Wa-Tonka! Camp Cowboys

by Joe Novara

Fourteen-year-old Nick Finazzo lives in a tiny house in Detroit's lower east side, where he sleeps wedged between one restless brother and another thumb-sucking one. When he is hired as a junior camp counselor at Wa-Tonka, a horseback-riding camp, he jumps at the chance to have his own bunk, ride horses, and make new friends.

Once there, Nick encounters even more new experiences than he expected. He finds himself not only appreciating the space he finds in northern Michigan but the space inside himself. For years he complained of the responsibilities he had taking care of his younger siblings, but now he finds that taking charge is something that comes naturally and that he does well

Young readers in urban areas who crave a summertime getaway and boys and girls who enjoy horses and horseback-riding tales will find this coming-of-age story realistically appealing. Anyone who has ever attended summer camp and come back home a new person will appreciate Nick's story.

A Study Guide is included containing new vocabulary and spelling words, topics for essay and discussion and exercises for mapping and visualization.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158980354X
• ISBN13: 9781589803541
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company
• Length: 113 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.1" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 8 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 5