Cam Jansen Mysteries
Your class can SKYPE for free with David A. Adler to talk about his book DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT THE WAR. Have your class read this book (available in paperback from Puffin--Penguin tel # 866 206 5865 -- ask for multi-book discount)email David at CAMJ563@aol.com to set a date for the talk, then listen to insights from the author, and ask him questions about the book.
Send for 2 free Cam Jansen bookmarks.
Send a self-addressed business-sized stamped envelope (a long envelope with a 45 cents stamp)to CAM JANSEN BOOKMARKS, P.O. Box 121, Hewlett, NY 11557.
For a free Cam Jansen teacher's guide + a free Adler Picture Book Biography Teacher's Guide (pages may be reproduced for classroom use), bookmarks +study guides for 11 books by David A. Adler + other materials, please send a stamped, self-addressed 9" X 12" envelope (12 oz. -- $3.08) to Cam Jansen
P.O. Box 121, Hewlett, NY 11557
Please, send fan mail and all other correspondence to David Adler, P.O. Box 121, Hewlett, NY 11557.
Please include a stamped, self-addressed business-sized envelope (45c)with all fan mail.
2 Free Cam Jansen Bookmarks -- just send a self addressed stamped business--sized envelope (45c stamp) to Cam Jansen Bookmarks, PO Box 121, Hewlett, NY 11557.
If you like Young Cam Jansen you'll also like the Jeffrey Bones stories.
David and his grandson Jacob--2010
David and Jacob -- Newsday July 2010
Renee and David -- 1994
David A. Adler's email address is:
CamJ563@aol.com
The 5th title in the NEW Jeffrey Bones Mysteries
May 4th is Cam Jansen's birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAM!
TEST YOUR MEMORY!
IT'S FUN!
Go to the QUIZZES page and look at each memory quiz picture. Blink your eyes and say "Click!" Then take the memory quiz. See how much you remember. Maybe you have a photographic memory, too!
Celebrate Cam Jansen's birthday in your classroom. Play the memory game just below. Play the memory quizzes elsewhere on this site. Play the Photographic Memory Game found on the mystery page on the www.DavidAAdler.com site.
***WHAT'S WRONG HERE GAME***Many times a detective will notice something out of the ordinary at the scene of a crime which may help to solve a case.To play this game you will need pencils and paper, and a watch or timer.1- Before you begin, set a space up with some slightly unusual things. Perhaps a poster will be upside down or among the books on the bookshelf will be a box of cereal, or there is a large plastic bug somewhere.2- Have the players come into the space for just 60 seconds and tell them to remember whatever they see that looks unusual. (You can even use an image projected on the wall with some unusual details, perhaps an illustration from a Cam Jansen mystery.) Of course, there can be no talking during this time.3. When time is up, have them leave the space and write down all the strange details they remember.4- Check how many details each player remembered.5- Take a second look at the space or projected picture and have the players cross off anything they got wrong. 6- The player with the most correct observations wins.
Another game, the PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY GAME is found on the DavidAAdler.com web site.
Young Cam and Eric
READ THE JEFFREY BONES MYSTERIES
Bones and the Big Yellow Mystery
Bones and the Dog Gone Mystery
Bones and the Cupcake Mystery
Bones and the Dinosaur Mystery
Bones and the Birthday Mystery
Bones and the Math Test Mystery
Bones and the Roller Coaster Mystery
(All published by Viking)
Bones and the Big Yellow Mystery
Bones and the Dog Gone Mystery
Bones and the Cupcake Mystery
Bones and the Dinosaur Mystery
Bones and the Birthday Mystery
Bones and the Math Test Mystery
Bones and the Roller Coaster Mystery
(All published by Viking)
CAM JANSEN RIDDLES
When Cam wants to remember something she says "Click!"
What does she say when . . .
1. She drinks her milk too fast?
2. Her head is hot and her hands are cold?
3. It's Eric's turn in a game of Old Maid?
4. Her watch is going "tock"?
5. She wants a taste of ice cream?
6. She is trying to light a candle but can't find a string?
7. She wants to lay an egg?
8. She sees Eric with his hands in front of his face?
9. She sees 400 geese fly by?
10. She steps on a wad of chewing gum?
CHECK QUIZZES PAGE FOR THE ANSWERS
What does she say when . . .
1. She drinks her milk too fast?
2. Her head is hot and her hands are cold?
3. It's Eric's turn in a game of Old Maid?
4. Her watch is going "tock"?
5. She wants a taste of ice cream?
6. She is trying to light a candle but can't find a string?
7. She wants to lay an egg?
8. She sees Eric with his hands in front of his face?
9. She sees 400 geese fly by?
10. She steps on a wad of chewing gum?
CHECK QUIZZES PAGE FOR THE ANSWERS
New for 2008!
