Taylor Dolan - Ghoul Scouts: Welcome to Camp Croak!

Mom, thank you for being the YAY to my BOO. I wish more folks were as genuinely kind as you are, it would be a much better world. Dad, thank you for thinking Ghoul Scouts was a good idea even when it wasnt. And for getting us a dog, even though you have allergies. You are lovely. Ness, thank you for bringing so much joy and laughter to everything you do, and for teaching me with true patience. Bella, thank you for changing my life and taking on this zany story. And Pam, thank you for being you. I cant wait to read the next beautiful, creepy book you make.

GHOUL SCOUTS: WELCOME TO CAMP CROAK!

is a GUPPY BOOK

First published in the UK in 2020 by

Guppy Books

Bracken Hill

Cotswold Road

Oxford OX2 9JG

Text and illustrations Taylor Dolan, 2020

Cover and insides designed by Ness Wood

Ebook: 978 1 913101 22 0

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

The rights of Taylor Dolan to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permissions of the publishers.

GUPPY PUBLISHING LTD Reg. No. 11565833

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Ebook by Falcon Oast Graphic Art Ltd.

www.falcon.uk.com

For my sissy, Lexie.

I was going to name the main character Lemon,

but my editor thought it sounded a little

too weird. So, I stole your name instead.

I f youre getting ready to read this book even after looking at the title and the real weird cover drawings then you just might be ready for the truth.

Grams says I have to stress the word might , as I have seen a fair few folks pick up my book, panic, and run away flapping like headless chickens.

Grown-ups are the worst for it. The older you are, the more scared you get of everything . Its a fact of life. And let me tell you something they dont want us to know. Grown-ups are scared

ALL. THE. TIME.

Thats why their hair is grey and they get all them face wrinkles. Its all that scared drying them up from the inside out, like a prune.

They are terrified the perfectly good chocolate chunk cookie that just fell on the bathroom floor is now full of deadly germs.

Worried that other grown-ups sit around judging them at dinner parties they werent invited to.

They are even afraid that when they go away for the weekend, they might experience a worst case scenario. Watch a grown-up next time they are chucking stuff in a suitcase, youll see. Nobody needs ten pairs of underwear for a three-day trip.

This book is not for them. Its for people like YOU. People who might look ordinary from the outside, but have something special burbling up beneath their skin. You dont have to be brave, you just have to want to be brave. Thats half the battle fought, right there.

So here it is. Take a deep breath, sit down and maybe put on some of that calming music, because its honest-to-goodness genuine truth time and the things you dont know could probably fill a whole museum.

Same as vampires, chupacabras, radish monsters, sea beasties, swamp ghouls and Bigfoot . I swear on the life of my Grams and her five fat cats, I am telling you the whole truth.

After all, I should know.

My

best friend

is

M y Grams always told me that on those days when the whole world seems a bit more bonkers than normal: look around you and count the facts. Facts help a person keep their feet on the ground.

My name is Lexie. Its short for Alexandra, but dont even think about calling me that. You can also call me the very best number one storyteller in Shreveport, I got me a ribbon to prove it.

My Grams is the best person in the whole wide world. Even if her house smells like cat pee. You might think this is an opinion, but Im saying its a fact. So there.