The Rival Campers Ashore

Henry Burns and Jack Harvey set out by canoe on a June morning, planning to follow a chain of streams back to Benton before supper. Their route begins near a small railway station, among ponds, wooded hills and farmland. Conflicting estimates of the distance, unfamiliar bends and a sudden shower soon complicate their confidence. Ruel Perley Smith builds this boys' adventure around the pleasures of paddling, the appeal of unknown waterways and the friends' lively exchanges.

The story also belongs to the world of small-town holidays and youthful mischief. In a later scene, boys mark the arrival of the Fourth of July with a noisy midnight celebration outside Willie Perkins's house. Boating adventures share the novel with a mystery involving an old mill. Readers interested in older children's fiction will find a combination of outdoor activity, competitive energy and local intrigue, with particular attention to how the boys talk, make plans and get into trouble.