Personal Space Camp: A Picture Book About Respecting Others' Physical Boundaries

Paperback arrived quickly in new condition and was a very fair price. This book simplifies basic concepts in easy ways for young children to understand. If you have hula hoops, you can easily incorporate them into the reading and and turn games into a review of the personal space concepts.I use this book in my classroom with preschool - 2nd graders. The pictures are colorful and help explain the story well.

Our child struggles with keeping his hands to himself but LOVES all things outer space- this was a great book for him. It helped break down concepts in a simple way and kept his attention.

I have been a teacher for over 30 years and this series of children's books has very good lessons for children, especially in a classroom setting.

Julia Cook's books are an absolute hit with our students. I was ecstatic when I found Personal Space Camp. I'd already been using My Mouth Is A Volcano to reinforce school skills like raising your hand and waiting your turn to talk. But what about when kids are in each others space during 'carpet time' or pushing and shoving in the cafeteria line? These behaviors can make instruction difficult and cause a lot of teacher angst. I don't know how many times I've had to say, 'Please, keep your hands to yourself.' Personal Space Camp is a life saver book. Angst will be decreased!Okay, so in defense of the kids - developmentally it's really difficult to sometimes be in control of yourself. Kids need to move and wiggle around. However, they need extra guidance building awareness of themselves and those around them before the wiggling offends another student. When there are 20 some bodies in a classroom - we have to learn to work and live together. And newsflash - negative reinforcement doesn't build awareness - it just makes kiddos feel bad. I use Personal Space Camp as a social awareness teaching tool because it makes kids feel GOOD about themselves. They love learning about the concept of personal space and how it can affect others positively and negatively. Most importantly, the story is engaging and Louis is a VERY likeable character. We also copy Louis and use the same strategies in the book. The kids love being jammed into a hula hoop and reflection gets those light bulbs flashing about personal space. And here is the best part, author Julia Cook wrote a supplementary activity and idea book!! Activities galore! I got my hands on it this Spring and started integrating the lessons in small groups. The main reason the guide rocks is because the activities provide cool visuals for the students. Yep, your lessons on personal space just got even MORE engaging! Educators, get this one on your shelf. When teaching classroom routines, make this part of your curriculum.

Good book - it is a softer way to explain personal space. That said, it seemed a little too abstract for my 6 year old had to read several times with me explaining along the way - it’s a good book for parents and children to read together.

My daughter benefitted from this book and personal space. It described using a hula hoop around you and that’s the amount of space you should have as personal space. She enjoyed reading it as it was fun

This is a terrific book to help children understand the need that we all have for personal boundaries. I teach first grade and my students got the point of this story pretty quickly and laughed when Louis, the main character, did not! My students thought it was wildly funny that throughout the principal's camp, Louis thought he was going to "outer" space camp when in reality he was going to "personal" space camp (i.e., he thought he was being measured for a space suit when he was asked to lie down to have someone trace his body to show how much floor space his body took). I especially like the activities that the principal employed with Louis (i.e., the hula hoop to show how much space others need, the body drawings to help illustrate why they ALL can't lie on the floor). I also did these activities with my own students which really brought the point home. Now I regularly overhear my students tell their classmates, "Please be careful, you are entering my personal space." It truly is a book all primary teachers should have in their library.

“Personal Space Camp is an excellent resource is a marvelous book by Julia Cook titled, .” With a deft sense of humor and zany illustrations by Carrie Hartman, this book tackles the complicated concept of personal space. Louis, the confused main character loves the world of outer space. But when it comes to personal boundaries, Louis is clueless. His frustrated teacher arranges for him to attend “Personal Space Camp.” This thrills Louis. He is surprised to learn that he will not be an astronaut exploring.Louis is, however, entering unexplored territory: the world of personal space boundaries. “Personal Space Camp” is entertaining and informative without being preachy. It conveys important information that will assist kids that lack an understanding of social cues. --Gayle H.Swift, "ABC, Adoption & Me: A Multicultural Picture Book"