Young Cam Jansen and the Baseball Mystery (Paperback)

by David A. Adler (Author), Susanna Natti (Illustrator) "Watch out!" Cam Jansen called to her friend Eric Shelton..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-2Blink your eyes and say, Click. Thats all it takes for Cam Jansen to recall a scene with amazing accuracy. Her visual memory comes to bear yet again in this story of a baseball lost in a crowded park. Her sleuthing skills, as well as her good sense, keep her friends from making false accusations. Instead, they work together to solve the mystery. Nattis illustrations underscore Cams visual memories and provide perceptive readers with helpful clues. The books format and text are right on target for beginning readers.Pat Leach, Lincoln City Libraries, NE
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
Right on target for beginning readers. -- School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (March 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141311061
• ISBN-13: 978-0439227032
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #306,430 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #14 in	Books > Children's Books > Early Reader Series > Young Cam Jansen Mysteries
  #78 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( A ) > Adler, David A.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Cam Jansen and the Baseball Mystery, March 2, 2002

By A Customer

This book is great for those who are just becoming independant readers. The sentences are short and the vocabulary is simple enough so it is easy for them to understand. Also the pictures correspond well to the story. The story will keep their interest, they will follow the pursuit to find the baseball, seeing how Cam uses her photographic memory to help solve the mystery. This story teaches young children how photgraphic memories work in a simple way. I liked how they used Cam, short for camera as her nickname.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Young Cam Jansen helps her friends track down a missing baseball, March 18, 2006

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Cam Jensen's real name is Jennifer and she has an amazing memory. Her memory is like a camera: she has a picture of her head of every thing that she has seen. Whenever she wants to remember something she closes her eyes and says, "Click." Because of her great memory people started calling her "the Camera," and then they shorted it to just "Cam." "Young Cam Jansen and the Baseball Mystery" takes place one afternoon when Cam and her friends are playing a game of baseball at the park. When Amy hits the ball so far that it sails over Robert's head, she ends up hitting a home run. But the ball disappears and Cam and her friends have to find it because otherwise the game will be over. Can Cam catch all the clues?

Written by David A. Adler with illustrations by Susanna Natti, "Young Cam Jansen and the Baseball Mystery" does a nice job of finding a comfort level for its young readers when it comes to solving the mystery. Kids reading this book might not be as quick as Cam to figure out the clues, but they should be ahead of Cam's friends in that regard. There is also an opportunity for readers to test their own memory and see if it as amazing as Cam Jansen: Right before the opening chapter there is a full-page illustration of Cam and Robert walking through the park. Young readers are supposed to look at the picture, blink their eyes and say "Click," and then turn to the last page of the book to answer some questions and see how well they remember the details of the picture.

There are other books in the Young Cam Jansen series, including "Young Cam Jansen and the Dinosaur Game," "Young Cam Nansen and the Missing Cookie," and "Young Cam Jansen and the Library Mystery." These are all Level 2 readers aimed at ages 5-8 (Grades K-2), and students who are beginning to read. The reason these are all Young Cam Jansen mysteries is because Adler has written even more books about his young heroine in the Cam Jansen adventure series, which are aimed at ages 8-12 (Grades 1-3) and kids who are reading alone. Helping young readers make the transition to chapter books, this series includes "Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball," "Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Monkey House," and "Cam Jansen and the First Day of School Mystery." I certainly like the idea of Adler different types of books for readers at two different levels and think it would be interesting for Adler to write a Level 1 Cam Jansen story and another for her at some reading level higher than 3.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Baseball has never seen the likes of Cam before!, January 19, 2005

By	llumynia (The Sunshine State) - See all my reviews

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 red more and more. 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! Our family loves Cam Jansen!