What do you think?
Rate this book
Cam Jansen Mysteries #29
The Basketball Mystery
Cam and her friend Eric are having fun at a local basketball game. They watch the team?s retiring coach receive a basketball signed by his former players, including the governor. But after the game the ball is gone. Was it stolen? In another addition to the bestselling early chapter book series, Cam uses her photographic memory to investigate this hometown mystery.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
50 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
David A. Adler
405 books206 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
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 23, 2021
Cam Jansen and her best friend Eric Shelton return in this twenty-ninth entry in David A. Adler's series of beginning chapter-books devoted to their mystery-solving adventures. In this installment, the friends must locate a missing basketball, given by the state governor to popular Coach Jenkins, on the occasion of his final game as a high school basketball coach. Signed by a number of celebrities, the ball is quite valuable, and when it goes missing, the two fifth-grade sleuths spring into action...
Like the preceding entries in the series, the solution to the puzzle in Cam Jansen and the Basketball Mystery rests upon its eponymous heroine's photographic memory, which she uses here to sniff out the . Although I didn't find this one terribly suspenseful, I think that it will provide an engaging tale for its target audience. Recommended to fans of the Cam Jansen books, and to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy mystery.
Like the preceding entries in the series, the solution to the puzzle in Cam Jansen and the Basketball Mystery rests upon its eponymous heroine's photographic memory, which she uses here to sniff out the . Although I didn't find this one terribly suspenseful, I think that it will provide an engaging tale for its target audience. Recommended to fans of the Cam Jansen books, and to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy mystery.
September 17, 2013
Read by: Aaron
Author: David A. Adler Illustrator: Joy Allen
Interest Level: 3-5
Grade Level Equivalent: 3.3
"Cam" (short for The Camera), which is what people call Jennifer Jensen because of her ability to take pictures using her photographic memory, is invited to attend a basketball game with her friend Eric and his parents. The game is important as Eric's father played for Coach Jenkins, whose is set to retire after the night's game. After the game, which Hamilton (which Jenkins coaches) won, Jenkins is presented with two signed basketballs; one is signed by the current team members, while the other is autographed by more than 100 former players, including Governor Zellner, who presents it to him. During the celebration, Cam uses her photogaphic memory to take pictures, which are essential in solving the mystery when the valuable ball disappears. An attendee who disguised himself as a visiting team player had deflated the ball to more easily hide it. Because of Cam, he was caught when attempting to escape. The book's storyline provides ample opportunities to pose thought-provoking questions to students as you progress when reading aloud, and it makes students "think outside the box."
Author: David A. Adler Illustrator: Joy Allen
Interest Level: 3-5
Grade Level Equivalent: 3.3
"Cam" (short for The Camera), which is what people call Jennifer Jensen because of her ability to take pictures using her photographic memory, is invited to attend a basketball game with her friend Eric and his parents. The game is important as Eric's father played for Coach Jenkins, whose is set to retire after the night's game. After the game, which Hamilton (which Jenkins coaches) won, Jenkins is presented with two signed basketballs; one is signed by the current team members, while the other is autographed by more than 100 former players, including Governor Zellner, who presents it to him. During the celebration, Cam uses her photogaphic memory to take pictures, which are essential in solving the mystery when the valuable ball disappears. An attendee who disguised himself as a visiting team player had deflated the ball to more easily hide it. Because of Cam, he was caught when attempting to escape. The book's storyline provides ample opportunities to pose thought-provoking questions to students as you progress when reading aloud, and it makes students "think outside the box."
April 23, 2021
know these are popular, and have been since I was a little girl, and my children have asked for more books in the series so I can’t quite bring myself to give them less than three stars, though I personally find them boring and tedious and they would not be my first choice for early reader mysteries. For me, the characterization is flat, the “action” quite limited, the writing doesn’t really sparkle or make anything vivid or vibrant. In fact, while, on the one hand, I appreciate the rather unique premise that Cam has a photographic memory which makes her a good detective… on the other hand, I actually find this extremely frustrating and not a particularly good role model for other young detectives because she has a talent that very, very few other people have. She doesn’t have to work that hard at solving the mysteries, she just “clicks” back to a mental picture to help her solve it. Certainly she does do a bit of work trying to piece the rest of the puzzle in from there, and I appreciate that it helps children think about paying attention to their surroundings and looking for small details, but I just feel it’s just too easy as a plot device. I have found the Ballpark Mysteries series and the Hardy Boys Clue Book series to be far superior to the Cam Jansen series in terms of solid mysteries that children can easily play along with and characterization and writing style.
September 30, 2021
Cam and the Sheltons were going to a basketball coach's last game and a lot of people gave him signed basketballs and someone took one of the basketballs that was signed by a very famous person named Matt Taylor. Cam and Eric think one of the Franklin players stole it because they're the team who lost. Someone pretending to be one of the players on the Franklin team took the basketball because he saw that it was signed by Matt Taylor. Everyone thought he was actually one of the players, but they called security and the governor. They found him and checked his bag and found the ball.
