Sophie Washington: Class Retreat

Sophie Washington #11

by Tonya Duncan Ellis

An entertaining story that celebrates friendship, diversity, environmental awareness, and anti-racism. This engaging, illustrated, middle grade chapter book is a great addition to classroom and homeschool libraries and should appeal to fans of Ramona Quimby, Jada Jones, Judy Moody, and Junie B. Jones.

There is no such thing as Big Foot! Or is there…

Sophie Washington and her classmates are on their way to Camp Glowing Spring for a class retreat. It’ll be two full days of swimming, eating s’mores around a campfire, tug-of-war, archery, and more! Sophie’s been looking forward to the trip all school year and can’t wait to spend extra time with her friends. It will also be great to get away from her bratty younger brother, Cole, and his constant stories about Big Foot. If Cole warns her about what to do if she sees the hairy ape man on the retreat one more time, she’ll put in ear plugs. Everybody knows Big Foot is a hoax!
Once the kids arrive at the retreat site things are as exciting as Sophie imagined. She has fun exploring nature with her besties, Chloe, Valentina, Toby, Nathan, and Mariama, and meeting new friends too. Then the kids see a giant footprint during a nature hike in the woods and the adventure really begins!

This is the eleventh book in the Readers' Favorite five star rated Sophie Washington series. Books can be read in any order. Other titles
Ages 8-12

Genres: Childrens

150 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2022

About the author

Tonya Duncan Ellis is author of THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM (HarperCollins, Balzer + Bray, 2024) and the SOPHIE WASHINGTON children’s chapter series. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Authors Guild, and the Brown Bookshelf’s Highlights Foundation-sponsored Amplify Black Stories storyteller cohort. Tonya has spoken and taught at writing conferences at the Highlights Foundation and for SCBWI in New York City and for SCBWI Houston and Austin, TX chapters. A former journalist and freelance magazine writer, she lives in Houston, Texas.

www.tonyaduncanellis.com
Facebook: @tonyaellisbooks
Instagram: @tonyaellisbooks

Reviews

[Sayani]

🍃Children's minds are like clay they will get shaped in the way you will mould them🍃

🦋"Sophie Washington - Class Retreat" by 'Tonya Duncon Ellis' is a children book which though being a light hearted and lucid read talks about some of the very sensitive topics and also in some steps points out the negative aspects of our orthodox society.
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🦋The book started with the protagonist Sophie going for a class retreat to Camp Glowing Spring with her class for two days. She is very much excited and overjoyed about this trip but keeps on pondering about some mysterious bigfoot about which her brother keeps on talking about. During the retreat the started to hunt for the mysterious bigfoot whose existence was just a hoax to them until the encountered one.
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🦋I really loved the way the author beautifully teaches the readers about diversity and accepting one the way they are.
The topic of racism is also talked about which is really a important and prevailing issue still today.
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🦋The dilemmas , vulnerability confusion and insecurities of a child's mind is also beautifully portrayed in the Story. How to overcome bullies and wear the pursuit of confidence is depicted.The story portrays that things that seem really scary are seldom that frightening actually it independence on our mind and thinking how we will approach it.
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🦋I would recommend this book to the growing minds so that they could better themselves and also to the elders because it can be effective in understanding the little minds.
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[Salmaa Gafoor]

Name : Sophie Washington - Class Retreat
Pages : 166
My rate : 4/5 ⭐
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This book is all about fun-filled adventure. Sophie and Friends goes on a camping trip and run from " Big Foot "
and learn accepting racial differences. This is a type of entertaining story which celebrates friendship, diversity, environmental awareness and anti - racism. This Story contains several morals which teaches children about all right to be different & look different. The racial aspects in this story brings the awareness that not everyone is respectful of others feeling or differences.
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Three days before going on a camping trip with her classmates, Sophie Washington watched the television show Finding Bigfoot with her eight-year-old brother Cole. For next three days Sophie had terrifying night mares. But Sophie doesn't believe that Bigfoot or ghosts are real, Sophie is annoyed with Cole, and all of his information has given her an uneasy feeling. Her worst fears are confirmed when she sees a tall hairy man walking through the trees as the bus pulls into the campground and later he appears at their campfire. Does Bigfoot really exist? Are Sophie and her friends in danger?
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This is a type of Captivating story with delightful characters and intriguing situations. This Story is not only enjoyable but it presents important life lessons that pre adolescents experience.

