The Not-so Great Outdoors

A reluctant camper discovers that the (not-so) great outdoors can be just as exciting as screens and skyscrapers in this playful picture book celebration of the pleasures of unplugging and embracing nature.

What's so great about the "great outdoors"? A grumpy urban kid begrudgingly accompanies her family on a summer camping trip, missing all the sublime sights right under her nose as she longs for the lights and stimulation of the city. But as she explores forests, lakes and mountains, and encounters bears, beavers and caribou, she slowly comes to realize that the simpler things are just as sparkly, that the sky is its own majestic light show, and the symphony is all around. The Not-So Great Outdoors is a humorous and richly imagined reminder of the beauty and magic that can be found away from the city and our screens.

MADELINE KLOEPPER, a graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, brings wise-beyond-her-years illustrations full of lushness and adventure in her debut picture book as both author and illustrator. Madeline grew up in the lower mainland of British Columbia amidst a sea of humans and spent a few years in Vancouver; she has since migrated northward to Prince George. Her work is influenced by childhood, nostalgia and the relationships we forge with nature, no doubt inspired by her love of exploring the Pacific Northwest. She is also the illustrator of Robert Heidbreder's Rooster Summer and M.H. Clark's Tiny, Perfect Things.

MADELINE KLOEPPER, a graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, brings wise-beyond-her-years illustrations full of lushness and adventure in her debut picture book as both author and illustrator. Madeline grew up in the lower mainland of British Columbia amidst a sea of humans and spent a few years in Vancouver; she has since migrated northward to Prince George. Her work is influenced by childhood, nostalgia and the relationships we forge with nature, no doubt inspired by her love of exploring the Pacific Northwest. She is also the illustrator of Robert Heidbreder's Rooster Summer and M.H. Clark's Tiny, Perfect Things.