Parents' Guide to

Cam Jansen Series

By Carrie Kingsley, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Fifth-grader with photographic memory solves fun mysteries.

Book David A. Adler Mystery 2004
Cam Jansen Series Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 1 parent review

Kgrabow3
Kgrabow3 Adult
August 29, 2020
age 6+

You can’t go wrong with Cam Jansen

My daughter started reading Cam Jansen books in 2nd grade. She is almost 10 now and still loves them.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In the CAM JANSEN series, fifth-grader Cam puts her photographic memory to good use, solving mysteries with her best friend Eric. Both kids are willing to stop what they're doing to help out, whether it's finding valuable autographs that are missing, stopping a department store thief, or figuring out what a ghost is up to or why only certain people win a carnival coin toss. The stories are full of happy, helpful people in a small community, and after Cam and Eric solve each mystery, the police are called to arrest the suspect and the kids are rewarded.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (5):

These stories are formulaic but fun and teach patience and logic. There are tons of clues along the way, and the pages are packed with details that may or may not be necessary to solve to mystery, which can make the stories a little muddled. While neither the sentences structure nor the vocabulary will stretch competent readers of chapter books, early readers will enjoy seeing Cam and Eric have fun with their families and friends, and encountering mysteries while doing normal things like going to basketball games and buying school supplies. This might might inspire young readers to be more attentive when they do the same.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how aware Cam Jansen is of her surroundings. Why is that important in everyday life?

  • Would it be hard not to be able to ignore your powers of observation, or do you think you'd enjoy being that aware all the time?

  • What other mystery series do you like and why?

Book Details

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