[Ally Swanson]

This book is proof of why I love this book series, the author and her talented writing style, and of course, Sophie Washington and her friends!!!

This book was such a fun, exciting, entertaining, intriguing, suspenseful, and engaging read!!!

This is the seventh book I’ve read and reviewed in The Sophie Washington Book Series, and this is the eighth book in the series that I’ve featured on my blog! I have absolutely enjoyed every one of them! So, I was thrilled to read and review Tonya’s latest book in this series, “Class Retreat.”

Like with the other previous books in this series, I couldn’t put this book down!!

Even after writing eleven Sophie Washington books, the author still finds new and refreshing story lines, exciting and creative character challenges, and important life lessons that are essential for kids to learn!!

I still find each book in this series to be not only well written, but also fresh, unique, and thoroughly entertaining!!

Tonya’s impressive writing skills only continue to improve, grow, and expand with each book!!

It was great catching back up with Sophie and her friends for another exciting adventure!!

This book follows Sophie and her friends while they enjoy an exciting adventure at Camp Glowing Spring for their class retreat. Sophie has been looking forward to spending time with her friends swimming, playing tug-a-war, and eating s’mores around a campfire. More importantly, she’s looking forward to getting away from her annoying younger brother, Cole, who won’t stop bugging her about all things Big Foot. Sophie starts developing fear and anxiety about Big Foot and even begins to have nightmares. Regardless, she decides to go on the trip as she’s been looking forward to it all year. During a beautiful nature hiking trip Sophie and her friends discover a giant footprint – could it be Big Foot?! Is Big Foot real?! Sophie and her friends are on the hunt to find Big Foot and the truth. Can Sophie face her fear and come face-to-face with Big Foot? Besides this exciting, intriguing, and suspenseful mystery of trying to track down Big Foot, this book is also filled with silly pranks, road trip games, singing show tunes, a scavenger hunt, scary campfire stories, and fabulous new friendships. This book also touches on bullying, racism, and harassment.

I totally love the characters!! Sophie, her friends: Chloe, Mariama, Valentia, Toby, and Nathan; her little brother, Cole; Coach Quackenbush; new friends: Carly, Christy, and Carlos; and newcomers: Head Counselor Jaimie Siever; Jaimie’s Assistant, Trina Long; and Park Ranger Darryl. They were all enjoyable, realistic, and relatable.

I was so happy to see so many returning characters!! I tend to get invested in my characters – especially in a book series, so I was glad to see so many of them come back and pick right up where we left off from the last book.

I always tend to bond more with Sophie and this book was no different. I have really enjoyed watching her grow over the years – over the books. I think many readers will also be able to easily connect with Sophie or even one of her friends. Having that interaction and relationship with a character really helps solidify the understanding of the story and the take-away messages the author has left for the reader to devour.

I love that this book takes real-life issues head on and allows the reader to easily connect with the characters and the situations they get into.

One of the many things I love about Tonya’s writing is her ability to not only incorporate current events into the story, but also express them in a relatable way for kids to easily understand!!!

In this book, Arnold harasses and bullies Sophie and her friends while also making vulgar and racist comments. These are hot button topics that are so on point in our current world today. Tonya’s ability to address these sensitive issues in a clear, appropriate, and effective manner allow young readers to effortlessly understand and identify bullying, explore ideas for responding to bullying behavior, and learn to use specific strategies for addressing and reporting bullying behavior. Furthermore, Tonya’s proficiency guiding the anti-racism movement and teaching the next generation to confront racial injustices shines bright in this story. It is crucially important that everyone be respected and treated fairly regardless of their race. This book certainly gets the conversation started, but it is up to the child’s parents and the people in the child’s life to set an example and continue to help the child recognize and confront racial bias - something that unfortunately, even adults continue to struggle with this on a daily basis.

This book is full of valuable lessons that readers of ALL ages can enjoy, appreciate, and learn from!!

I also enjoyed the expressive, artistic, lively, and spirited illustrations that are featured throughout this book. These images brilliantly captured the essence of the characters and provided vivid story line details.

I loved the extras that the author included at the end of the book!! Tonya provided an exciting scavenger hunt game, a delicious Indoor S’Mores Recipe – which I absolutely had to try the microwave method after reading a camp story lol, and fun, interesting facts about Big Foot!! Another interesting fact – my home state of Oregon, seems to have some of the highest reported sasquatch sightings!!! I did not know that!!! I go camping all the time in some of the places that apparently have had sightings – might start thinking twice about staying at those campsites lol!!

