Morgy's Musical Summer Book

Morgy thinks Outlook Music Camp is a long way to go to get good at the trumpet. It s almost Canada! But Colonel Profundo gave him a promising beginner scholarship. His friends Byron and Clara are coming, too. Dad says, It s not just for trumpet it s summer camp and you ll love it.

But Dad doesn t know the half of it. There s canoeing, swimming, soccer, and wild games of musical chairs. But there s also Damian, an oboe prodigy and bully. And Byron and Clara are in band while Morgy s stuck in orchestra, playing a solo. What is Morgy supposed to do if he can barely read music, he misses his dog, Dante, and his cat, Pancake, his best friend is in love with their trumpet teacher, and he sees soldiers in three-cornered hats sneaking through the camp at night? Keep practicing, of course!

Perfect for the budding musician, summer camp enthusiast, or reluctant camp attendee, Morgy s Musical Summer is a fun frolic through the pages for any reader.

Children's Literature

AGERANGE: Ages 6 to 10.

Lewis' latest Morgy chapter book, slated for publication just before summer vacation and the rush to enroll children in camps of all kinds, is sure to delight fans. Morgy, too, is off to camp. Not only hockey camp, but music camp in New England. Once there, he and other student musicians become involved in the daily routine of practice, lessons, meals, and camp fun. He also meets an orchestra bully and what appears on first sight to be the ghosts of a Revolutionary War lost band. He finds out they are actually re-enactors looking for the lost band themselves. Through it all he perseveres with gumption and humor. Thrown into the mix Lewis adds the modern problems of running a camp, urban sprawl--the camp just might become expensive condos if the owner decides to sell--and the angst of leaving home for camp. Morgy bunks in Cabin Mozart with a fellow camper whose sheets scream Beethoven's Fifth, a composition played under the direction of the camp handyman, a composer who just happens to be the brother of the conductor who had to return to London suddenly. All of this is going on while Morgy is getting ready for his solo in the Concerto Fabuloso. Lewis uses subtle humor and slapstick, giving the camp leader the name Colonel Profundo and describing the snacks of the budget-conscious cook--saltines and water, graham crackers and water--well, dryly. Lots of fun for students in first through fourth grade with some experience at summer camp, and for those who are thinking about it. Ads for music camp will never look the same again. Reviewer: Leslie Greaves Radloff