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Cam Jansen Mysteries #31
The Graduation Day Mystery
The beloved elementary school sleuth Cam Jansen is back in her 31st mystery!
Eric's father is finally graduating from college. But before the celebration can begin, a very special present from Grandpa Shelton disappears. Was it lost--or stolen? There's no way Cam will let a thief ruin the graduation celebration! She must use her photographic memory to track down the gift.
Eric's father is finally graduating from college. But before the celebration can begin, a very special present from Grandpa Shelton disappears. Was it lost--or stolen? There's no way Cam will let a thief ruin the graduation celebration! She must use her photographic memory to track down the gift.
56 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2011
29 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
David A. Adler
400 books202 followersDavid Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.
Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.
Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.
As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.
(source: Wikipedia)
Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.
Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.
As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.
(source: Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 5, 2021
Fifth-grade sleuths Cam Jansen and Eric Shelton attend Eric's father's college graduation in this thirty-first entry in David A. Adler's beginning chapter-book series devoted to their mystery-solving adventures. When Grandpa's Shelton's bag goes missing after the graduation ceremony, together with the gift he had intended to give Mr. Shelton, Cam and Eric kick into gear, helping to figure out what has happened...
Unlike almost all of the prior Cam Jansen books, Cam Jansen and the Graduation Day Mystery does not involve theft, but rather, a mistake that must be set right. As Cam tells Eric, this is an unusual mystery, in that they already know what happened - - but simply don't know how to track down the other involved party. It's also unusual, in that I think the matter would probably have resolved itself, even without Cam and Eric's participation. In any case, it was a fairly engaging entry in the series, and I really appreciated the fact that the story depicted an adult with a family graduating college, as this emphasizes non-traditional students. I also appreciated that both Mr. and Mrs. Shelton were army veterans, something never mentioned before in the series. Recommended to fans of the Cam Jansen books, and to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy mystery stories.
Unlike almost all of the prior Cam Jansen books, Cam Jansen and the Graduation Day Mystery does not involve theft, but rather, a mistake that must be set right. As Cam tells Eric, this is an unusual mystery, in that they already know what happened - - but simply don't know how to track down the other involved party. It's also unusual, in that I think the matter would probably have resolved itself, even without Cam and Eric's participation. In any case, it was a fairly engaging entry in the series, and I really appreciated the fact that the story depicted an adult with a family graduating college, as this emphasizes non-traditional students. I also appreciated that both Mr. and Mrs. Shelton were army veterans, something never mentioned before in the series. Recommended to fans of the Cam Jansen books, and to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy mystery stories.
December 10, 2020
Solvable even without a photographic memory. I messed up on the observation practice. Extra star rating is because of the heirloom being passed down the generations, and because adults with families are among the graduates (yay for life-long learning).
September 23, 2021
Eric's dad was graduating from college, and Eric's grandpa got a present for him. The people behind them had the same bag and they took each other's bags. The grandpa was really bummed because the present was really special- it was a gold watch that had been passed around the family. They asked the graduation security guards for help and they said they'd call the grandpa if they found anything. Cam and Eric looked at the list of graduates and a little boy named Harry who was behind them, and Harry's sister Margery was graduating. There were two Margerys graduating. They find Margery and the mom tells the grandpa that they were very sorry and that Harry was really sad when he figured out it was the wrong bag. They got the right bags back.
July 28, 2018
Proud father when his son finishes his college degree after milItary service, other jobs, and three kids: "I took some pictures of Ben."
Jennifer AKA 'the camera' Jansen: "I took pictures, too," Cam said, "but I took mine with my mental camera."
I get that she's a child but how do people not curse her out ever in these books?
Seriously every time she says 'click' I want to lose it.
That said cute chapter books with easy to solve mysteries and a good deal of girl power.
Jennifer AKA 'the camera' Jansen: "I took pictures, too," Cam said, "but I took mine with my mental camera."
I get that she's a child but how do people not curse her out ever in these books?
Seriously every time she says 'click' I want to lose it.