This book has a creative story line, structured outline, evenly paced plot points, detailed scenes, relatable characters, important and useful life lessons, instilled valuable morals, and keeps you engaged through the last page – regardless of your age!

I really enjoyed reading this book and wish these books were around when I was a kid. I look forward to being able to share this book series with my kids that I hope to have one day in the future!!

I think the best part of this book being for middle graders, is that it’s a fun, cool, intriguing book for them! It’s not a dumbed down kid’s book and it’s not a book that a parent can be worried that their kid is reading. It’s a book that a kid will want to read, won’t be embarrassed to read in front of their friends or their parents. It’s the right kind of a book a kid should be reading and the right kind of book their parent will be glad they are reading!

This book is book eleven of the Sophie Washington Book Series. Although I have read many of the other books in this series, this book can absolutely be read on its own as a standalone without any fear of getting lost or confused. However, I totally LOVE this book series, and would definitely recommend reading the whole series!!! Each book follows Sophie and her friends through a particular adventure, while overcoming specific obstacles, and each book provides important educational and moral life lessons that coincide with the book’s theme.

This book is “G” rated as there is no swearing, no violence, no adult situations, and no sexual content.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it! I think all middle grade readers and in all honesty readers of all ages will like this book too – and this book series! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

[Andrea]

I'm always so excited to see a new Sophie Washington book come out! I have been following this series right from the start, and it's seriously my favorite current one for middle grades right now. In every installment, Sophie and her friends learn some important lessons, and sometimes even have something to teach others as well. Plus they are just full of all kinds of kid fun and adventures. This one was no different.

This time, Sophie and her class are going away on a class retreat at a camp. These are supposed to be a sort of bonding experience. I remember doing one my junior year in high school and actually kept flashing back to that as I read through this.

So of course, you have your usual campground antics going on and the usual fun scuffles between the girls and the boys in Sophie's class and friend group. Then there is the mystery of the scruffy Bigfoot lookalike that keeps appearing around the campsites. Sophie's brother warned her ahead of time about encountering Bigfoot, so she's all kinds of concerned!

But a more important part of this book is how Ellis touches on racism and how nasty kids can still be, even today. It's quite blatant and the characters do acknowledge it. I kind of wish they would have gotten more into trying to resolve it. But at the same time, addressing it in a camping situation like they were in would be difficult. Maybe this is something that can be touched on again later? It definitely provides a great discussion point for adults to have with kids about identifying racism. And then perhaps they could brainstorm some ways to handle similar situations as a small group.

I was more impressed at the introduction of microaggression with a camp counselor. I know a lot of us still make mistakes and don't realize that our words and ideas are hurtful to BIPOC. We're all still learning a lot. I'm proud of Sophie for being able to address it with the counselor and of the counselor for acknowledging her mistake and suggesting that the counselors do some more diversity training as soon as possible so that they do not have this kind of incident again. It gives adults food for thought as well, and may also inspire some kids to be more mindful of some of the things that they say. Again, another great discussion point in this book.

And then, there's the lesson about how sometimes if you just try something new, it may not be so bad after all. I'm thinking of the various camp activities that Sophie is unsure of trying, convinced she will not enjoy them, but then ends up having a lot of fun. It's hard for kids to do, and even some of us adults.

Following the fun story is a lot of other fun related information, such as how to make s'mores, facts about Bigfoot, and more. I always appreciate those sections at the end of stories to help inspire kids to learn even more about what they have just read.

So as always, another great installment in this series. Sophie has grown so much and I can't wait to find out what she does next!

Thank you to the author and to Goddess Fish for providing me with a requested copy of this book to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Social Librarian]

Book Name: Sophie Washington: Class Retreat


Genre: MG


Summary: Sophie Washington and her classmates are on their way to Camp Glowing Spring for a class retreat. It’ll be two full days of swimming, eating s’mores around a campfire, tug-of-war, archery, and more! Sophie’s been looking forward to the trip all school year and can’t wait to spend extra time with her friends. Once the kids arrive at the retreat site things are as exciting as Sophie imagined. She has fun exploring nature with her besties, Chloe, Valentina, Toby, Nathan, and Mariama, and meeting new friends too. Then the kids see a giant footprint during a nature hike in the woods and the adventure really begins!


My Opinion: Omg, I wasn't aware of this amazing series and I am so glad I finally discovered and read it. This is 11th installation in the series where I met some amazing and fun characters like Sophie Washington and her class mates. The storyline is filled with so many twists and many adventures but the core liee in the values, the author talks about a lot of topics but in a very sensitive, simple and healthy way. I loved the fact that, every book in the series could be read as standalone and I really enjoyed this one. I am definitely going to pick few more from the series as now I am fan of Sophie's gang, haha. This is a great book to inculcate values in a fun way and not just kids and teens, even adults can have it like a piece of cake. It's very short and entertaining.


Good and Bad: I loved the characters and the value, lessons the author brings into a fun story, it's done amazingly which I loved so much.


My favorites from the book:

My favorite character is of course Sohpie, I adore her so so much and I think everyone who reads the book is going to love her, other than her I like Judy and Jones.


Target Audience: 7+ kids and teens are going to love it. Even adults can try it.


What to expect: Fun, adventures, exciting plot and meaningful backstory.


Final verdict: It's a must read, go grab it and I an sure you will love it too!

Rating: 5 /5

[REHANA]

The book is a part of the series : Sophie Washington. Each book deals with a different extract of Sophie's life. This book is tenth in the series and deals with the story of Sophie's Class Retreat.

The story revolves around Sophie Washington and her classmates. Who are on their way to camp glowing spring for a class retreat. It was two full days of swimming, eating and a lot more around a campfire, tug-of-war archery and more. Sophie was fed up of her younger brother(Cole) and was looking for a way to escape him. The school camp was the way out. Cole warned her about Big Foot, if she sees the hairy ape man on the retreat one more time then she will put on the ear plugs. After all everybody knows about Big Foot.

She was very excited and could hardly wait to spend extra time with her friend on the school picnic. Once the kids arrived at the retreat site things became as exciting as Sophie thought. She had a lot of fun in the nature with her friends. Then the kids saw a Big Foot print during a nature hiking into the woods and the adventure begins from here. Want to know what was going to happen next then grab your copy.

The story is very captivating and engaging. As the story proceeds it becomes more engrossing. The illustrations provided in the story is charming and looks like a cherry on top. It keeps the readers hooked to the book till the end. I am reading a children book after a long time and really enjoyed reviving the childhood memories. I would like to try the other books too in the series.

The writing style of the book the author is very simple and easy to understand. While I was reading this book I felt like I was also a part of them. The book is suitable for children of 8 to 12 years. It was a very fantastic and joyful read and I enjoyed it very much.

[M.T. DeSantis]

I received this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Read an excerpt and follow the book tour here.

I feel like I say this every time I read one of these books, but this series just keeps getting better. Sophie is a joy to read about. Her friends are so much fun, and the challenges the kids face are nothing short of perfect. I always learn something from Sophie and her friends, and I’m certainly well above the target age range for this series. Also, owls can rotate their heads 270 degrees. I may have read that somewhere in middle school, but if so, I forgot, and this book reminded me. Fun facts, great characters, and real-life issues make these books worth every minute.
For Class Retreat in particular, I loved the sense of friendship and teamwork. Seeing Sophie and her friends team up with the boys to take down a common threat was wonderful. No violence, just good, old-fashioned MG fun of dealing with the issue. Not to say the issue wasn’t real. Bullying and racism are serious, and should be addressed as such. Sophie and the gang show what’s really important—not giving bullies power, and it’s done in a way for kids to understand easily without being dark or too heavy.
Long story short, I enjoyed this a lot. As always, Ellis captures the preteen voice. I felt like I was back in sixth grade, getting excited for three days without class. I hope there are many more Sophie Washington books to come. I’ll read them all.

[James W]

Tonya Duncan Ellis’ beloved, award-winning ‘Sophie Washington’ book series has earned the Texas-based author consistent praise since it debuted a few years back. Centered on the adventures of a smart, witty, nuanced African American protagonist , Ellis’ series eschews many of the well-established, heavy-handed ‘middle-school-reading’ tropes, offering readers a fresh perspective on what modern adolescence ‘actually’ looks like.

Sophie Washington’s latest adventure (the eleventh overall) is a class retreat that highlights some of the current social issues facing children all across the U.S. The story begins with Sophie’s class traveling to Camp Glowing Spring, where they eventually find themselves embroiled in a hunt for the mysterious bigfoot.

Many of the books in this series deliver contemporary takes on tried and true life lessons—dating, gaming, and even snitching—and in that regard, ’Sophie Washington: Class Retreat’ is no different. Ellis once again subtly weaves lessons about conservation and diversity into the narrative, educating in a way that feels authentic and never preachy.

