The Campground Kids Books: Series Guide & Full Reading Order

Table of Contents

• Choose Your Adventure
• Which Bundle Should We Buy?
• About The Campground Kids Authors
• Frequently Asked Questions About The Campground Kids

The Campground Kids is a chapter book series for kids ages 8-12 about three young explorers, Isaiah, Sadie, and their cousin Ethan, who travel to amazing places and solve mysteries along the way. Each book is packed with clues, friendship, teamwork, and just enough danger to keep kids turning pages. It's a wholesome, family-friendly adventure that parents can feel good about and kids won’t want to put down.

With three adventure sets and more than 20 titles, many families ask the same question: where should we start?

The short answer is that you can start with any series. Each one stands on its own, so there's no wrong door. Pick the setting your reader finds most exciting: national parks, the Great Lakes, or ancient ruins. This guide covers each series, the reading order, and the best way to get started!

Choose Your Adventure

The Campground Kids collection is divided into three branches. Here's how they compare at a glance.

If your child loves the outdoors and wants the freedom to jump around, start with the National Park Adventures. If they like shipwrecks and legends, try the Great Lakes. If they dream about hidden worlds and lost civilizations, Lost City is the one.

The Campground Kids: National Park Adventures

The National Park Adventures are where the series began. In each book, Isaiah, Sadie, and Ethan visit a different national park, uncover clues, and work together to solve an outdoor mystery. The books are written by C.R. Fulton, who remains the credited author of the series' first adventures.

Because each book is its own mystery, there's no required reading order! A kid who has always wanted to see Yellowstone can start with Yellowstone Sabotage, and a kid fascinated by volcanoes can jump straight to Hawaii Volcanoes Medallion. 

The characters stay consistent from book to book, so every story feels like a visit with familiar friends, but you never need to have read earlier books to follow the plot.

Best bundles: Books 1-5 and Books 6-10

The Campground Kids: Great Lakes Adventures

In Great Lakes Adventures, the cousins leave the mountains behind and explore all five Great Lakes. Along the way they run into shipwreck mysteries, local legends, and challenges that test their courage and teamwork. 

The Great Lakes are vast, full of history, and surrounded by stories passed down through generations, which makes them a natural setting for mystery.

This is a five-book set published under the M.J. Cleary name, the shared pen name used by the Bakken Books team of writers and editors. Unlike the National Park Adventures, this set should be read in order, from Book 1 to Book 5, so the story builds the way it was meant to.

Best bundle: Great Lakes Adventures complete set

The Campground Kids: Lost City Adventures

Lost City Adventures takes the Campground Kids to ancient ruins for a six-book story about hidden places and long-lost secrets. It's a great fit for kids who love history, treasure hunts, and the excitement of discovering something no one has seen in centuries!

Like the Great Lakes set, this series is published under the M.J. Cleary name and should be read in order, from Book 1 to Book 6. The complete set is currently available for pre-order, so families can reserve it now.

Best bundle: Lost City Adventures complete set (pre-order)

The Campground Kids Books in Order

Each series is numbered separately, so the National Park numbering doesn't carry into the other sets.

National Park Adventures (any order)

These can be read in any order, but here they are by book number:

1. Grand Teton Stampede

2. Smoky Mountain Survival

3. Zion Gold Rush

4. Rocky Mountain Challenge

5. Grand Canyon Rescue

6. Yellowstone Sabotage

7. Yosemite Fortune

8. Acadia Discovery

9. Glacier Vanishing

10. Arches Legend

11. Olympic Pursuit

12. Joshua Tree Mirage

13. Hawaii Volcanoes Medallion

14. Bryce Canyon Blizzard (pre-order)

Bonus holiday title: Christmas Chaos is a Christmas chapter book in the Campground Kids collection. Only 2,000 copies are printed each year, so order yours now!

Great Lakes Adventures (read 1-5 in order)

1. Lake Superior Secret

2. Lake Michigan Legend

3. Lake Huron Hoax

4. Lake Erie Escape

5. Lake Ontario Treasure

Lost City Adventures (read 1-6 in order)

1. The Mark of the Sun Temple

2. The Mystery of the Hidden Pyramid

3. The Eyes of the Stone Serpent

4. The Guardian of the Desert City

5. The Path of the Ancient Kings

6. The Legend of the Lost City

Try a Reading Sample

Not sure which adventure fits your reader? Let them try a chapter before you buy. Each series has a first-book preview, so you can see the writing style and the characters:

• National Park Adventures: Grand Teton Stampede Chapter 1

• Great Lakes Adventures: Lake Superior Secret Chapter 1

• Lost City Adventures: The Mark of the Sun Temple Chapter 1

Reading a sample together is a great way to find out whether your reader is more excited by mountain mysteries, shipwreck legends, or ancient ruins!

Which Bundle Should We Buy?

Bundles are the easiest way to get a full set, and they cost less than buying the books individually.

• Brand new to the series and want maximum choice? Start with the National Park Adventures Books 1-5 bundle. Since these can be read in any order, they're a flexible first set.

• Finished Books 1-5? Pick up the Books 6-10 bundle for five more park mysteries.

• Want a connected story? Choose the Great Lakes Adventures set and read it start to finish.

• Ready for something brand new? Pre-order the Lost City Adventures set.

Already own some Campground Kids books? Your next step depends on what you have:

• Own National Park Books 1-10? Add Olympic Pursuit, Joshua Tree Mirage, and Hawaii Volcanoes Medallion, and pre-order Bryce Canyon Blizzard.

• Finished the National Parks? Try Great Lakes or Lost City Adventures for a new kind of mystery with the same characters.

About The Campground Kids Authors

The National Park Adventures Campground Kids books were written by C.R. Fulton, who remains the credited author of those books. Older titles keep their original printed credits.

Great Lakes Adventures and Lost City Adventures are published under M.J. Cleary, a shared pen name used by the team of writers and editors at Bakken Books.

You can read more about who M.J. Cleary is and how the series began with Bakken Books founder Dylan Bakken's original idea here!

Frequently Asked Questions About The Campground Kids

What order should I read the Campground Kids books in?

You can start with any series. The National Park Adventures can be read in any order. Great Lakes Adventures should be read in order from 1-5, and Lost City Adventures from 1-6.

Which Campground Kids book should we read first?

Choose the setting your child likes best! If they love the outdoors and want the freedom to jump around, start with the National Park Adventures. If they like shipwrecks and legends, try the Great Lakes Adventures. If they dream about hidden worlds and lost civilizations, Lost City Adventures is the pick.

Do I need to read the National Park Adventures before Great Lakes or Lost City?

No! Each Campground Kids series stands on its own, so you can begin anywhere.

What age are the Campground Kids books for?

The Campground Kids books are written for kids ages 8-12 who are ready for a real fast-paced chapter-book adventure.

How many Campground Kids books are there?

There are 14 numbered National Park Adventures (one on pre-order), a five-book Great Lakes set, a six-book Lost City set (on pre-order), and the holiday title Christmas Chaos.

Are the books family-friendly?

Yes! Bakken Books only publishes wholesome, age-appropriate stories that parents can trust and kids will love.

Where can I buy the Campground Kids books?

Right here at Bakken Books! Shop The Campground Kids Collection

Do you need background reading?

No, there's no required prior reading to start any of the three series. The only sequence that matters is within the Great Lakes Adventures set (Books 1-5) and the Lost City Adventures set (Books 1-6), where each story picks up from the last. Reading the National Park Adventures first can be a nice way to meet the characters, but it's optional, not necessary for the plot.