Cam Jansen and the School Play Mystery (Cam Jansen Mysteries) - Hardcover

Gr 1-3-Cam Jansen is at it again, this time solving the puzzle of who stole the ticket money at the school play. When two of her classmates are assigned to collect money and put it in a taped box, Cam joins them and watches the people filing in, paying for tickets, and getting to their seats. When the three friends finish the job and open the box, only a few dollars are inside, despite a packed house. The teacher calls the police, and Cam begins clicking her way through the scenes in her photographic memory until she figures out who committed the crime and how. Adler spoon-feeds readers the solution as the young detective figures it out, taking away the fun of learning to read for information. No clues exist in the text that would allow children to say, "I got it!" while they read. Other parts of the story seem incomplete as well, such as the scene in which the thief is made to watch the end of the play, which is about "Honest Abe Lincoln." The scene consists of two characters greeting each other with a "Hello" onstage. The teacher then says to the thief, "I hope you watched that. You can learn a lesson from Honest Abe Lincoln." Well, perhaps, but not from that pointless bit of dialogue. Of course, Cam has a following and children will probably want to read this book, but there are better mysteries out there.

Holly Belli, Bergen County Cooperative Library System, West Caldwell, NJ

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 2-4. The latest Cam Jansen mystery is not for newcomers to the popular mystery series. Told mostly in dialogue, the story is more complicated than usual, with Cam's friends on stage acting in a historical play about Honest Abe Lincoln while she's investigating the real-life theft of the theater admission money. Of course, Cam Jansen fans will be familiar with the characters and will love the puzzle as, once again, Cam applies her photographic memory to solving the crime. The clues and the red herrings are in the story for amateur sleuths to work on with Cam. See the article on "Mysteries for Children" [BKL My 15 01] for more about this series' appeal for young readers. Hazel Rochman
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