Spring, YOUNG CAM JANSEN AND THE MOLLY SHOE MYSTERY;
Fall, CAM JANSEN AND THE GREEN SCHOOL MYSTERY.
And this FALL look for a new Jeffrey Bones Mystery,
BONES AND THE ROLLER COASTER MYSTERY.
Cam Jansen and the Tennis Trophy Mystery
YOUNG CAM JANSEN AND THE ZOO NOTE MYSTERY
Go to the QUIZES page and test your memory.
Cam Jansen has a photographic memory. Maybe you have one, too.
#22--Published in September 2002
YOUNG CAM JANSEN AND THE DOUBLE BEACH MYSTERY (Viking 2002, Puffin 2003) Two mysteries in one!
YOUNG CAM JANSEN AND THE LIBRARY MYSTERY (Viking 2001, Puffin 2002)
#20--Published in September 2000
Quick Links
David Adler will be appearing and signing books at the SI Hilton on May 31. Please go to www.sireading.org for more info.
David Adler will be appearing and signing books at the Staten Island, NY Hilton on May 31. Please go to www.sireading.org for more info.
Teaching Books
David Adler discusses and reads from CAM JANSEN AND THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN DIAMONDS
West Coast Radio 30 minute interview with David
October 2009 West Coast Radio 3o minute interview with David
Cam Jansen Super Sleuth Squad Headquarters
Official Book Website of Cam Jansen by David A. Adler -- with downlaods, monthly planning calendar, information, and fun.
Selected Works
CAM JANSEN MYSTERIES
Cam Jansen # 32 -- To Be Published in September 2012
Cam Jansen and the Graduation Day Mystery -- New for 2011
Published in October 2010
Just Published---2009---A SUPER SPECIAL---3 full-lenght mysteries in one book, now available in paperback and hardcover
Cam Jansen and the Green School Mystery -- Cam's school has been recycling cans and bottles and plan to use the money raised to pay for skylights in the school hallways. When the all the rolls of coins earned recycling disappear Cam must click and solve the mystery.
For a free Cam Jansen teacher's guide + Adler Picture Book Biography Teachers' Guide (pages may be reproduced for classroom use) bookmarks, + other materials, please send a stamped, self-addressed 9" X 12" envelope (12 oz. -- $2.75) to Cam Jansen P.O. Box 66, Hewlett, NY 11557 Please, send fan mail and all other correspondence to David Adler, P.O. Box 66, Hewlett, NY 11557. Please include a stamped, self-addressed business-sized envelope (44c)with all fan mail.
Published in 2009--a Super Special Cam -- 3 stories in 1 special book
Are Cam and Eric based on children you've known?
Cam is based on a friend of mine from elementary school. Eric is based on me.
When I wrote the first of the Cam Jansen mysteries I thought children would identify with timid Eric. I was wrong. I've been told that most children who read the books see themselves as the smart, assertive Cam.
Cam is based on a friend of mine from elementary school. Eric is based on me.
When I wrote the first of the Cam Jansen mysteries I thought children would identify with timid Eric. I was wrong. I've been told that most children who read the books see themselves as the smart, assertive Cam.
by David A. Adler
For more on David A. Adler's books go to www,DavidAAdler.com
A SUPER SPECIAL
Cam Jansen
and the
Summer Camp Mysteries -- 3 full-length mysteries in one book--published 2007
Questions and Answers with David A. Adler, author of the Cam Jansen books
Why did you decide to write the Cam Jansen books?
I had been a math teacher in the New York City school system and was just beginning a child care leave. My first son had been born and I planned to stay home and take care of him while my wife returned to her work as a school psychologist. I had already written a few books, but I wanted to work on a series. I wanted to create a character young readers would want to read about again and again. I remembered a classmate in first and second grade with a great memory. It was rumored he had a photographic memory. The character Cam Jansen began with him. I also remembered the trouble I had when I first learned to read, the difficulty I had with the books meant to follow the Dick and Jane series. It was too big a leap for me. Even in the late 1970s, when my first son was born, there were still very few books between the easy-to-reads and the eight-to-twelves. Somehow, children were expected to make that leap. For some, it was no problem. For me and many others, it was. The Cam Jansen books (not the Young Cam Jansens) are transitional readers, books for children "in transit," from easy-to-reads to middle-grade novels.