It’s a wonderful surprise when a book can spark a conversation that turns into a teaching moment, which is exactly what the Sophie Washington series succeeds at. With an intended target audience of ages eight to twelve, ‘Class Retreat’ is yet another welcome addition to Ellis’ enduring series.

For fans of Ramona Quimby and Junie B. Jones—highly recommended.

[E.]

3.75 stars

"Sophie Washington: Class Retreat" by Tonya Duncan Ellis chronicles Sophie and her classmates as they visit a camp and face both real and imagined challenges. Getting up close and personal with nature, possibly dispelling a hoax, and dealing with the horrible rivals from St. Regis will make this an unforgettable trip…in more ways than one.


I love that current events are woven into these middle grade stories, and although I wish there was a better solution to the hurtful attitudes of the other kids, I am glad light is being shone on how both deliberate and careless words can cause pain. One of the best things about the books in this delightful series is the celebration of diversity among Sophie and her friends, and I like that they rallied around each other, but I wish they had gotten the adults more involved. I like that Sophie showed strength of character, but I’m a little puzzled about the presence of both schools at the retreat and the lack of adequate supervision. I have never been to camp, so I was astounded at the late nights being kept, let alone the hijinks being planned. There were some elements that didn’t seem to be quite as smooth as usual, but this is still a fun story, especially with the prospect of Bigfoot making an appearance. I can’t wait to find out what new adventures Sophie and her friends get involved with.



A copy of this title was provided for review

[Mrs Rj]

This is my first Sophie Washington book and I was really impressed. A booked aimed at older primary school children it seems to have the perfect amount tension without overwhelming a more sensitive child. It is modern, realistic and I would have loved to know about this book and the rest of the series when my daughter was younger.

The books are written for an American audience but given the wealth of American media and TV that English children are exposed to I don't think it will remove any enjoyment from the reading. Children share the same embarrassments, fears, sensitivities, rivalries and hopes across cultures!

What I appreciated about this book is that the author manages to drip in some real to life ethical dilemmas and the angst that these choices can cause alongside a gentle approach to opening children's minds to diversity, racism and sensitivities around it, for example with regard to African hair. Tonya Duncan Ellis manages to do this in a way that doesn't seem an add in to make a point as it so often does, but it arises quite naturally.

Once you finish the story the author has added some real gems at the back of the book. I most appreciated the recipe for s'mores! As a teacher 7 year olds, I can see how this would be a great series for them to grow into into a couple of years and so will happily recommend them to the teachers further up the school.

[Sapphyria]

Sophie Washington: Class Retreat is a wonderful story bringing childhood to life. The realism of Sophie and her class going to camp for a couple of days took me back to when I went to camp. I remember being excited to hang out with friends, go hiking, have bonfires, and learn archery. I enjoyed the inclusion of the mystical Big Foot and the ghost stories at the bonfire. I reveled in Sophie's trip and enjoyed going down memory lane.

The author brought a sense of what it's like to be an adolescent in today's world where bullying and racism still exist. Her ability to tie in social issues really brought the book home for me. I'd like to think there's been a reduction in the amount of bullying and racism since I was young but this book and the social issues out in the forefront attest that there isn't.

This is the first Sophie Washington book I've read and there are 11 total. If the rest are as good as book 11, I recommend grabbing them for your child. This book is suitable for all ages and not only tells a story about camp but brings to light larger, more complex issues. The author tells the story with subtle inclusions about bully and racism. She also shows how certain actions or statements, without meaning to, can cause harm. Of course, there are typical camp shenanigans and a cast of classmates who really have fun together.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.

[Asma]

Being a child whenever we get a chance to go on a class retreat our excitement, ecstasy and happiness knew no bounds. It's always fun to enjoy a beautiful trip that too with the people that we love to recognise as our best friends is actually beyond awesome.

In this book the author has beautifully portrayed a journey through the garnished characters such as Sophie, Cole, Velentina, Toby, Nathan, mariama and some more.

In the trip Sophie had a great time with her friends and other mates; they learned there the art of archery, witnessed the beautiful birds robin and others , almost forget themselves amidst the nature .

While enjoying her heart out Sophie witnessed a big footprint and hell scared. Well what was that? Is there any big animal that hidden in the forest? Or the footprint has another identity?

The suspense is worthy to witness. Along with the fun factor, nature illustration the author has also established the role of ' doing pranks' In a children's life.

To overcome our fear is the great thing will Sophie able to reveal the mystery of the 'giant footprint' ?

