Customer comments on this Youngstown Ohio Book
 Camping tests comfort zones!
Young children find tremendous comfort in daily routines and find them especially reassuring before or after an adventuresome situation. Books that intersperse the ordinary with the wholly unexpected tend to score big with them. A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee appeals to their need for both predictability and high octane stimulation.
The book hurtles forward at a steady clip. The story opens with a routine breakfast at sunrise. Kids appreciate the detailed illustration showing Mr. Magee, the archetypal adult, cozying up to a mug of coffee while a nearby clock ticks off the minutes. His dog enjoys a bowl of kibbles right at the table, an extraordinary detail to a parent, but my kids focus their attention on the trappings of their favorite meal.
Man and his best friend hitch up a camper, load in their gear and go for a car ride, something my son has always adored but my daughter refers to as `go for a cry.' No matter their disposition, kids know what to expect when they go for a car ride.
In reassuring adult fashion, Magee extols the merits of camping as they drive along. At the campsite they gather sticks for kindling and roast junk food over a campfire until they turn in for the night. It's standard camping fare until the camper they're sleeping in careens down a hillside, splashes into the brook and drifts downstream until it ends up teetering on the edge of a steep waterfall. The extreme perspective used in the illustration of their predicament is particularly captivating.
My kids get a kick out of the rescue scene and feel relieved when the characters finally return home. In the end Magee admits that roughing it may not be everything it's chalked up to be so they set up camp in the comfort of their own backyard.
This book appeals to children aged two to five via happy-go-lucky imagery and suspenseful storytelling. My family has enjoyed our copy for three years running but my five year old son now appreciates a more complex story like The Giants Go Camping by Jane Yolen.
 great children's literature
great book! rhyming and repetition! Perfect for phonological awareness, kids loved it. Great for a camping theme or a good way to introduce camping, (in your own backyard or in nature)Down side...you may have to make smores now! =o)
You can't help but love Mr. McGee!
We were at the Public Market in Portland, Maine during the summer of 2004, where Chris van Dusen was signing copies of this book. Since we spend the summer camping, we bought the book for our son who was 2 years old at the time. We all fell in love with the story, the pictures and Mr. McGee immediatly; and 1 1/2 years later it is still among our favorites! Santa will be bringing Down at the Sea with Mr. McGee this year and I am sure it will quickly become a regular in our reading rotation! I highly recommend this story for kids of all ages!
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