Young Cam Jansen and the Ice Skate Mystery

Young Cam Jansen Mysteries #4

by David A. Adler, Susanna Natti

Cam Jansen and her friend Eric are going ice skating. When Eric loses the locker key, Cam's amazing memory clicks into action to find it in this latest edition to the popular Young Cam Jansen series.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Chapter Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

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

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Young Cam Jansen series is a great series when the kids are ready to read slightly longer books. I guess they are technically chapter books (since each has about 5 chapters,) but the chapters are very short and the text is more simple than a normal chapter book (more like an early reader). If you like these, try the "Cam Jansen" series too.

[farmwifetwo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This where my youngest is for reading. Words he can out spell a Gr 8, language/inferring not so much... plus he has little patience to read. We haven't done much reading lately so we've added it to our summer homeschool.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cam Jansen and her friend Eric Shelton spend the day at the skating rink. After ensuring his dad that he will not lose the locker key with their personal items in it, he indeed loses it it. It's up to Cam Jansen to try and remember what clues are involved to solve the mystery of the missing key.

[Paula Greenfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this mystery Cam and Eric go to the ice skating rink. While there Eric losses the key. Can Cam and her amazing memory find it before the skating rink closes? This confused me a bit which delighted me.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Level 3, so definitely more text on each page and some harder words thrown in.

[JayD · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are at least two versions of this book; one is labeled Penguin Young Readers Level 3 (grades 1-3); the version I have (identical inside) is labeled Puffin Easy-to-Read Level 2 (grades K-2). I notice another reviewer has labeled it Accelerated Reading Level 2.5. The vocabulary is very simple and the sentences short, but there are typically 6-9 sentences per page. Here's a sample:

"Cam, Eric, and Mr. Shelton went onto the ice.
They held hands and skated together.
"Faster!" Eric said.
Cam and Mr. Shelton skated faster.
"Faster! Faster!" Eric said.
"I can't go any faster," his father said.
Eric skated ahead."

I'd say the layout and the mystery of the missing locker key would be fine for a 7-year-old with a limited reading vocabulary--or for a 4-year-old reading well, but bored with one-sentence-per-page early readers.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another fun mystery in the Young Cam Jansen series of mysteries for younger readers. Each of these stories have a few chapters, lots of pictures, and a simple mystery that is not scary or dangerous. We've read a lot of these stories and we are looking for the few that we haven't read yet.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one went in a direction I didn't expect as Cam has to find a missing key to a locker before the rink closes. I thought that the solution could have been better, and while it wasn't predictable, it wasn't all that likely either.

I recommend the series, but I don't recommend starting with this book.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is really hard to come up with mysteries that are simple enough for a beginning reader, and yet somewhat plausible. Thankfully Cam and Eric are established characters, which helps fill in the plot of these books.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accelerated Reading Level 2.5

Cam Jansen and her friend Eric are going ice skating! They put their shoes in a locker and Eric puts the key in a pocket. "I won't lose it," he tells his father. But he does. Can Cam use her amazing memory to find the lost key.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was funny because Eric lost his key.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked where the key was found.

[Marie F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud to me by the boy Kindergatener... He loved the twist in the end, as he was expecting it to have been lost in the fall and *never* saw it coming.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cam's friend loses his locker key and she helps him find it.

[Grayson Burke]

I really liked this book because I think it is a good transition book for kids that want to start reading chapter books. I really this the story is cute and you don't see stories about kids with photographic memories very often.