- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 9–12
- Comedy
Lottie Brooks's Totally Disastrous School-Trip
Book 4 in Lottie BrooksView the full series
A week at Camp Firefly means abseiling, raft-building, a pack of mean girls and, worst of all, a stolen diary read out loud. Book four of the illustrated series turns every school-trip nightmare into laugh-out-loud comedy.
- Best for9–12
- FormatIllustrated
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The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
- Epistolary
Tone
- Funny
- Irreverent
- Warm
- Heartwarming
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
After a summer of sunburn, Lottie Brooks is off on a week-long residential trip to Camp Firefly with her class, escaping her embarrassing parents and revolting little brother. It should be an adventure of abseiling, raft-building and blindfold sensory trails, but disaster strikes on every front. Her best friend Jess is suddenly glued to new girl Isha, the camp is also hosting a pack of snobby, mean girls from a private school, and then the unthinkable happens: Lottie's diary is stolen and read out loud for everyone to hear. Faced with humiliation, homesickness and friendship wobbles far from home, Lottie has to find some genuine courage and work out who her real friends are. Told in Katie Kirby's diary of doodles, lists, thoughts of the day and glorious over-sharing, the fourth Lottie Brooks book bottles every excruciating and hilarious thing that can happen on a school trip, and reminds readers that surviving the disaster is its own kind of victory.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A 9-12 independent read that pairs naturally with a class residential trip. The mean-girls and stolen-diary storylines carry mild social sting but resolve warmly, and the diary format keeps it quick and reluctant-reader friendly.
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- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 9–12
- Independent · 9–12
Prose load
Light
Visual support
High
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Funny diary
- School stories
- Reluctant readers
- Tween girls
- Friendship dramas
Avoid if
- Wants action adventure
- Wants fantasy
Particularly good for children who are…
- Making friends
- Being bullied
- Reluctant reader
- Low self esteem
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
Every kid's worst school-trip fears come true for Lottie, from a best friend adopting a new girl to a pack of mean girls and, horror of horrors, her secret diary being read out loud. It's mortifying, hilarious and impossible to put down.
- Being understood finally
- Friendship and belonging
- The underdog winning
- Proving yourself
Why parents love it
It nails the anxiety of being away from home and watching friendships shift, then reassures with a story about finding real courage and real friends. Reluctant readers devour the diary format, and it's easy to recommend before a residential trip.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
In the series
Lottie Brooks.
8 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Katie Kirby.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
