The Mystery of the Carnival Prize

Cam Jansen Mysteries #9

by David A. Adler, Susanna Natti (Illustrator)

The Cam Jansen books are perfect for young readers who are making the transition to chapter books, and Cam is a spunky young heroine whom readers have loved for over two decades. Now the first ten books in the series have updated covers that bring new life to these perennial best-sellers. Old fans and new readers will love Cam's cool, modern look!

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Juvenile, 2nd Grade

57 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1984

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

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Growing up I was OBSESSED with the Cam Jansen series. I loved reading and I tried to get through every book I could at the library. This series was loud and centre for me, so of course as an adult when I saw them I wanted to give them another try. Luckily, they're still super enjoyable!

In this book, Cam and her friends are trying to figure out why people keep winning at certain games and why things keep going missing.

These middle grade mysteries are the perfect little read if you want under 100 pages of fun and mystery. The mysteries are solvable and will make you think, which is really nice. It's also full of friendship and thinking, which is an added bonus. The stories hold up for the most part, although I doubt any carnival game now costs 10 cents. Ironically, I do remember reading this exact one though! I would think Grade 1 to 4 would be the ideal group for this book, depending on the reading level.

This is an easy read and a great way to make middle grades love reading. I highly recommend picking up this series as they still hold true. They also have incredible morals and themes in them, which makes them a bit more educational but still packed full of fun.

Three out of five stars.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)

*Please Note that the following review is the general review on the Cam Jansen Mysteries *

I loved this series as a kid. I believe I was about 6 to 8 when I read these books and it would be the beginning of my love of mysteries. Cam Jansen, about 10 years old, uses her photographic memory to solve mysteries. They remind me of Agatha Christie novels but for children beginning to read chapter books. I would call these one step above the easy readers.

[Ella Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The hardest game in the carnival got rid of the prizes really quickly. Cam Jansen has to find out why.

This book was an ok read for me.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cam Jansen and her best friend Eric Shelton confront a mystery at their fifth grade carnival in this ninth chapter-book devoted to their crime-solving adventures. Intended to raise money for the school library, the carnival has many games, one of which - the Dime Toss - has a suspicious number of winners. With her photographic memory, Cam figures out what is really going on, and helps to prevent a pair of cheaters from triumphing at the expense of the carnival...

I enjoyed reading the Cam Jan Mysteries when I was a girl, and have been enjoying revisiting them of late, as part of a project to familiarize myself with fiction intended for readers just getting going with simple chapter-books. Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Carnival Prize isn't one I specifically remember, but I still was able to guess what was going on almost instantly. That seems to be the case with all of the books in this series - as an adult reader I find the mysteries all a little obvious. That said, I do think the target audience will find them more engrossing, and will enjoy them.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nostalgic Sunday afternoon read.

[Jane Maple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam's real name is Jennifer but her nickname is short for camera because she has a photographic memory. All she has to do is say click and she can remember something she previously saw. She and her friend Eric are helping with the school carnival. When they arrive they see a boy with red hair leaving. Later they noticed that one game, the dime toss game seems to be won by only two people who often wear disguises to partially cover up what they look like. One is a girl with braces and long brown hair and one is the red haired boy earlier. They take all the stuffed animal prizes from the game (since the boy earlier rigged the game so they could win) and they were going to sell them until Ms. Benson found them and had a talk with them.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Carnival Prize is another of the books I read for the BookCrossing literacy train. It is one of a series of mysteries all staring Cam Jansen, an elementary school aged girl with a photographic memory (Cam for "Camera").

Cam and her friends are participating in the school's fund raising carnival. Something is amiss with the dime toss. It appears to be too easy to win and soon all the prizes are gone. Is the game rigged? If so, by whom and how?

I really enjoyed this book and would read more from the series if I run into any. The story is well written and the mystery has enough clues to keep observant readers engaged.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all enjoyed this book in the Cam Jansen series. The storyline is interesting and the mystery isn't too hard to solve. It's a short book, so we were able to read it all at one sitting, which is a bonus as we graduate to longer and longer chapter books. Our girls really enjoy Cam Jansen books!

[Daisy Ho · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is mainly about in that time, Cam's school had a carnival and there has a thief to win all the prize, Cam and her friends is finding the thief and catch him.
at the end of the story, she found out that under a map of the game, they had the magnet, so the coin will all th way go above the magnet. how smart is this thief?!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read several Cam Jansen Mysteries when I was a child. They were some of my favorite books. As an adult, I found the mystery a little too easy to solve, and the story was mainly focused on plot and not character.

[Alli Srmek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Mystery
Grade Level: 2-3
Unique feature: The idea of a photographic memory being so thoroughly explained and shown throughout the text while still appealing to a young audience.

[Mr.Zhou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This photographic memory is just amazing!

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it felt a bit dated. It isn't as bad as reading an original Nancy Drew in terms of dated material. In terms of language and didactic tone it is okay. It felt a bit silted and forced at times. I would select a more modern mystery early chapter book that had diversity. Reading 'Click' to simulate a photographic memory was incredibly annoying. I had flashbacks of my childhood of classmates saying click during memorable moments. Considering that today we take selfies - this device just doesn't work anymore for me. A quick search revealed more than one modern series with diverse characters that would be a better fit for today's youth.

[Toryn]

A fantastic read-aloud to newly-captivated mystery lovers. A short enough book for one sitting, but holds attention until the very end, when Cam realizes how the crimesters had gotten away with their fraud. Cam is a delightful main character, and this story is a great introduction into the world of crime novels for young readers.

(One thing that seems like it should be explained, though - why didn’t these kids find some OTHER place to sell stolen goods other than a minute’s drive down the block?! 😂)

[Anna Salvesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cam's real name is Jennifer, but her nickname is Cam (short for camera) because she has a photographic memory with everything she sees. At the school carnival, Cam notices that the people winning all of the prizes all have braces. She discovers that it has been Sylvia and Brit in disguises. They cheated and put a magnet on one of the games so that their dime would always land on it and they'd win the prize. Cam figures it out!

[Patricia Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parents should note that these books can be read in any order in the series, as every book repeats the needed information. This can feel a little repetitive when binge-audiobook listening, but honestly, most parents should be used to this given the nature of kids’ TV shows. (And even adult cozy mysteries are this way!)

[Dee brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute mystery.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Cam Jansen novel so far.

[Margie B’s Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun story for 2nd-5th graders targeting problem solving, inferences, wh questions, vocabulary and comprehension.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her real name is Jennifer?

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the annual spring break carnival, Cam and Eric become curious about the dime toss game. It’s very hard to toss a dime into the center of a circle, yet eight times various children get a dime in the exact center of the middle circle. The winners are four girls and four boys. As Cam reviews her mind pictures she realizes that the four boys are really one boy. The same is true of the girl. Cam and Eric saw the boy leaving the carnival just before it started. He was carrying a roll of tape. Cam stood behind the girl at the refreshment booth and remembers that she talked about her lucky dime. When Cam examines the dime toss board and looks through the dimes used to play the game, she solves the mystery.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Ernie Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked Cam Jansen and the Carnival Prize Mystery. I thought it was really interesting and you always want to be one step ahead. I really liked when at the beginning when Cam and Eric see one kid with tape and thought he was helping but he wasn't he was just taping a metal to win the dime toss ( hint the dime's were fake). Its been my favorite in the series so far.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cam Jansen's real name is Jennifer, but her nickname is Cam (short for camera) because she has a photographic memory. Using her "camera," she and her friends discover the mystery of the winning carnival prizes at the dime toss booth. Appropriate for 3-4th graders who like a little mystery.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was this boy and a girl and they taped a magnet on the back of the dime toss board. They put this metal wrapper on the coins and they slided it on and it stopped on the magnet. Cam saw that they were wearing disguises and they were going to sell them.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 kids are winning stuffed animals and want to make their own carnival stand. the kids put magnets behind the targets so when they play, the metal dimes go to the center of the target where the magnets are hidden. they also use fake coins to play the games.

[E]

Don't cheat!!!

[Tammy King Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebekah and I just finished this one tonight - she is starting to be able to "guess" who is behind the mystery, and she's getting pretty good!

[Joe Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

another great book in the series for young readers moving to chapter books.

[Aalyiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was awesome

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading aloud to my 5 and 7 year olds. Enjoyable, simple mystery.