Module 9

 Mystery 

Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery by David A. Adler
Illustrated by Susanna Natti

Bibliography
Adler, D. A.  (1993). Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery. New York, NY: Puffin Books.


ISBN 0-14-130648-3

Summary


This book is just one of many from the Cam Jansen Series.  It is set around a little girl named Jennifer Jansen, who everyone calls Cam short for "The Camera" because of her photographic memory. In this book Cam and her friend Eric, who are trying to raise money for "Ride and Read" which helped take home-bound elderly people to the local library.  In the middle of raising money, Cam and Eric catch a bank robber and his accomplice and make friends with a bunch of cops.

My Impression


I liked it, it was a cute book for our young readers, who are in a hurry to read chapter books.

Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. Cam (short for Camera) Jansen and her faithful companion, Eric Shelton, encounter yet another mystery as they try to raise funds for charity by selling fudge bars and rice cakes. (They never do explain the mystery of that unlikely combination.) This time Cam spots a woman behaving suspiciously in the vicinity of a supposedly vacant house. It requires only Cam's photographic memory (which she activates by saying "Click" constantly), deductive reasoning, and a short surveillance for the duo to ascertain that a criminal is hiding out and to alert a grateful police force. Cam satisfies the childhood fantasy of being smarter than adults and dealing successfully with mystery and danger, and young readers seem to be able to tolerate the clicks and to suspend reality in order to marvel at her wonderful ways. Another fix for the beginning readers who demand mystery books.

Children's Literature - Children's Literature

Jennifer a.k.a. Cam (short for "The Camera") Jansen is a detective with a photographic memory. Like a pit bull with a Porterhouse, Cam won't let go of a mystery until she gnaws it to the bone and bares the truth. In this book, the fourteenth in the "Cam Jansen Adventure" series, our sleuth and her friend, Eric, (under the watchful eye of Mr. Jansen) sell fudge bars and rice cakes door-to-door to raise money for a local charity. En route, they spy a mysterious woman walking alongside a seemingly deserted yellow house. She hurries past them, deposits a bulging trash bag into someone else's garbage, then disappears into the house across the street. Upon closer examination, they discover that other strange things are going on at the yellow house. With a click of her mental camera, Cam records them all. Her determination, fast thinking, and unique ability enable her to solve this mystery and help the police capture an elusive thief. 


Use in Library Setting


It should be available to younger kids, it is a great book for the little ones who are transitioning from picture books or easy books to small chapter books.  It would be great in elementary and middle school libraries as well


Review. (n.d.). Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery. [Review of the bookCam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery ]. 

Amazon.com. 
Available from

http://www.amazon.com/Cam-Jansen-Chocolate-Fudge-Mystery/dp/0142402117/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354835188&sr=8-1&keywords=cam+jansen+and+the+chocolate+fudge+mystery

Review. (n. d.). Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery. [Review of the book Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery]. 

Barnes & Noble. 
Available from

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chocolate-fudge-mystery-david-a-adler/1100553199?ean=9780142402115 


Image from
http://victorianrose.ecrater.com/p/15605761/cam-jansen-and-the-chocolate-fudge