That said cute chapter books with easy to solve mysteries and a good deal of girl power.
July 24, 2021
Cute, quick story!
July 1, 2023
I think it was good but not the best
March 25, 2021
Jackson read this short mystery book on his own and rated it 3 stars.
October 25, 2012
This book is one of the many stories about Cam Jansen. She is a young girl known for her amazing photographic memory. In many cases, Cam uses her skill to help solve mysteries for her friends. At Eric's father's graduation, Cam uses her photographic memory to track down a missing gift.
The gift was from Eric's grandfather and was suppose to be a surprise. It was a watch that his father had once passed down to him on his graduation day and he extended to keep the tradition alive.
The mystery begun when the ceremony came to an end. Unlike many families around them, Eric's family decided to wait for the new graduate until the crowd faded. This however became a problem when they realized somebody had switched Eric's grandfather's bag. When they went to leave they found a bag similar to the one with the watch, but instead it contained toy trains.
Using Cam's photographic memory she began to review what she had seen that day. Luckily, she had remembered that there was a little boy sitting behind the family at the graduation. She knew this was a clue and soon also remembered they had stood up to cheer for a girl named Margery.
Providing enough clues to track down the family with the missing bag, Cam had solved another mystery! Not only was the little boy excited to see his trains, but she aided in keeping the watch tradition alive.
I would recommend this book to grades 1st-3rd. A mystery is always a safe bet for children in elementary. They can imagine putting themselves in the place of Cam and saving the day. This book builds confidence in readers, because it helps them take note on what they could do in a similar situation. They learn two things: always keep an eye on their things and be observant of the world around them.
An activity I would plan to go along with this book is a character list. There are many different characters in this book and it would be a great opportunity to learn about organization. As students become higher level readers it is important to keep each role separate. Offering an activity where they can list out on a piece paper what each character does and how it relates to the story builds a foundation for better reading comprehension.
Adler, David A. 2011. Cam Jansen and the Graduation. Penguin Young Readers Group.
The gift was from Eric's grandfather and was suppose to be a surprise. It was a watch that his father had once passed down to him on his graduation day and he extended to keep the tradition alive.
The mystery begun when the ceremony came to an end. Unlike many families around them, Eric's family decided to wait for the new graduate until the crowd faded. This however became a problem when they realized somebody had switched Eric's grandfather's bag. When they went to leave they found a bag similar to the one with the watch, but instead it contained toy trains.
Using Cam's photographic memory she began to review what she had seen that day. Luckily, she had remembered that there was a little boy sitting behind the family at the graduation. She knew this was a clue and soon also remembered they had stood up to cheer for a girl named Margery.
Providing enough clues to track down the family with the missing bag, Cam had solved another mystery! Not only was the little boy excited to see his trains, but she aided in keeping the watch tradition alive.
I would recommend this book to grades 1st-3rd. A mystery is always a safe bet for children in elementary. They can imagine putting themselves in the place of Cam and saving the day. This book builds confidence in readers, because it helps them take note on what they could do in a similar situation. They learn two things: always keep an eye on their things and be observant of the world around them.
An activity I would plan to go along with this book is a character list. There are many different characters in this book and it would be a great opportunity to learn about organization. As students become higher level readers it is important to keep each role separate. Offering an activity where they can list out on a piece paper what each character does and how it relates to the story builds a foundation for better reading comprehension.
Adler, David A. 2011. Cam Jansen and the Graduation. Penguin Young Readers Group.
February 16, 2017
Well done and easy to read.
Read
April 6, 2016I remember reading Cam Jansen as a child and always being jealous of her photographic memory. I found this Cam Jansen book to be very entertaining and an easy read. Depending on the independent reading level of a student, children can start reading these books to themselves in 1st grade. The vocabulary is not too complex and the illustrations throughout the book give the reader the opportunity to use pictures to help determine certain vocabulary words. If the text is too hard for children to read independently in 1st grade this would be a fun book to use for a read aloud as well. The Cam Jansen books can be used in 1st-3rd grade classrooms. If students in upper elementary grades wants to read Cam Jansen for fun that is perfectly fine, but the vocabulary will not be as challenging. Mystery books are a great way to help student's comprehension because they need to know what is going on in order to solve the mystery. I would definitely recommend using Cam Jansen books for lower elementary grade classrooms.
