Young Cam Jansen and the Lions' Lunch Mystery

Young Cam Jansen Mysteries #13

by David A. Adler, Susanna Natti (Illustrator)

A field trip to the zoo seems like fun for Cam Jansen and her classmates— until lunchtime. Everyone else’s sandwich is safely delivered, but Danny can’t find his anywhere! Did the lions eat it? Only Cam and her amazing memory can crack this easy-to-read mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, 1st Grade

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 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

[Jacquelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Fiction Reading level: Ages 6-8
Not every child has a photographic memory! Most possess only normal skills, but would enjoy reading about a kid who’s special. Jennifer “Camera” Jansen, Cam for short, can remember anything she’s seen by “clicking” a picture and storing it in her brain. She uses this amazing talent to help her teacher and classmates in a variety of situations. In this story, Danny, the class clown, has lost his lunch while on a trip to the zoo. Cam finds it by remembering his activities step-by-step. The book is written in large type, with a full paragraph on each page. The text is accompanied by full color illustrations that help the reader to follow the story. This easy reader is separated into chapter for those longing to move up into chapter books, but who might not quite have the skills to do so. There is a fun quiz at the end of the book to encourage the young ones to go back and read it again.
Other mysteries for the younger reader:
Detective Dinosaur, James Skofield
The mysteries of Harris Burdick, Chris Van Allsburg
The Nate, the Great series, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

[Kylee Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because I like the kids mysteries. I don't remember the book talking about the boy thinking the lions ate his lunch like the inside flap said, though.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A field trip to the zoo results in a lunchtime mystery for Cam Jansen to solve for her jokester friend Danny. Using bright and vibrant ink and watercolor illustrations to complement the storyline, Adler brings another mystery to a close with a story that is upbeat and child-friendly without being preachy or message-driven. The book’s design, utilizing a large font, plenty of white space and vibrant illustrations to break up the text, will draw in new readers and have them scouring for clues on every page. Also included at the end of the book is a brief memory game that helps readers to develop memorization and observation skills like Cam’s. Lovers of the Young Cam Jansen mysteries will soon be devouring Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and other juvenile mysteries, and eventually Agatha Christie or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This book is a delightful early reader that allows children to solve the mystery and to practice their own problem-solving skills.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun book in the Cam Jansen series. We have read many of these stories - both the Cam Jansen and the Young Cam Jansen books. Although these are more for beginning readers, we read whatever ones we can find at our library. Our girls love the stories and try to solve the mystery on their own. We also like the memory games at the end of the books. This was a fun tale about a school field trip to the zoo.

I forgot that we read this book, and I picked it up again at our local library. It's okay, though. It's an quick and entertaining story and worth a reread.

[J9 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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!

[Tammy King Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebekah's current favorite bed-time read. She think's is really funny that anyone would forget what they did with their lunch.

[Amy Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cam Jansen goes to the zoo on a class trip and helps Danny when they discover that his lunch is missing. Viking Easy-to-Read Level 2 AR 2.6

[Emilee M.]

This was a fun mystery and a good read for younger kids. It was also cute for adults.

[Christie]

problem-solving, easy chapter book about a girl with a photographic memory