Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Critter Club #3

Liz Learns a Lesson

Rate this book
Liz is excited for a fun summer with The Critter Club, but will summer school ruin her plans?

It’s almost time for summer vacation, and Liz is looking forward to sleeping in, taking an art class, and spending plenty of time with her friends at The Critter Club! Between fun summer plans and busy petsitting schedules, the girls are going to have their hands full. But on the last day of school, Liz gets the unexpected news that her math grades aren’t where they need to be. Though she’s not thrilled to be stuck in summer school, Liz works hard—and learns a lesson even more important than fractions.

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, The Critter Club chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2013

58 people are currently reading
233 people want to read

About the author

Callie Barkley

60 books63 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
276 (51%)
4 stars
158 (29%)
3 stars
80 (14%)
2 stars
18 (3%)
1 star
5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for Tim The Enchanter.
360 reviews201 followers
September 7, 2015
This is the Review of Sydney my 7 year old Daughter.

Who is in this book

The characters are Lizzy, her two new friends, a turtle named Didi, and the rest of the girls from the Critter Club

What is the book about

The book is about Liz. Liz wants to go to art class but she can't because she is not doing well in math. Her friends come to help her get better at math.

Why I liked the book

I liked the book because it was awesome. I thought it was interesting that she wanted to do art but had to work at math. It made me feel good about working on math in school. I liked the way that the characters talk to each other in the book and I like the animals and that they all have names. There are a few difficult words in the book but I like that.

Profile Image for Chloe (Always Booked).
3,057 reviews124 followers
July 31, 2023
I really like these books while I'm reading them, even though they're not the most charming or memorable. Liz has to go to summer school for math. Shes not happy but realizes it can be fun. They get a class turtle that ends up going to the critter club. Cute!
Profile Image for Julie.
899 reviews11 followers
August 31, 2016
Liz and her Critter Club friends are really nice girls who get along great. I liked their diverse backgrounds and families, plus the plot that Liz had to go to summer school for math. I did take issue with one sentence - "Tofu dogs were, by far, Liz's favorite summertime food."
Profile Image for Joanne Roberts.
1,305 reviews19 followers
March 30, 2021
I was looking for a good series for this age range and Critter Club seems to have everything 6-8 year old girls could want: pets, friends, easy reads, cute illustrations, glitter on the cover. As for the story itself, Liz does indeed learn about herself and about dealing with school work, responsibility, and disappointment. As is standard fare for books like this, there are problems, but they are hardly earth-shaking, and the obstacles are seen from one angle, leaving some of the hard questions out. But I still think this story was well-crafted and simple but not syrupy. It, like many of its kind, takes place in a world we wish we lived in, and I love to offer this kind of lighter fare to kids. Optimism must always be cultivated and happy endings encouraged.
Profile Image for Carina.
348 reviews3 followers
December 30, 2019
My mom is just starting to read chapter books to me (I'm five), and we both really like these Critter Club books. There are four girls who all have different interests, but they are great friends. In this book, Liz is excited to spend the summer taking an art course - but her mom tells her she needs to take a math class instead. She comes to like the kids in her class and her teacher, and finds a turtle along the way, so she ends up having a great summer - even if it didn't quite go the way she thought it would.
6 reviews
August 19, 2025
it was the same because they have a series.

there was a little bit more challanging things like the words.

yes because it was a good story.

yes because it had a event and a good ending.

it did require more time and focus because it had words that were tricky.
my favorite character was Liz because she learns a lesson.

what surprised me was she got really good at math.

I would not change the ending because they have a critter club and the end was a surprise for Liz because she got a A In math.
Profile Image for Annette.
779 reviews19 followers
November 11, 2017
(Reviewed by Grace, age 6, 11/11/17)
This story is about Liz learning a lesson. Liz learns how to do math and get an A. She has to go to a summer math class which she does not like. She finds a turtle on the sidewalk. She makes it into a class pet named Digit. Her summer is not ruined. Her mom puts her in an art class.
40 reviews
November 18, 2022
This is another really good chapter book series and read this specific book of this series for this class but wish these book series were around when I was in elementary school. I think this would be a great series specifically for first or second-graders. There are four girls in this series that are the main characters which allows young girls to connect to different characters.
Profile Image for Linn J.
931 reviews18 followers
August 5, 2020
Liz som inte är så bra på matematik blir nu tvungen att ta en sommarkurs inom det, hon som hellre hade velat gå på bildkurs. Men matte är inte så jobbigt, bara man finner ett intresse i det samt tar sin tid på uträkningen.
Profile Image for Michelle.
3,656 reviews32 followers
April 20, 2021
Appropriate for: all ages!

My 3.5 year old daughter loves Critter Club. I think the art is really cute and it does have good life lessons. I just wished this book focused more on animals and the critter club. The lesson about trying hard in school kind of went over my daughter's head.
59 reviews
August 18, 2025
In this book, Liz has to take math summer school. She has to miss art class, but then she likes math summer school. She finds a turtle and makes some new friends. At the end, she gets more confident in math, and still gets to go to the next art class in July
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
15 reviews
August 26, 2018
The book is curious, it makes you get stamina to finish without stopping. You feel reading it again once you finished it!
Profile Image for Norah L.
3 reviews
March 19, 2019
I liked how at the end she still got to go to art class and she got an A on her test.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Brooke.
131 reviews2 followers
February 7, 2023
Read with my 7 year old daughter, who loved it.
3 reviews
March 17, 2024
Awesome book. It teaches some friendship and it has a message.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Katt Hansen.
3,842 reviews108 followers
December 29, 2016
Liz learns that summer school isn't the end of the world.

Once again, the Critter Club is a little bit light on seeing any actual critters other than a turtle and a short scene with a spider. While I like the characters and the stories are well written, this has been my complaint throughout the series - these adventures could happen in any children's book series. The thing that is supposed to make this series unique and interesting has almost nothing to do with any of the plots thus far.

On the other hand, as I said, the characters are good. The stories themselves are well-written. I'd hand these off easily to the child who is needing to build confidence as a reader. But if that child is an animal lover really looking for a good book about animals - they might be a little bit disappointed.

196 reviews
June 21, 2016
So many kids will relate to Liz and her dismay at having to go to summer school for math! The teacher uses math problems and a class pet to help the students learn. Add to the disappoint of the summer Liz will not be able to take an art class she wants to as it is at the same time as math!
This is a fun beginning chapter book for kids. The font is a good size and the sentences are easy to read. Plus this book is a series that students will enjoy reading about other kids adventures as part of the Critter Club. Black and white illustrations add to the charm of the text and support the narrative.
315 reviews1 follower
June 24, 2016
This was a good book. My daughter loved it. She loved the name of the turtle on the cover. Also she loved how a summer which seemed like it was ruined turned out to be the best summer ever. It is a good lesson for girls whose summer doesn't seem to be going right. That just because something big seems to be going wrong, it doesn't mean that it all is going wrong.
1 review
November 11, 2015
I thought that it was a good book because there were a bunch of pictures. And it was interesting. I learned that sometimes when you have something planned that is special you may have to give it up for something else more important.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.