February 2, 2024
Mr. Shelton is graduating from college! Mrs. Shelton, Eric, Eric’s sisters- Donna and Diane, Eric’s little brother- Howie, Grandpa Shelton, and Cam sit and wait, anxious to watch him walk across the stage and receive his diploma. Grandpa brought a very special gift in a plain brown bag. He’s excited to give it to his son in celebration of his graduation. Behind the Shelton family sits a woman and her young son, Harry. He entertains himself with some animal crackers and a toy train that he brought in a small shopping bag. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, and many speeches, the time has come. Everyone cheers when their own special graduate gets his or her diploma. As the family leaves the college, Diane peeks in Grandpa’s special bag. The bag has toys, crackers, and juice. It’s pretty obvious that Harry or his mother picked up Grandpa Shelton’s bag by mistake. But, how will they find them to exchange bags? Cam saves the day when she remembers the name that Harry and his mother yelled at the graduation.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
April 23, 2013
We've read most of the Cam Jansen Mysteries series by David A. Adler and Susanna Natti. We like the stories and our oldest enjoys answering the memory game questions at the end.
The mystery wasn't too hard to solve and I liked that Cam and Eric didn't put themselves in a dangerous situation. I also liked that the mystery was solved in a collaborative effort, not merely with Cam's photographic memory. We enjoyed reading this story together.
The mystery wasn't too hard to solve and I liked that Cam and Eric didn't put themselves in a dangerous situation. I also liked that the mystery was solved in a collaborative effort, not merely with Cam's photographic memory. We enjoyed reading this story together.
May 5, 2015
This is a transition book. It is from the a series of books all about the mysteries that Cam Jansen solves. I really like how it is about the graduation of her friend's dad. I think it is good for students to understand that they have many different paths they can take in life and college might not be something for them right away. But, I also, like how it stresses the importance of a college education. I can see using this book in a couple of different ways. One is since there is a lot of dialogue in the book it would be a good option for reader's theater. It could also, be used in Lit. Circles. Or just as an independent reading book for the students.
February 12, 2014
A book my 6 yr old loved, a little old for my preschoolers. A solid reading level 2 book, this reader has a good amount of advanced vocabulary words, but not so long that it discourages a new reader. Used it for his read out loud book, which was perfect. It took about 15 mins for him to read and had just enough new vocabulary words to make it challenging. Also, it was a fun and interesting story he could get into. He liked it so much, he asked for more by this author. Great reading book!
March 31, 2015
Cam Jansen books were someone I had never heard of, but a local librarian introduced me to Adler's well-known character. Cam's photographic memory allows her to remember things that others cannot. In this story, Cam must remember where a gift was that ended up missing. At her friend Eric's father's graduation, a surprise gift is lost. Did someone steal it or was it taken my mistake? Cam and Eric must figure out where the present is before it is too late.
November 19, 2016
It was eh. It was even more bland and direct than the A to Z mysteries but the saving grace was the small trick used to locate the lost gift bag by using Cam's recall hearing instead of her camera, so I liked and appreciated that.
Reading it otherwise was very bland. Characters felt extremely stock and even Cam was meh, and not much actually happening and tension was low.
Reading it otherwise was very bland. Characters felt extremely stock and even Cam was meh, and not much actually happening and tension was low.
January 7, 2014
during the graduation grandpa's present goes missing. and a little girl thought it was her dad's and took it. she gives the present back and figures out her mom had her dad's present instead.
October 25, 2015
it was awsome! i like mysterys i like it when they find clues and stuff that solve the mystery and how cam and eric work together
August 12, 2016
Short and sweet
January 23, 2016
Too predictable.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews