Fat Camp Commandos: Go West

Grade 3-5-A sequel to Fat Camp Commandos (Scholastic, 2001). Ralph and Sylvia Nebula are enrolled in the same fat camp they escaped from last year, now renamed Deepdip Cha-cha's Fun Ashram for Kids. Their friend Mavis Goldfarb rescues them and takes them to her camp, Rough-Ridin' Rudy's Rootin'-Tootin' Rancho, in the town of Horny Toad. Mavis campaigns to unite the town's dude ranchers and fitness freaks and to make Horny Toad a hot tourist attraction. Extraterrestrials are targeted as potential visitors, and Captain Rolzup of the Galactic Alliance and his senior staff, two dozen fat guys, arrive on cue. Narrated by Ralph, the story has an overall message of tolerance and self-acceptance. However, while this story is entertaining, some of the satire is more likely to be appreciated by parents than by their children. The humorous pen-and-ink cartoons complement the narrative.
Marilyn Ackerman, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Ralph and Sylvia Nebula flee Deepdip Cha-Cha's Fun Ashram for Kids in Fat Camp Commandos Go West by Daniel Pinkwater, illus. by Andy Rash. After teaming up with best friend Mavis on a nearby dude ranch, the trio attempts to reunite the feuding town of Horny Toad. Rash's comic illustrations complement the zippy text.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-5. This sequel to Fat Camp Commandos (2001) opens with Sylvia and Ralph sitting outside their latest fat camp, Deepdip Cha-cha's Fun Ashram for Kids. In the first 20 pages, Ralph brings readers up to speed, interspersing hints about their present situation with memories of their adventures in the previous book. In the nearby town of Horny Toad, the siblings meet their old friend Mavis, who is outfitted in western garb. She informs them that two groups of locals are at odds, but she has plans to change that. With the help of Ralph, Sylvia, and--oh, why not?--a crew of aliens, she convinces the inhabitants of Horny Toad that (sing it now) "the health nuts and the cowboys should be friends." The lengthy recap at the beginning slows things down a bit, and the story is neither as focused nor as funny as its predecessor. Despite that, Pinkwater's wacky wit, accentuated by the deadpan humor of Rash's drawings and unrestrained by political correctness, will entertain fans who are ready to laugh equally at people in turbans and people in cowboy hats. Carolyn Phelan
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