Juno Jones epic explorer by Kate Gordon. Illus. by Sandy Flett

The fifth book in this series about Juno Jones, who used to hate reading until someone gave her just the right book at just the right time and now she is hooked.  Written in first person the books take the reader through everything Juno is experiencing at quite a hectic pace. In this story Juno Jones is going on a Book camp and must take a break from saving the world hoping the Alien Lizards (AKA Men in suits) who are working to close her beloved school don't do it while she is gone. Juno has a group of imaginary friends who are helping her to defeat the Lizard men. Tukoshi, a habu, a pika and an Ussuri brown bear are her gang and now she has discovered that her annoying little brother George can see them too and wants to become her faithful sidekick. But Book camp comes first, and she is looking forward to spending quality reading time with her friends and enjoying the book themed meals and activities.  Juno and her group of nerdy friends are lucky enough to score the best cabin at camp which annoys Smelly Bella (her sworn enemy) and her crew who must sleep in a much smaller room. Bella takes revenge by airing Juno’s underwear on a flagpole and Bella and Juno are forced to go for a walk in the woods together to sort out their differences which results in a very surprising turn of events.

The use of highlighted text and footnotes is clever and enhances the story as do the well-placed illustrations.  I would recommend that readers tackle these books in order as much of the content follows from one book to the next and it could be confusing to pick one up without having read the ones that come before.

Themes: Books, Camping, Friendship.

Gabrielle Anderson