I had been a math teacher in the New York City school system and was just beginning a child care leave. My first son had been born and I planned to stay home and take care of him while my wife returned to her work as a school psychologist. I had already written a few books, but I wanted to work on a series. I wanted to create a character young readers would want to read about again and again. I remembered a classmate in first and second grade with a great memory. It was rumored he had a photographic memory. The character Cam Jansen began with him. I also remembered the trouble I had when I first learned to read, the difficulty I had with the books meant to follow the Dick and Jane series. It was too big a leap for me. Even in the late 1970s, when my first son was born, there were still very few books between the easy-to-reads and the eight-to-twelves. Somehow, children were expected to make that leap. For some, it was no problem. For me and many others, it was. The Cam Jansen books (not the Young Cam Jansens) are transitional readers, books for children "in transit," from easy-to-reads to middle-grade novels.
Why did you make the Cams mysteries?
Comprehension is a real problem with beginning readers. One of my sons once asked me about a book he had just read, "What's it about?" He read every word of the book and understood none of it. He was too busy sounding out the words to pay any attention to what he was reading. Mysteries are perfect for beginning readers. In the Cams, the clues Cam remembers at the end of the books, the clues that solve the mysteries, are there for the reader, too. Cam's readers, hopefully, are alert. They try to find the clues and solve the mystery before Cam does.
Comprehension is a real problem with beginning readers. One of my sons once asked me about a book he had just read, "What's it about?" He read every word of the book and understood none of it. He was too busy sounding out the words to pay any attention to what he was reading. Mysteries are perfect for beginning readers. In the Cams, the clues Cam remembers at the end of the books, the clues that solve the mysteries, are there for the reader, too. Cam's readers, hopefully, are alert. They try to find the clues and solve the mystery before Cam does.
What makes Cams transtional readers?
The Cams are not simply chapter books with easy reading levels. Children who are just begining to read on their own, read slowly. They read every word. But they don't think slowly. We can't ask them to speed up their reading, so to keep their attention it's necessary to keep the story moving. The Cams move quickly. Something is always happening. Characters are introduced through dialogue and plot. Scenes are set in just a few words.
The Cams are not simply chapter books with easy reading levels. Children who are just begining to read on their own, read slowly. They read every word. But they don't think slowly. We can't ask them to speed up their reading, so to keep their attention it's necessary to keep the story moving. The Cams move quickly. Something is always happening. Characters are introduced through dialogue and plot. Scenes are set in just a few words.
Why did you decide to make Cam a girl?
I like to write against stereotypes. Cam, as a girl, is curious and assertive, just as many girls really are. But that's not their stereotype. It's my hope that the current generation of readers will be open to treat people as individuals, whatever their gender, race, religion, or age.
I like to write against stereotypes. Cam, as a girl, is curious and assertive, just as many girls really are. But that's not their stereotype. It's my hope that the current generation of readers will be open to treat people as individuals, whatever their gender, race, religion, or age.
Did your years as a math teacher influence your writing in any way?
I approach my Cam Jansen mysteries as math problems. First I set up the problem -- to create a mystery that will be solved with visual clues. Then I go about solving it.
I approach my Cam Jansen mysteries as math problems. First I set up the problem -- to create a mystery that will be solved with visual clues. Then I go about solving it.
YOUNG CAM JANSEN and the MOLLY SHOE MYSTERY --- New for 2008!
An added trivia quiz is included, memory quizzes, and a surprise for Cam.
This was the very first Cam Jansen Mystery and the story is based on David A. Adler's experiences taking care of his infant son.
Cam Jansen and Young Cam Jansen Mysteries
If writing is like swimming... An interview with Bruce Black:
1) how do you get into the water each day?
The only way to get into the water is to jump in. Don't over think the process. Just jump in and write.
2) What keeps you afloat...for short work? For longer work?
I keep rereading what I've written and that takes me deeper and deeper into my story.
3) How do you keep swimming through dry spells?
How can there be dry spells in swimming? Being dry can only mean you stepped out of the water. If I get stuck working on one manuscript, I start or continue work on another. I find it helpful to work on more than one project at a time.
4) What's the hardest part of swimming?
The hardest part, I find, is discovering the voice for my story and that comes at the very beginning.
5) How do you overcome obstacles, problems, when swimming alone?
Writers always swim alone. I try not to put too much pressure on myself, not to demand a great first draft. But I keep rereading and rewriting until I'm satisfied.
6) What's the part of swimming that you love the most?
It's the swim I love, not the jumping in the water, and not the stepping out. I love the rewriting, just playing with my words. I feel somewhat sad to finish the final rewrite and have to send off a cherished manuscript.
CAM JANSEN and the SCARY SNAKE MYSTERY
New Cam Cover #3
New Cam Cover #2
YOUNG CAM JANSEN and the Missing Cookie
CAM JANSEN and the Triceratops Pops Mystery
CAM JANSEN and the Mystery of Flight 54
New Cam Cover #4
CAM JANSEN and the Mystery of the Circus Clown