The book has some moral values which can help the child to invoke courage within their soul. It is a picture of a modern childhood where they had fun, did pranks, laugh together. A smooth and light read.

[Priya Saladi]

Detailed written review of "Sophie Washington Class Treat" by Tonya Duncan Ellis

Genre - Fiction

Rating - 4/5
Are you ready to read a funny yet light book?

The book is very light to read and funny too. This book is a page-turner that will keep you hooked till the end.
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This book is about Sophie, who is going to a school retreat that will happen once a year tradition at her school for two days. This retreat is by Xavier Academy(Sophie's school). The retreat is at Camp Glowing Spring, which is very big and has a pool, a lake, and much more.
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Sophie is so excited about this trip because she can enjoy these two days with her BFF's and she is so happy to leave her brother Cloe at the house and enjoy this trip.
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The relation between Sophie and Cloe is so cool, the most important reason to make you smile while reading the book.
All the characters will build up according to the story.
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The story goes at a good pace, everyone will enjoy the book and don't get bored with it.
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The writing is lucid. And the narrations are also very well written.
It is a light and enjoyable read.
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All the Beginners pick this book up if you want a light and a funny book to read.

[Krazy4books]

🍁🍁🍁

Book Review 📖

Title : Sophie Washington Class Retreat
Author : Tonya Duncan Ellis
Language : English

✏As the world is getting civilised, the needs for children are also getting over. There are very less moments left for children. From childhood till teenage they keep reading the same stories all around. But this author is indeed doing a lovely work for she is taking care of our children and entertaining them publishing these books.

✏Sophie Washington Class Retreat is a fantastic book for children. This is a continuation of other books by this author. This book is all about Sophie who is going for her school retreat for 2 days. She is very much excited about the fact that she will do all sorts of things and can enjoy to her fullest extent. But does she know that she will meet Big Foot? But who is a Big Foot and if he is then who is he? Will he create trickle in the city?
Find out for yourself and grab a copy of yours.

✏The author has a keen sense of imagination. The plot was well understandable. I thank the author for publishing such works and that too for the children.

Ratings : 4.8/5 🌟

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[S.Readss]

This book is the story of a few children who went on to a camp retreat. The story takes the reader back to their school days. This is a good read for kids as well. The language used in the book is very easy to understand and quite intriguing which keeps readers hooked throughout.
The book also gives a few lessons amidst story like how being different is okay and how everyone should be respectful to others. The undertone of the book is horror but I thought it was cute and refreshing at the same time. Overall a very good read. Highly recommended.
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Blurb- Sophie Washington and her classmates are on their way to Camp Glowing Spring for a class retreat. It’ll be two full days of swimming, eating s’mores around a campfire, tug-of-war, archery, and more! Sophie’s been looking forward to the trip all school year and can’t wait to spend extra time with her friends.
Once the kids arrive at the retreat site things are as exciting as Sophie imagined. She has fun exploring nature with her besties, Chloe, Valentina, Toby, Nathan, and Mariama, and meeting new friends too. Then the kids see a giant footprint during a nature hike in the woods and the adventure begins!

[Astha Chaturvedi]

💌 Book : Sophie Washington class retreat⠀⠀
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💌 Author : Tonya Duncan Ellis⠀⠀
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Genre : fiction ⠀⠀
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do you wanna learn some important lesson with fun ...?? ⠀⠀
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if yes then you should pick this one.⠀⠀
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it's and amazing story and this will keep you hooked till the end.⠀⠀
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this story revolves around Sophia Washington ( 6th grade girl ).⠀⠀
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so story starts with sophie's class travelling to camp glowing spring this place is very big and has a pool a lake and many more things like that.⠀⠀
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but in that place some mysterious things happened with her and her friends author nicely explain all the things about childrens world and how they deal with this situation and cope up with fears ⠀⠀
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and ya.... very important thing that this book is talking about is it's OK to be unique and respect individuality be confident about who you are. ⠀⠀
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overall it's engaging read ⠀⠀
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writing style is interesting and will keep you hooked till the end⠀⠀
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languages amazing but this book is not recommended for beginners. ⠀⠀
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author used rich vocabulary in this book. ⠀⠀
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so go and grab your copy now ! ⠀⠀
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🌟🌟🌟🌟 ⠀

[Kim Bakos]

