• Age: 6 to 8
• Grade: 1 to 3
• Reading age: 6 to 8

With the help of his wild imagination and enthusiasm, DJ, the hero of Adventures at Camp Lots-o-Fun, deals with one disaster after another.

DJ has a lot on the go—Super Stackers, "weeding" his mom's garden, facing Tiger the Terrible and a misspelled sign. But when DJ mistakenly sells the wrong box of jewelry to his new friend Sam at his grandma's garage sale, those disasters seem minor. Riding his beloved skateboard, Speedwell, DJ sets out to search for Sam, which is a challenge in itself. When he finally finds Sam, DJ is not prepared for the enormous sacrifice he will have to make to get the jewelry box back.

Marilyn Helmer was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, moved to New Brunswick, then to Quebec, then to Ireland, then back to Canada, all before she was five years old. Perhaps that is why she loves to travel, both in North America and abroad. Marilyn's main passion though is writing for children. She discovered a knack for storytelling at a very young age when she made up wild and creative excuses for the occasional bout of mischief. In elementary school she became an avid Nancy Drew fan. With a couple of like-minded friends, she began writing and telling her own mystery stories. But it wasn't until many years later, when she started reading to her son and daughter, that Marilyn's dream of writing for children was born. Success did not happen overnight but it did happen. Marilyn's stories, poems and articles have appeared in children's magazines and anthologies in Canada and the United States. Her published books include picturebooks, chapter books, novels, riddle books and retold fairy tales.

Marilyn Helmer's profile page

Mike Deas est auteur-illustrateur de bandes dessinées, telles que Tank and Fizz and The Case of the Tentacle Terror. Il signe aussi les illustrations de la série Graphic Guide Adventure. Sa passion pour l'illustration a été entretenue tout au long de son enfance à l'île Saltspring, en Colombie-Britannique où il habite encore aujourd'hui.

MIKE DEAS is an author/illustrator of graphic novels, most recently Tank and Fizz and the Case of the Tentacle Terror. He is the illustrator of the Graphic Guide Adventure series. His love for illustrative storytelling comes from an early love of reading and drawing while growing up on Saltspring Island, British Columbia. Visit him online at www.deasillustration.com.

Mike Deas' profile page

• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens

"Children who are beginning to read chapter books will find this engaging."

Library Media Connection

"Will appeal to newly independent readers. Short sentences, large font and good spacing between lines make this an accessible read. Many readers, and their parents, will connect with the adventures of DJ, an irrepressible ball of energy who tries desperately to do the right thing."

CM Magazine

The Great Garage Sale