Mystery

OMG, Cam, did you really take a baby to investigate a criminal hideout?! This is nuts. My 7yo still liked it and wants to read more. ( )

3 copies

Jennifer "The Camera" Jansen and her friend Eric are at the mall when an alarm goes off and a man runs out of Parker's jewelry store - a robbery! Cam's photographic memory helps her crack the case - even with Eric's baby brother in tow.

A little disquieting to have criminals with guns in a children's mystery novel, but of course, Cam solves the mystery and no one gets hurt.

I remember reading these independently in early elementary school, though I don't remember this specific title. ( )

When Cam Jansen - real name Jennifer, but nicknamed "The Camera" for her photographic memory - and her best friend Eric Shelton witness the aftermath of a jewelry robbery at the mall in this beginning chapter-book, the pair soon realize that the police have made a mistake. With Eric's baby brother Howie in tow, they set out to track down the diamond thieves themselves...

Well this was a trip down memory lane! I used to read the Cam Jansen mystery series as a young girl, but hadn't picked one up in years. The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds is one I recall particularly enjoying, and rereading it today on my train commute, as part of a project to familiarize myself with more titles intended for this beginning chapter-book stage, I was filled with nostalgic happiness. First published in 1980, some of the developments seem a little unlikely in 2019, especially carrying little Howie along while confronting jewel thieves. Still, I don't think that this bothered me at all as a young reader, so perhaps today's children will be likewise unconcerned. Recommended to mystery fans who are just getting going with chapter-books. ( )