Customer Reviews

Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones (Cam Jansen)

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David A. Adler, Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones (Scholastic, 1981)

Straightforward early-grade mystery that's about as complex as an Encyclopedia Brown story, but takes up a good deal more space; one wonders at the expansive real estate. Still, mystery novels for kids were not a huge commodity back in the eighties (before the term "chapter books" had come about to describe this category of kidlit), and as with any vertical-market application, authors could get away with more, which is why when someone came out with a really good novel-length kidlit mystery, my whole school went nuts. (If you're old enough, remember how popular The Westing Game was when it appeared, for example?) Still, the plot is fun and the characters are as well, and if you don't mind your mystery elements predictable and simplistic, it's not bad. Just don't expect something as complex and engrossing as the average modern kidlit mystery. ***

You have to love Cam Jansen. When you're a kid, you read all of these stories about magic powers, mystery, and adventure. But everyone tells you magic can't exist. Cam Jansen manages to solve every case without the use of magic... she's a real girl. That's what makes her special and what makes you want to read more and more. She lives her life and has friends just like everyone else. Cam Jansen is a real kid superhero, and the thought that a person like her could actually exist... makes her the best kid detective ever! Kids can really associate themselves with Cam and her friends. Our family loves Cam Jansen!