The Summer Camp Mysteries

Cam Jansen Mysteries Super Specials #1

by David A. Adler, Joy Allen (Illustrator)

Cam Jansen and her best friend Eric are spending three weeks at Camp Eagle Lake, and they couldn't be more excited. But mysteries seem to follow supersleuth Cam everywhere, and it isn't long before she's using her photographic memory to "Click, Click" and save the day! In "The First Day of Camp Mystery, " Cam's and Eric's parents have just brought them to camp when the lockbox with everyone's spending money goes missing. Can Cam find the thief? Then, in "It's a Raid!, " Cam's bunk is raided. She and her new friends search out the culprit, and might even raid them back! In "The Basketball Mystery, " Cam and Eric discover that all the sports equipment has been stolen, along with the prizes for the end-of-season banquet. Can Cam solve the case in time? These three Cam Jansen mysteries are super special indeed, and make for perfect summer reading!

Genres: Mystery, Chapter Books, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile, School

117 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2007

About the author

David 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)

Reviews

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 2 out of 5]

For learning English this is too easy (for an adult). There are 3 stories that are kind of boring and repetitious (for me, but I think that for the children they are not).

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mysteries were too short to be solvable, but the stories were fun.

I really liked the tiny bit about the scavenger hunt - I've always wanted to go on one - I didn't know one could be clever about the clues, as for example "a pen that writes green" can be any pen, you just write the word 'green' with it.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cam Jansen and her best friend Eric Shelton head to Camp Eagle Lake in this first of two super special editions in David A. Adler's beginning chapter-book series devoted to their mystery-solving adventures. In three separate episodes, Cam and Eric solve the mystery of the stolen snack money, identify the jokester who raided the G8 bunk, and catch the thief who stole all of the camp's new sports equipment. It's a busy three weeks at camp, and in between solving mysteries, Cam and Eric have plenty of fun...

With three puzzles to solve, rather than just the usual one, Cam Jansen and the Summer Camp Mysteries will undoubtedly provide a great deal of reading entertainment to fans of the Cam Jansen books. Each mystery is quite short, and only one - "The First Day of Camp Mystery" really relies on Cam's vaunted photographic memory, for the solution to the puzzle. The third and final mystery, "The Basketball Mystery," was the only one I was able to solve on my own, given the behavior of Kitty, the camp cat. All in all, a fun addition to the series, one I would recommend to Cam Jansen fans, and to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy mystery stories.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super Sleuth Cam Jansen goes to Camp Eagle Lake for three weeks! She and her best friend Erick experience all the camp activities: they go swimming, make new friends, go canoeing, and even solve three mysteries!

Reviewed by Debbie Hersh, Circulation, Vernon Area Public Library

[Emily]

Who sends their 8 year olds to three week sleep away camps is the real mystery.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our girls love Cam Jansen and this book includes three Cam Jansen mysteries in one book. Cam and her friend Eric go on a three week summer camp to Camp Eagle Lake and end up solving three mysteries while they are there.

Two of them are serious, one is just for fun. The stories, with their camp setting, are great to read aloud on a hot summer night. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Cam Jansen books are good for kids that like mystery, they just don't give enough detail for me. I like to try and solve the mystery before everything is uncovered, and this series doesn't give you all the clues Cam has until she is explaining how she solved everything.

Author: David A. Adler
Publisher: Puffin Books
Publication Date: April 5th 2007

[Tvisha Lade · Rating 5 out of 5]

its fun to read the book. i liked it. it made me laugh and happy.

[Mr.Zhou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good a story .

[HappyGay Bakunzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful summer fun.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Three charming mysteries featuring the talents of Jennifer Jansen and her photographic memory set at summer camp

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam and Eric head to Camp Eagle Lake for three weeks of sports, arts and crafts, and other camp fun. As they enter camp, they find an old mail deposit box with a sign that tells them to put their snack money in the box. So, they do. Later, Cam, Eric, and the other campers who deposited their money find out that the box is a scam. As Cam searches her memory pictures, she sees a dark haired man with sunglasses was leaving camp in a blue car. She even remembers the license plate number. This had to be the snack money thief! While the police work to recover the stolen money, Cam goes to meet her bunkmates. During the second week, the girls of G8 walk into their bunk to find it totally trashed. Someone pulled a major prank on them! Luckily, Cam puts the clues together and finds out that the prankster is closer to “home” than they thought. Then, near the end of their camp stay, someone steals all of the sports equipment out of the storage shed. Someone cut the padlock. When the camp kitty licks the lock because it smells like tuna fish, they realize that the thief must be someone working in the kitchen. Three weeks. Three mysteries.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Nicholas Scinta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cam Jansen series are great. They are books filled with simple and creative mysteries for young readers. They’re wholesome stories that will cause your children to think critically. Everything these days is quickly looked up on a smart device or with the help of ai. These mysteries require the reader to pay careful attention to the clues in the pages, to help them identify and solve mysteries along with the main character, Cam. Short reads. Probably best for 2nd-4th grade, although kids and adults from all ages can enjoy.

[Erin]

N independent April 2020

Note: Dad read this to N. Not Mom. August/September 2018
Since Goodreads has no personal notes option on iOS app, I must put my notes here. Author annoyed?
Please forward to Goodreads that they should allow their users to add personal notes on the iOS app. They don’t listen to the suggestions from their users. Cheers.

[Tashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really like this book because i love mystery stories and there were three cam jansen mystery in one book it had the missing blue box i think, the raid and the missing baseball and basket balls those are all the mysterys in the book

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like short, predictable mysteries for my struggling readers in third grade. However, these "short" mysteries didn't provide enough significant clues for the reader to solve the mysteries. It was sort of a disappointment for me, however, my students seemed to enjoy it.

[Habiba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because Cam Jansen help hear camp to close her eye and said "click" and remember what she see, and that special for her. And she help them in three mystery in three week at the camp with her best friend.

[Jason Drumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is obviously a kids book. My daughter (8 yrs old) is reading through the series, and really enjoying all of them. I read it so that I could talk with her about it.

Lots of fun, cute book. I recommend.

[superawesomekt · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This is pretty standard fare as far as kids' mysteries go. I read this to review it as a nominee for battle of the books.

It feels like it was published in the 90s though I think it was in the 2000s.

[Rachel]

I enjoyed the first two mysteries. Very simple for children. Cam uses her memory to solve the mysteries, which is a good idea.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cam is back and it's summer. She's off to summer camp and has to solve three mysteries in this book.

[Kaytee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I DID NOT KNOW IT HAD THREE BOOKS IN THERE.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really is basically three books in one. Clues don't overlap and each mystery is commenced and concluded independently. Takes place in a coed camp. It's a fun book for Cam Jansen lovers.

[kyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. It has three mysteries in ONE!!!!!

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty average.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a relly good book and it had three stores in one