to make of his bunkmates and camp traditions like sing-alongs, pranks, and nicknames. The pair narrates the book and takes readers through the weird, wonderful, and wacky world of summer camp.
Davidowitz says summer camp is a perfect setting for a middle reader book, as it’s a place for children, especially tweens, to learn and grow in new ways.
“Camp gives a child the opportunity to reach his or her full potential in every aspect of being,” she says. “You have a kid learn so many social skills, but also skills that they might not learn otherwise, such as athletics. They’re also going to create these friendships that they’re going to stay with forever. Camp friends are like no other friends — that is the most amazing part about camp.”
One key advantage about the experience, especially at that tender age, is that it can provide a clean slate for a child who may feel pigeonholed at home, with friends they’ve known their entire lives, Davidowitz says.
“You can invent yourself or embrace that side of yourself that might not be embraced at home,” she notes. “You have kids who might be super nerdy building robots at home and not appreciated, but at camp that’s the coolest thing about them and that’s what makes them a superstar. Camp magnifies your strengths and makes you feel so good about who you are and what you do. You may not get that anywhere else. It helps you navigate what you want to do without feeling hindered by how anyone categorizes you at home.”
And she notes the experience empowers children in other ways, building skills that extend far beyond August.
“As a camper, you learn how you are and you learn that everyone loves you for who you are,” she adds. “At camp, there’s such open hearts. Everyone feels like they belong. It helps build confidence you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. You learn to communicate really well. You learn to peer mediate.”
Fans of the book can expect Book 3 next April and Book 4 in 2018. And readers may someday be able to see Camp Rolling Hills live via the musical. The production had its nationwide premiere in San Diego earlier this year and will debut on the East Coast in Westport, CT, next month. The latest news about the musical and book series can be found at camprollinghills.com.
CBC (Children's Book Council) - Hot Off the Press!
This unique online bibliography features anticipated bestsellers, either recently released or forthcoming, published by CBC members.
Camp Rolling Hills featured May 2 - 14, 2016.
http://www.cbcbooks.org/hot-off-the-press/
Camp Rolling Hills featured May 2 - 14, 2016.
http://www.cbcbooks.org/hot-off-the-press/
April 20, 2016
LAUNCH PARTY!
Books of Wonder
18 W 18th Street, Manhattan
Friday, May 20th from 6 - 8pm
Friendship bracelet-making! Camp-themed baked goods! Prizes! A reading! Q & A! A signing! Live performances from Camp Rolling Hills the Musical, music & lyrics by Adam Spiegel, book & lyrics by David Spiegel and me!
After party: deets TBD.
It's going to be all the fun.
18 W 18th Street, Manhattan
Friday, May 20th from 6 - 8pm
Friendship bracelet-making! Camp-themed baked goods! Prizes! A reading! Q & A! A signing! Live performances from Camp Rolling Hills the Musical, music & lyrics by Adam Spiegel, book & lyrics by David Spiegel and me!
After party: deets TBD.
It's going to be all the fun.
April 13, 2016
The Watermelon Sacrifice
So, after the Summer 365 Camper of the Week Interview went live, I got contacted by Big Al, the incredible and legendary Director of Tyler Hill Camp up until 2005 and the creator of The Watermelon Sacrifice tradition. He wanted to send me a schmakel. I nearly cried I was so excited.
For context, before I explain any further, this is what I wrote about my favorite tradition in the Summer 365 interview:
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CAMP TRADITION?
There was this super weird one I loved called The Watermelon Sacrifice. The legend was as follows: The camp director at the time, Big Al, was greeted by a voice on the dock that told him to carry out sacrifices in honor of the Watermelon God. The ceremony involved one age-group on the dock at a time. Big Al would hand the youngest camper a “schmakel” or tail end of the watermelon. The camper would have to balance it on his or her head and spin three times. If the camper succeeded, he or she got to keep it as a souvenir. Otherwise, he or she would be tossed in the lake. Super high stakes. Oh! And then, if the watermelon was red, everyone feasted. If it wasn’t red, and was unripe, that meant that someone, the summer before, had spit the white seeds into the lake instead of the black ones. I was always bummed that my birthday was Christmas Eve, making me one of the oldest in my age-group. I’d love to have a rotting schmakel underneath my adult bed.
Anyone who ever went to Tyler Hill during Big Al's reign knows that this is a LIFE-CHANGING EVENT. So, I documented it! First, is a gallery of the photos Big Al mailed to me, outlining the steps of the Sacrifice.
Next, here's what I did with the schmakel, as instructed! See the pic and video! 
#wsite-video-container-972152797652160399{ background: url(//www.weebly.comhttp://www.camprollingh... } #video-iframe-972152797652160399{ background: url(//cdn2.editmysite.com/images/util/video... } #wsite-video-container-972152797652160399, #video-iframe-972152797652160399{ background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position:center; } @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and ( min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and ( min-resolution: 192dpi), only screen and ( min-resolution: 2dppx) { #video-iframe-972152797652160399{ background: url(//cdn2.editmysite.com/images/util/video... background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position:center; background-size: 70px 70px; } } Huge thanks to Cally, Big Al's daughter, for reaching out for my address! And thank you to Big Al for making all my dreams come true! This schmakel will rot under my bed for years to come!
For context, before I explain any further, this is what I wrote about my favorite tradition in the Summer 365 interview:
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CAMP TRADITION?
There was this super weird one I loved called The Watermelon Sacrifice. The legend was as follows: The camp director at the time, Big Al, was greeted by a voice on the dock that told him to carry out sacrifices in honor of the Watermelon God. The ceremony involved one age-group on the dock at a time. Big Al would hand the youngest camper a “schmakel” or tail end of the watermelon. The camper would have to balance it on his or her head and spin three times. If the camper succeeded, he or she got to keep it as a souvenir. Otherwise, he or she would be tossed in the lake. Super high stakes. Oh! And then, if the watermelon was red, everyone feasted. If it wasn’t red, and was unripe, that meant that someone, the summer before, had spit the white seeds into the lake instead of the black ones. I was always bummed that my birthday was Christmas Eve, making me one of the oldest in my age-group. I’d love to have a rotting schmakel underneath my adult bed.
Anyone who ever went to Tyler Hill during Big Al's reign knows that this is a LIFE-CHANGING EVENT. So, I documented it! First, is a gallery of the photos Big Al mailed to me, outlining the steps of the Sacrifice.
Next, here's what I did with the schmakel, as instructed! See the pic and video! #wsite-video-container-972152797652160399{ background: url(//www.weebly.comhttp://www.camprollingh... } #video-iframe-972152797652160399{ background: url(//cdn2.editmysite.com/images/util/video... } #wsite-video-container-972152797652160399, #video-iframe-972152797652160399{ background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position:center; } @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and ( min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and ( min-resolution: 192dpi), only screen and ( min-resolution: 2dppx) { #video-iframe-972152797652160399{ background: url(//cdn2.editmysite.com/images/util/video... background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position:center; background-size: 70px 70px; } } Huge thanks to Cally, Big Al's daughter, for reaching out for my address! And thank you to Big Al for making all my dreams come true! This schmakel will rot under my bed for years to come!
