Freddy Goes Camping facts for kids
First edition cover showing Freddy experimenting with flapjacks
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| Author | Walter R. Brooks |
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| Country | U.S. |
| Language | American English |
| Series | Freddy the Pig |
| Genre | Children's novel, Comic novel |
| Published | 1948 A.A. Knopf 1986 Random House 2001 The Overlook Press |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 256 (pp. 3 – 258) |
| ISBN | 0-394-97602-9 (hardback) |
| OCLC | 13507349 |
| LC Class | PZ7.B7994 Frb 1986 |
| Preceded by | Freddy the Magician |
| Followed by | Freddy Plays Football |
| (2001 hardback) | |
Freddy Goes Camping (published in 1948) is an exciting and funny children's book. It's the 15th story in the popular Freddy the Pig series. The books are written by American author Walter R. Brooks and illustrated by Kurt Wiese. In this adventure, Freddy the pig and his friend Mr. Camphor pretend to be campers. They do this to investigate a mystery at a hotel. The hotel owner is forced to sell her business because of strange happenings.
Contents
Freddy's Camping Adventure
This story begins when Mr. Camphor and his butler, Bannister, arrive at the Bean farm. They ask Freddy to help get rid of Mr. Camphor's visiting aunts. Aunt Elmira is demanding and often gloomy. Aunt Minerva is very bossy and not a great cook. The aunts planned to stay at a hotel across the lake. But suddenly, the hotel seems to be haunted!
Mr. Camphor and Bannister enjoy playing a game. They say old sayings, called proverbs, and then decide if they fit the situation. Bannister even makes a funny joke about ants.
Becoming Campers
Freddy and Mrs. Wiggins, a cow, walk to the hotel's estate. They decide that solving the hotel's ghost problem will also help Mr. Camphor with his aunts. Mr. Camphor suggests they pretend to be campers. This way, they can watch the hotel without anyone suspecting them.
Freddy faces some challenges while camping. He tries to make his first flapjacks, which are pancakes. Since many animals know Freddy, he wears a disguise. On their first night, they talk loudly. This is to make sure anyone nearby hears them and believes they are just regular campers. Mr. Camphor playfully teases Freddy about his made-up story of studying with a witch doctor.
The Haunted Hotel Mystery
Suddenly, they hear a gunshot from the hotel. They find Mrs. Filmore, the owner, leaving because of a ghost. Freddy and Mr. Camphor help her leave. But they decide to stay and investigate themselves. Soon, a huge cat-like head crashes through a window! They quickly run back to their camp. They find their camp is completely wrecked. The next morning, they check the hotel. They realize that much of the damage is caused by rats. It seems to be Simon's gang of rats.
Freddy goes to Mr. Camphor's house for supplies. Then he visits the Bean farm to tell the other animals what's happening. He learns that Simon the rat had a meeting with a mysterious person named Mr. Eha. Simon plans to attack Mr. Camphor's estate after Eha takes control of the hotel. Freddy returns to spy on the hotel. He overhears Simon and Eha making their plans. Eha puts on a ghost costume and leaves to scare the campers. Freddy quickly slips into the hotel. He puts mothballs in Eha's coat pocket. This way, he can track Eha by the smell. Freddy rushes back to camp, but Eha gets away.
Tracking Down the Culprit
Meanwhile, Mr. Bean is at Mr. Camphor's estate. Everyone is surprised to see how good he is at charming Aunt Minerva.
Freddy tracks the mothball smell to a Mr. Anderson in town. He realizes that Anderson is actually "Eha." Freddy bravely goes into Anderson's office disguised as a doctor. But Freddy's doctor act isn't very convincing, and he has to run away.
Freddy gets a tip and guesses that a tourist camp on the lake is a hideout. There, he finds his old enemy, Simon the rat. Simon is working with Anderson. Freddy cleverly hints that the Bean farm will be unprotected that night. Because of this, everyone at the farm is ready when Anderson and the rat gang arrive. Mrs. Bean calmly pretends that Anderson's ghost costume is the ghost of Mr. Bean's grandfather. The animals use their own "ghost" tricks to scare Anderson away. The rats give up after a shotgun blast.
A Happy Ending
Mr. Bean, Mr. Camphor, and the animals treat Mr. Camphor's aunts with kindness. This makes the aunts change for the better. Minerva becomes pleasant and turns out to be a good cook. Gloomy Elmira loves a poem Freddy wrote about a swamp so much that she decides to go on vacation there right away.
A group of them returns to camp near the hotel. Anderson is there, fixing up the hotel. When he visits, some spiders from the Bean farm return with him. They act as spies. Knowing that Anderson has a terrible temper, insects are sent to bother him. They especially try to ruin his sleep. The fire department is called to a false alarm at the hotel. Freddy also messes with Anderson's car. Finally, they confront Anderson, who is very tired from lack of sleep. He is forced to give the hotel back to Mrs. Filmore. Seeing that they have lost, the rats leave. With all the problems solved, the campers decide to keep enjoying their time outdoors.
Illustrations
The book features 38 black and white drawings by Kurt Wiese. These are done with pen and ink. There are also special drawings on the inside covers, called endpapers. The full-color cover shows a scene from the book. Each chapter starts with a half-page illustration. A full-page drawing is also placed near the part of the story it shows within each chapter.
