Determined to buy the latest CD from her favorite band, the Triceratops Pops, fifth-grade sleuth Cam Jansen and her best friend Eric Shelton head to Ernie's Everything in Music and Video store. There they discover that all of the CDs are missing, even though an employee just put them out minutes before. Convinced that a thief is at work, Cam is on the case...

First published in 1995, Cam Jansen and the Triceratops Pops Mystery feels quite dated - more dated even than the titles in this series from the 1980s - given the focus on a store selling video tapes, as well as on a video rental store. Beginning chapter-book readers today probably haven't ever seen a video tape! Leaving that aside, this was a fun entry in the Cam Jansen Mystery series, in which the eponymous heroine uses her photographic memory to solve crimes. The scenes with Jordan, the music store employee, and his discussion with the lady who wanted helped finding a CD whose name she couldn't remember, were particularly funny for me, as someone who has worked in retail. I'm not sure the target audience will find it as entertaining as I did, but it certainly added to my own enjoyment. Recommended to Cam Jansen fans, and to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy mysteries. ( )

i love this book ( )

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age: Primary/ intermediate
Media: Ink
Review/ Critique: Someone steals CDs from a music store and Cam uses her photographic memory to get them back. This is a really fun realistic fiction, because although it is possible, since most children don't have photographic memories, it is outside of the normal scenario of everyday life. Additionally, Cam is responsible when she solves mysteries; she doesn't endanger herself or others and she always gets the authorities involved. ( )

USE: Solving mysteries.
Genre: contemporary realistic fiction, early chapter book, mystery.
Media: black and white pencil?

Cam and her friend Eric go try to find their favorite CDs at a store but they are missing. They do some awesome sleuthing and end up tracking it to someone who hid them under a watermelon top. They had noticed sticky things and crumbs on the floor. Cam knew that the person who took the CDs had sunglasses on and wore a coat. This is a good example because it shows how Cam used her photographic memory to solve a mystery. We can solve mysteries in real life. ( )

Ages 7-10, Puffin Chapter Bookjs, 55 pages or so each, Cam Jansen series, # 15. A girl with a photographic memory solves mysteries.