Personal Space Camp

Description:

Louis is back! And this time, he's learning all about personal space. Written with style, wit, and rhythm, Personal Space Camp addresses the complex issue of respect for another person's physical boundaries.

Brief description:

Julia Cook, M.S. is a national award-winning children's author, counselor, and parenting expert. She has presented in thousands of schools nationally and internationally, regularly speaks at education and counseling conferences, and has published children's books on a wide range of character and social development topics. The goal behind Cook's work is to actively involve young people in fun, memorable stories and teach them to become lifelong problem solvers. Inspiration for her books comes from working with children and carefully listening to counselors, parents, and teachers, in order to stay on top of needs in the classroom and at home. Cook has the innate ability to enter the worldview of a child through storybooks, giving children both the "what to say" and the "how to say it."

Review Quotes:

This is a terrific book to help children understand the need that we all have for personal boundaries. I teach first grade and my students got the point of this story pretty quickly and laughed when Louis, the main character, did not! My students thought it was wildly funny that throughout the principal's camp, Louis thought he was going to "outer" space camp when in reality he was going to "personal" space camp (i.e., he thought he was being measured for a space suit when he was asked to lie down to have someone trace his body to show how much floor space his body took). I especially like the activities that the principal employed with Louis (i.e., the hula hoop to show how much space others need, the body drawings to help illustrate why they ALL can't lie on the floor). I also did these activities with my own students which really brought the point home. Now I regularly overhear my students tell their classmates, "Please be careful, you are entering my personal space." It truly is a book all primary teachers should have in their library.

JAG
First grade teacher