It was great to see a book that featured kids of different races and places of origin in a story geared for school-aged kids. I loved the relationship between Sophie and her little brother - although he can be a pest, the affection between the two of them is sweet and strikes the right cord. The story was a fun reminder that things aren't always what they seem.
There were a few things I was disappointed with in the story, though. It tried to tackle racism with the group of boys from the other school, but there wasn't any real resolution. Those boys didn't seem to get in trouble for the mean prank they pulled on the girls and there were also no consequences for the prank done in return. There was also no resolution or even an attempt for anyone to take up the issue with those boys. I did like the way the camp counselor addressed her own bias, though.
Also, I felt the portrayal of the Hispanic friend to be a bit stereotypical. I have had many friends of Latino background and none of them peppered what they say with Spanish words all the time as the character in this book does.
Overall, a fun story for kids, but it falls a little flat on the deeper issues it attempts to address.

[Pete Springer]

Sophie's sixth grade class is going on a two-day retreat to Camp Glowing Spring. Sophie is excited about going until her younger brother, Cole, starts talking about the legend of Bigfoot. While her common sense tells her it's just a myth, her imagination begins to take over.

Having taken sixth graders on overnights before, many of the things that happen in this Tonya Duncan Ellis story reminded me of my own experiences as a teacher and camp counselor. There are lots of ups and downs, including mood swings, something typical of this age. Another school happens to be at the camp at the same time, and problems escalate because some of the boys from the other school are bullies. I'm not sure how much this added to the story, but I could see it happening. Another distracting subplot is that Sophie's friend, Chloe, develops a crush on one of the much older counselors. Realistic? Perhaps, but I think it detracted from the overall story. I thought the plot point of planning pranks was very realistic, given the age of the children in the story.

I've read several other books from this series, and I think many 4th-5th grade age children would enjoy them.

[Kathy]

I first need to tell you that I have reviewed probably 5 of Tonya Duncan Ellis' books and I've found each one so perfect. If you do any research on my reviews you will find "perfect" is not a word I use often if at all. But these are special. They always have a lesson on values but it's told in such a way that it just seems fun to read. Almost sneaking it in on the kids :) This time it's camping and doing all the things we did as kids, telling scary stories, pulling pranks, scaring one another. But this time it's also a lesson in learning to be the one to not follow the crowd, the one to do what you know is the right thing. It's also the one to search for bigfoot!

These are well written. The characters are of all types, backgrounds and cultures. But this book never points that out. It assumes that's natural like life should be. There are lots of Sophie Washington books. Each one a fun story. All are basically for ages 8 through 12 although I think we "older kids" could read them to any age.

[Vinit Bagdai]

Superb Book.

Book: Sophie Washington Class Retreat
Rating: 5/5
Author: Tonya Duncan Ellis

Sophie Washington: Class Retreat by Tonya Duncan Ellis is an excellent book which talks about some of the important social evils faced by the children in today’s world. This book is very engaging and entertaining, the story subtly weaves lessons and educate in a way that feels authentic and practical.
The story goes at a good pace, everyone will enjoy the book and won't get bored with it. This book can be a great help to children to overcome their difficulties while bullying and stuff in a very proper way!
This is a type of Captivating story with delightful characters and intriguing situations. I would highly recommend this book to everyone because one can learn so much from this book.

Lastly, I would like to thank the Author for giving me the opportunity to review this fantastic book.

[Rutuja Ramteke]

Middle grade books are my most favorite and I have been eyeing this one since long, Class Retreat is the eleventh book in the Sophie Washington series and I was so excited to read it because it is filled with adventures and fun, it exactly the turned the way I expected. In this book, Sophie along with her class mates goes on an adventurous journey and they discover many important and impactful topics in the best way possible.
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Firstly, it was just so good to know Sophie, for me she is no more just a character rather she is a friend of mine, letting her tell her story and knowing her story was amazing. Reading this book was an amazing experience and I loved it right from the very beginning. It's filled with unusual twists and turns which keeps the storyline so well and intact. I am now quite excited to read more books from the series, I will highly recommend it to everyone. It's an amazing addition to the series.
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Rating: 4.25🌟

[Naturalbri (Bri Wignall)]

This is a brilliant story, with lots of different characters, personalities and bit of advice to really bring the tween/teen stories to life. It is part of a large series of stories, but this is my first of them, and definitely won’t be my last!

I love the variety of characters, both with their personalities and their hobbies, as it makes it very true to real life. I also liked that they had problems to overcome and worked to get through them, even if things didn’t always go perfectly to plan. It is a very good way for youngsters to learn and I liked the way the author laid those things out.

