The Catnapping Mystery

Cam Jansen Mysteries #18

by David A. Adler, Susanna Natti (Illustrator)

While visiting Aunt Molly at a fancy downtown hotel, Cam uses her photographic memory to help one of the guests find her stolen luggage and pet cat, and to catch the thief.

The Cam Jansen series is perfect for young readers who are making the transition to chapter books. The first fifteen books in the series have received updated covers, and the series redesign continues with books 16-22, bringing new life to these perennial bestsellers.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Chapter Books, Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile

58 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

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

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fifth-grade sleuth Cam Jansen, her best friend Eric, and her parents all head to the big city to see Cam's Aunt Molly at her hotel. Once there, they get involved in a case of stolen luggage and a missing cat. With the help of Cam's photographic memory, the cat-napper and thief is caught...

Cam Jansen and the Catnapping Mystery is the eighteenth entry in David A. Adler's series of beginning chapter-book mysteries devoted to Cam and Eric's adventures solving crime. Like its predecessors, it features a thief, but unlike its predecessors, it also concerns a more serious crime, in the form of the catnapped Little Tiger, and the demand for ransom. Reading these as an adult, I don't find the mysteries particularly suspenseful, but I do recall enjoying them as a young girl, and wishing that I had Cam's amazing powers of recall. Recommended to Cam Jansen fans, and to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy mystery.

[Ella Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fun read because I like cats and mysteries.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cam does it again - comes to the rescue when things seem hopeless. Our girls have really enjoyed reading these stories and ask for more. We will look for more Cam Jansen books at our library.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cam had to solve the mystery of a lady's missing cat.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be careful and don't lose your cat.

[Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

i could solve misterys and stuff like that!!!cami!!!!

[Bvlmc Buchanan Verplanck Elementary School · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cam Jansen has a photographic memory. Can you remember all the details she sees and put the pieces of the mystery together before this spunky girl detective solves the crime and corners the bad guy?

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a friend who swears by Cam Jansen over, say, Encyclopedia Brown, but I've recently read three Cam books now (two re-reads), and... Cam's mysteries aren't really solvable EXCEPT by Cam. That is, Encyclopedia Brown provides enough evidence that the reader SHOULD be able to solve the case (..."should"...), but only Cam has the details she needs to be able to find who did it.

Case in point: In this book, Cam happens to see a fake bellhop who goes up to a woman and takes her things "for her" while she's stuck in traffic almost but not quite at the hotel. In retrospect, she notices that the bellhop had a different colour uniform from the real bellhops, and after hearing the woman had her things—and cat—stolen, offers to help I.D. the perp. She mentions details about the van the fake bellhop used that she saw but were never mentioned in the book until she describes the van to the police. Essentially, the story is like a Sherlock Holmes story; you can't actually solve it, you just have to keep reading for the reveal.

I do still think eidetic/photographic* memory is neat, and I enjoy reading about characters who have it (with an amount of jealousy, since my memory is... not great). Probably that's the appeal for others, too, that this amazing girl solves crime in a way that feels amazing and clever—even if it's not particularly clever to just "look up" the answers, as it were.

*I know there's a difference between the two, but it's vague, and I prefer "eidetic" since it sounds more scientific, where "photographic" sounds like someone didn't know what to call it, like "cobra chicken" (haha).

[Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam Jansen, she was in the city and they were looking for the hotel and they saw this guy with a blue uniform packing. Cam said click so she can remember it. In the hotel, the same lady who was helped by the blue uniform man came in and said her luggage hasn't come. So they called 2 cops. Cam said that person is probably a robber since all the other hotel people wear red uniform and that person was wearing a blue uniform. Cam described the van to the 2 cops and they found the guy. They celebrated at the ice cream shop.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of books aimed at children who are transitioning to chapter books. I think children would like the story, since it is a mystery. I setst a good example for girls because the heroine is Cam. Cam has a photographic memory and that aspect would be interesting for kids to think about. I remember when I was a child and learned about it and tried to see if I had one, so I would look at things and close my eyes and try to remember the details. I think kids enjoy that.

