''There’s a Bat in Bunk Five'' (

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

) is a

young adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

written by

Paula Danziger Paula Danziger (August 18, 1944 – July 8, 2004) was an American children's author. She wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut '' The Cat Ate My Gymsuit'', for children's and young adult audiences. At the time of her death, all her ...

Plot summary

In this sequel to ''

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit ''The Cat Ate My Gymsuit'' (1974) is a young adult novel written by Paula Danziger. Plot Ninth-grader Marcy Lewis is a smart and sensitive girl who nevertheless lacks confidence. Being plus-sized, she is embarrassed to draw attention to herself ...

'', Marcy Lewis finds herself as a counselor in training at the

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

near

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

run by her former English

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, Ms. Finney, whom Marcy has missed after Ms. Finney had been fired from her job. Marcy not only has to deal with the sudden attentions of Ted, her new boyfriend, but when she has to go to Woodstock he starts hanging out with Betty, who has a crush on Ted. Marcy has lost a lot of weight, and is now being noticed by boys. At the camp, she is put in charge of a group of young girls, whom she is expected to shepherd through the beginnings of adolescence. When she finds a

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

in her bunk (bunk five), she is sure that this summer will be a summer to remember for eternity. She also loves to read and write, and she tried to be Ginger's friend, who only likes Barbara Finney. After various trials and tribulations at the camp, she gets fed up with people letting her down and being mean to her. Then all the girls in Marcy's bunk trick her into thinking there is another bat. She gains confidence that she is not petrified anymore, and then sees that it was a baseball bat, and on the bat is a note reading "August Fool". Once she starts to win over the boys in her cabin, she finds it easier to deal with the various problems that develop at camp.

External links

Scholastic Books website on Paula Danziger
1980 American novels American young adult novels Novels set in New York (state) Woodstock, New York Sequel novels 1980 children's books Children's books set in summer camps Children's books set in New York (state) {{1980s-ya-novel-stub