Marsha Goes to Summer Camp
by Melanie Zigman

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Marsha Mallow is excited for summer camp, but she’s nervous, too. Will she make friends? What if she has to do things she’s never done before? The first day at camp she meets Graham Cracker and Milky Chocolate. The boys are nice and invite her to hang out with them. It’s going well until they decide to go for a canoe ride. Marsha is feeling nervous. What if she falls in the water? What if the whole boat tips? Things only get worse when Graham makes a joke and she feels like they’re laughing at her, not with her. How will she ever get in the canoe now? A story about unlocking the power of friendship through empathy and understanding, Marsha Goes to Summer Camp shows us that each of us is great, but together we're so much s’more. It’s a reminder for kids of what understanding and supporting each other can achieve. Marsha Goes to Summer Camp is the second book in the Side by Side Books series, created as a teaching tool for parents and educators. The side by side format shows two different perspectives of the same story on the open book page, providing opportunity to engage children in discussions around empathy and understanding other perspectives. Side by Side Books are aligned with the Ontario Ministry of Education’s emphasis on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) as outlined in the Cross-Curricular and Integrated Learning framework.

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Melanie Zigman is the author of the Side by Side Books series, including Shellie Goes on an Adventure/La grande aventure de Cara and Marsha Goes to Summer Camp. Melanie is recently retired, which has finally given her the time to pursue her passion for writing. The Side by Side Books concept sprang out of a conversation around her family turtle’s harrowing escape, and how fun it must have been for the turtle, despite being so scary for her family. When she isn’t writing, Melanie enjoys kayaking, hiking, and volunteering. She lives in Collingwood, Ontario.

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Contributors

Author

Melanie Zigman

Illustrator

Saavi K