[Madison Manson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam arrives at a hotel with her family and sees her Aunt sitting in the lobby. As she is talking with her Aunt, a distraught woman comes running into the lobby screaming about her missing "little tiger". Cam assists polices officers in finding the woman's "little tiger", which turns out to be a cat. She solves the mystery with her photographic memory and all is well.

[Jaime · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t believe the flippant nature this book spoke about the aunt and her memory issues. Such a shame to make fun of a serious condition instead of taking this as an opportunity to expose children to cognitive diseases (or leave it out entirely). Really disappointed in this one.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is not the best in the series, but it is still a cute story that follows the same plotlines as all the other Cam Jansen beginner chapter books. Cam is at a hotel this time, and an elderly woman's luggage has been stolen, and so has her cat, Little Tiger! My rating - 2/5

[Elsbeth Magilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are early reader classics for a reason. My first grader is hooked on these simple mysteries. Not hard to share as a read aloud either.

[Mr.Zhou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again! Impressive memory!

[Lahars_little_library · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good mystery should leave clues for the reader to discover themselves- not hand feed them the solution. Where's the fun in that?

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audio in bed, quick and fun mystery.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery itself was fine, but I literally cannot stop thinking about how Cam's aunt has like a medically bad memory and it isn't acknowledged.

[kammie!!? · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this on my bookshelf?? I think this is from my elementary school??

[Miss Weber’s 4th Grade Class · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LIKED IT BECAUSE IT WAS INTERESTING AND EXCITING!!! -OC

[Anna Salvesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man pretending to be a bellhop stole a woman's luggage and her kitty named Little Tiger. They called the police. When the police arrived, Cam remembered a sign on the fake bellhop's van that said where he lived. So they went there. Beth, who worked at the building where the bellhop lived, told them which house he lived in. They went up and Cam said "it's him!" They found the cat and the luggage and arrested the bellhop.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam Jansen is charming. And these books have been great for getting my son to think about what is going on in the story beyond the written words. And there's a cat. :)

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cam Jansen has a photographic memory, and she uses it to help solve crimes! Mysteries are great books to get children thinking more critically, but this one wasn't my favorite child mystery novel. There weren't any clues or hints to be figured out or guessed upon by the reader. That being said, this is a decent read and good for younger children who aren't as curious to make guesses about the mystery themselves.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam Jansen, her parents, and her best friend, Eric Shelton, are back in the big city. On their way to the Royal Hotel, they wait at a red light. Cam watches a bell hop dressed in a blue uniform put some luggage in a green van. They meet Aunt Molly at the hotel, and they are all standing at the front desk getting information about things they can do when a distraught older woman named Mrs. Wright pushes her way up to the desk. She tells the clerk that a bellhop took her two suitcases and her cat and told her that he would take everything up to her room. Her things never arrived. Another bell hop looks around the hotel- in the lady’s room, in the storage room, etc. He can’t find them, either. Then, a phone call comes for Mrs. Wright. She is told that her belongings and her cat are being held for ransom. All of the bell hops at the Royal Hotel wear red uniforms, and none of them are Mrs. Wright’s thief. Then, Cam remembers the other bell hop and the green van. When she describes that person to Mrs. Wright, the older woman verifies that this is indeed the thief. Cam remembers the stickers in the van’s front window. One of them leads the police to the apartment building where the thief lives.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book!

I loved the mystery itself - the way the crime was set up, discovered, and eventually solved. Cam is at her best as she tries to find a missing cat before the owner is forced to pay a costly ransom.

Also a lot of fun - getting to meet Cam's aunt. I honestly would like to see more of her, she seems like a lot of fun.

Highly recommended!

[Erin]

N independent. March 2020

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.

Note: Dad read this to N. Not Mom.

[Elisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though the culprit is not always caught by police officers or no one knows what the villain did, God knows. God knows even if we don't know. We can't hide anything from God. Don't try to lie to yourself, any other person, or God. He will always find out.

[Prisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going through my childhood books when I found this one. Definitely something the younger kids will enjoy, with enough innocence yet climatic build-up that I was remembering the first time I read the book, back in first grade.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

its about someone stole somebody's suitcase.cam uses her photographic memory to track down the thief

[Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud to Emma and Will. Another good mystery for them.