Assignment "A" Choice/ Book Trailer: Paper Towns by John Green

Module 8/July 25-31/Cam Jansen and the First Day of School Mystery by David Adler

Bibliographic Citation: Adler, David. (2002). Cam Jansen and the first day of school mystery. New York : Viking.

Summary: Cam Jansen and her best friend Eric are eager to start fifth grade and meet their new teacher, Ms. Benson.  Just as they are beginning their day, Ms. Benson is taken away by two police men! Using her amazing photographic memory, Cam Jansen solves the mystery and clears her teacher’s name.

Reviews: “K–Gr. 2. On the first day of school, the police come into the classroom and arrest

Cam’s teacher for leaving the scene of an accident. But as always in Adler’s lively, easy to-

read, chapter-book mysteries, Cam uses her photographic memory to find important clues and save the day. The twenty-second book in the popular series, this is one of the

best, from the opening scene on the school bus stuck in traffic to Cam’s clever discovery of a dry-cleaning ticket that leads her to the criminal. With the informal storytelling and the immediacy of the scenarios, this is sure to draw beginning readers to the pleasure of mystery stories with a protagonist close to home.” Rochman, H. (2002). Cam Jansen and the First Day of School Mystery (Book). Booklist, 99(7), 671. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

“Gr. 2-4. In this twenty-second book in Cam Jansen series, Cam “The Camera” Jansen is now in fifth grade.  And what happens on the very first day of school? The local police come to arrest her new teacher. Luckily for the teacher, she has Cam for a student. Using her photographic memory and detective skills, Cam is able to solve yet another mystery and save the day. Good sleuthful  fun and easy reading for boys and girls alike.” Cam Jansen and the First Day of School Mystery (Book). (2004). Book Links, 13(5), 13. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Personal Impressions: This is a simple mystery book for beginning chapter book readers but I found it to be very enjoyable.  The text and plot of the story is very simple which younger readers will enjoy. Cam Jansen is a character with a supernatural ability of a photographic memory which readers will find fascinating. This book also has a simple memory game for readers to test their own memory. I personally enjoyed the book. It’s not as complicated as the mysteries I’m used to reading but I feel it’s perfect for those just starting out.  

Suggestions for Use: This is a great book series to suggest to  those beginning chapter book readers who want to read mysteries.