Mystery: Young Cam Jansen & the Pizza Shop Mystery 

Young Cam Jansen & the Pizza Shop Mystery is about a girl named Cam Jansen that has to figure out how her jacket disappeared after she left it on the back of her chair while waiting in line for her Pizza with her dad and friend Eric. With the help of her photographic memory she is able to figure out just what happened to her jacket. It was accidentally taken by a grandmother who thought it was her granddaughters when she was looking for her frantically throughout the busy restaurant. Cam is able to find the grandmother and girl and retrieve her jacket. 

The author does a good job at making the plot clear for readers because it is a mystery book and at times mystery books can get unclear when characters are backtracking their steps to figure out what happened. The illustrations throughout the story help readers follow along as Cam is solving the mystery because the illustrations show us what her "photographic memory" is seeing. 

Motivational Activities:

1) Have students break into groups and make posters by identifying the stories plot and characters. 

2) Have students write their own mystery story and have Cam solve it using her photographic memory. 

Reader Response Questions:

1) Why did Mr. Jansen, Eric, and Cam go to the mall?

2) Where did Cam look when she discovered she had lost her jacket?

3) Why did the old woman take Cam's jacket?

Adler, D. A., & Natti, S. (2012). Young Cam Jansen and the pizza shop mystery. New York: Puffin Young Readers.