February 3, 2026 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
ARC provided by the publisher
Tasha, a young Yeti, writes to her grandfather about the fact that her parents are reopening his summer camp. Because of the decline in the population of Yetis, they have decided to open the camp to other types of monsters. Tasha's cousin, Kami, will be attending, but so are twin goblins Tom and Zelbawog, werewolf Lup, vampire Vera, ogress Isabelle and Griffin Claude. The counselors are also diverse, with a mermaid life guard and sphinx camp cook, among others. There are some tensions; Isabelle doesn't get along well with Vera, and also struggles with the common perception of ogres, since she is all about glitter, pink tutus, and dramatic acting. Tom and Zelbawog use their magic to create a sentient robot, which causes some trouble. There is a constant threat from humans, and the campers are told to alert the staff if they see anything. Of course, when Tasha finds hoofprints, she assumes they are from horses, and tries to investigate. The camp sign listing rules is damaged, Lupo is reluctant to swim, and the cook is constantly harassing the campers and making the guess riddles before they can eat. In the end, a culprit outside the camp is found to be responsible for damaging the sign, and the camp experience has been so successful that the campers all decide to come back for another session in two weeks.
This was an interesting graphic novel that will appeal to young fantasy lovers who also want a dash of humor. There are some nice twists on the different types of monsters, and it's nice to see Tasha's family working together to resurrect the grandfather's camp while also changing it slightly to appeal to a wider variety of campers. There's even some excitement when the campers have to work together to ward off a threat from humans. I would have liked to see Gramp Abominable show up at camp, but I wouldn't be surprised if this became a series, so we may yet see him.
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