August 29, 2025
Read for the basketball. Stayed for the intriguing characters, cute illustrations, and interesting case. I figured out how the crime went down before the last chapter!! Of course, the book was written for early readers. But still - I solved my first Cam Jansen case!
January 4, 2018
Great book!
Great for boys who like to play basketball and finding clues!
It also has funny parts to make you laugh!
Great for boys who like to play basketball and finding clues!
It also has funny parts to make you laugh!
October 1, 2019
Cam finds the thief of a signed basketball at a coach's retirement party. She uses logic and her photographic memory to catch him.
A slow start- not great for a read-aloud.
A slow start- not great for a read-aloud.
December 10, 2020
Kinda solvable, kinda not. I aced the observation practice again... I need to play a harder version of Kim's game I guess. Certainly a cute series.
June 21, 2023
I thought this book was really good! I didn’t know until my sister told me to read it. It turns out, the mystery of the basketball, considering I like basketball, was good for me!
September 16, 2025
Great books
Good books for kids! My tutoring kids enjoy this series. We wish more were available on kindle. Thank you very much!
Good books for kids! My tutoring kids enjoy this series. We wish more were available on kindle. Thank you very much!
March 6, 2017
This Cam Jansen mystery felt a bit like a trick story since we weren't given all the facts until almost the end of the story. Still, with a little help, my second grade son was able to reason out the mystery before the reveal.
February 2, 2024
Cam goes to a high school basketball game with Eric and his family. This is Coach Jenkins last game before his retirement. Mr. Shelton played for Jenkins so he is excited to see Hamilton High win this one for the coach. And, they do! At the end of the game, Coach Jenkins gets the game ball signed by all the current players. Also, Governor Zellner, who played for Hamilton, presents another basketball to the coach. This one was signed by over 100 former players, including the governor, Matt Taylor, the actor, and Toby Coleman, the artist. After the celebration on the court, everyone goes to the cafeteria for cake. Cam notices only one signed basketball on the court. A search under hundreds of balloons dropped from the ceiling, the ball signed by the former players is missing. Cam can’t see anyone with a gym bag or backpack that could fit a basketball. Then, Danny, the jokester, deflates a balloon with a toothpick and sticks it in his pocket. That gives Cam an idea. Now, she just needs to find someone who seems suspicious and out of place.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
April 23, 2014
Cam Jansen is a 5th grader with a photographic memory. She uses her memory to solve mysteries. She says the word "click" as she takes a picture with her eyes. She can then compare memories like you would compare two photos. That alone doesn't allow her to solve mysteries, but she is able to figure out the mystery anyway.
In this case, a signed basketball is stolen after a basketball game. It takes all of her skill to figure out what happened to the basketball.
The books are relatively short, and can be read quickly. She is similar to Encyclopedia Brown, but the mystery takes the entire book, instead of a couple of pages. This allows the characters to have more depth.
In this case, a signed basketball is stolen after a basketball game. It takes all of her skill to figure out what happened to the basketball.
The books are relatively short, and can be read quickly. She is similar to Encyclopedia Brown, but the mystery takes the entire book, instead of a couple of pages. This allows the characters to have more depth.
April 22, 2013
I like reading mystery books to classes. You can ask some good prediction questions, and talk about analyzing and problem solving. Cam is a interesting charater because of her photographic memory, this mystery has a boy trying to steal something and he gets taken away by an officer. The ones who helped solve the case were rewarded.
April 23, 2013
Everybody is smart and can solve a mystery, puzzle, Facebook (lol), Skype :D, and etc. Cam Jansen isn't the only unique, one-of-a-kind person there is! If this statement was true, the world would be completely BORING! We need to find our smarts by putting our brain to the test or studying. We are all unique in some way.
September 26, 2024
I picked this book up from the library because I used to read Cam Jansen books all the time when I was a kid and it was nostalgic to see one of the books again! Giving it four stars because it’s a good story and fun mystery but the book is obviously not at my reading level now that I’m much older haha- it was super easy to read through! I finished it in 15 minutes!
February 6, 2010
Another fun book in the Cam Jansen series. Our girls just love these books and we've read every one that we can find at the library. This is an interesting story and it has a clever ending.
April 17, 2011
Tried not to judge to harsh sometimes with series books it seems they stretch to make their next book. I feel this is one of those stretches. however it helps kids to use thier memory to predict whats happening.
December 23, 2012
I like this book because I play basketball and I can understand this book a little bit better. This book is about a basketball coach who is retiring and he gets a ball signed by lots of famous people but it gets stolen read and find out what happens
September 16, 2011
Kids liked it. Not one of my favorites, but for grade school kids that like mysteries, not a bad series.
Read
February 9, 2014i think this book is good
March 20, 2014
it was good
Read
January 23, 2015Interest Level Grades 3 - 5
Grade Level Equivalent 2.4
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bo...
Grade Level Equivalent 2.4
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bo...
April 27, 2015
cam realized that govener zellners present for the coche was missing then they bumped into a kid named brian then they found the present it was brian.
January 18, 2014
someone stole a famous basketball players ball. it was a bully who did it.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews