Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis
Crafty Cat, Book#2
By Charise Mericle Harper
ISBN13: 9781626724853
Author’s Website: https://www.goodreads.com/chariseharper
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary
Second grade isn’t always a breeze for Birdie. There are just so many opportunities to embarrass herself! But Birdie’s got a secret weapon that nobody knows about—her alter-ego, Crafty Cat! Birdie can become Crafty Cat without anyone noticing, and she always manages to get herself out of a jam using her awesome crafting skills! When Birdie goes to a day-camp for crafting, she knows she’s going to have a great time and be the best in the group. But when things go wrong, can Crafty Cat help Birdie set them right?
Review
Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis by Charise Mericle Harper is a fun graphic novel. The main character, Birdie, can switch in to her alter-ego (Crafty Cat) when things get tough. No one else can see Crafty Cat, it is all in Birdie’s mind.
This book deals with a variety of issues. Birdie must learn how to appreciate and accept that other kid’s have differing interests from her own, not just her own “crafty” interests. There is also the issue of a bully (Anya) and how Birdie deals with this. Frankly, I did not like Anya and maybe some intervention by an adult would have been warranted given Anya’s propensity for nastiness. Regardless, Birdie managed to deal with Anya. As a side note…doesn’t Anya have more depth than just being nasty? That would have been nice to see.
The kids at Crafty Camp are making Monster Crafts. While creating these crafts, the reader can certainly get a sense of each child at camp. And then when they switch to the gymnasium, those personalities come out even stronger as well as a heightened sense of competitiveness. This requires more from Birdie and this is where you see Crafty Cat come out.
I liked her relationship with her best friend Evan – it is heartwarming. When things did not go Birdie’s way, she did stop and forced herself to think and accept her friend and his feelings. Though I must admit for a moment, I did not think that would happen.
The illustrations were fun. I enjoyed the introduction of Crafty King, just before Anya was a bit nasty again.
Another aspect that I found fun is that this book has a how-to for each of the crafts at the end of the book. Excellent for those young crafters at home. So, if you have a young girl who is into crafts then Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis may be a good book to read and craft from.