I read large portions of it to my daughter. She is much younger than the series calls for, but loves to listen to stories and it is one that has great morals to it.

Overall a great book and one I would recommend to anyone looking to buy for young readers.

[Parul Jain]

Sophie Washington: Class Retreat by Tonya Duncan Ellis is an excellent book which talks about some of the important social evils faced by the children in today’s world. The story revolves around a sixth-grade girl Sophie who goes on a camping trip with her classmates and encounters some very mysterious situations. Several moral lessons are integrated in the story in an interesting way. The story reiterates the lesson that things that seem really scary are seldom that frightening actually. Also, it’s perfectly fine to be unique- we all need to respect the individual differences. Racism is another important social aspect integrated into the story. Overall, a very engaging story that is not only going to entertain the readers but will surely teach them some important life lessons too!

[Prateek Gurjar]

Well worth a read for kids!
Sophie, the main character of the series was enlivened about camping with her classmates as a part of school trip. She hoped that they'll be having much fun doing different activities viz. swimming, playing games, and much more. But unfortunately something happens that she never hoped for. She saw a giant body in the forest. Now, she knew that she must do something or she herself and her friends would be in danger.
Through this series, Tonya Ellis wants to teach the bad impacts of pranks and bullying to kids; So that they can avoid the same. She has tried to depict a good approach to solve these social stigmas of prank and bullying, in which she is far successful. I must say it's a must read for kids especially of age group 4-6.

[Chanchal Puri]

This book reminds me mu childhood when my mom used to scare me of ghosts will come if i will not sleep on time.And being the tender mind i made a picture of ghost so scary that even the word itself gives me goosebump.In this story too two children imagined the big foot a veryy scary thing.Its a great reading time while imagine every small step while reading.The part which forced me to read this book till end was about the racism factor.The worst side of a person who believes in racism has shown.Teenagers are the group which have more impact of all these things like racism should be there or not there its up to individuals mind set.In this book we can make them realize how bad the racism is and till which extent one can go for it.Altogether worth reading .

[T. Vand]

This was a cute MG book. It's a camp story that has everything from Big Foot to camp activities like archery. But amongst the hijinx comes in bullies. This is a bully centric book where the bullies focus on racism. While an important topic, it felt forced like the book had an agenda rather than weaving it into the story organically. Though, the main character does react in a strong and respectable way. But there was no deeper discussion. It was very surface level as if to throw it in there without really getting into the topic. The story was ok. It was very surface level overall with more of check marks the author tried to tick off for a camp story rather than having a charactercentric story set at camp.

[Rutuja Shobhane]

A must buy for children

This book teaches very valuable things to children. It is engaging and informative at the same time. Nowadays we rarely find works that are so complete with fun and education. The conversation between characters comes out very natural. It shows the relationship between siblings very authentically. It also reflects how the school environment is. Also, as children nowadays tend to stick to screens, it will create enthusiasm in them about being close to nature. In addition to this, it also touches topics like racism, diversity, environmental issues in an easy way, simple enough so that children can grasp the teachings. Such books should be a part of our curriculum. This is a must buy for children.

[Irem]

Name of the book - Sophie Washington class retreat
Author - Tonya Duncan Ellis
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review - this book is from the series Sophie Washington by Tonya Duncan Ellis
And it is a story about a girl and her fears as a child
It's an amazing easy read with several morals.
It's perfect for children as several lessons are integrated in the story in an interesting way.
It is also very engaging and entertaining, the story subtly weaves lessons and educate in a way that feels authentic and practical.
Also at the end of the book there are some amazing, intresting things to look at.
I would highly recommend this book , it's so practical yet entertaining.

[Manisha Khosla]

Great children's book that teaches children practical things and valuable life lessons. Specially effective for today's generation. I liked this middle grade book which is the first in a series. The dialogue between the characters was realistic and representative of typical siblings and their parents. Similarly, the one-up-man-ship within a school environment was something that is no doubt going on all the time in schools across the globe.I would recommend this and would read others in the series. It is clean, no swearing or violence content.

[Amy]

Tonya Duncan Ellis does it again with her Sophie Washington newest release, Class Retreat. I love this series and it is always fun catching up with Sophie and her friends. This one does not disappoint. It was so very good. They teach some very good life lessons while readers have fun learning it.

I am giving Class Retreat a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who are eight to twelve years old. They will not be disappointed with this entertaining read.

I received Class Retreat from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.