The Mystery Of The Stolen Corn Popper (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
Cam Jansen is a 5th grader with a photographic memory. She uses her memory to solve mysteries. She says the word "click" as she takes a picture with her eyes. She can then compare memories like you would compare two photos. That alone doesn't allow her to solve mysteries, but she is able to figure out the mystery anyway.The books are relatively short, and can be read quickly. She is similar to Encyclopedia Brown, but the mystery takes the entire book, instead of a couple of pages. This allows the characters to have more depth.In this case, they are shopping for school supplies as the beginning of school. A man has his corn popper stolen, and Cam has to figure out who did it.
In a somewhat startling coincidence, this is set in Binky's Department Store, and we started it just after we finished reading Binky the Space Cat! But Binky's Department Store isn't owned by a space cat; instead, it's owned by a woman who loves the color green and who can't seem to hire competent staff for her Returns Department. The plot has holes that you could drive a dump truck through if it were written for adults, but it's written for young kids, so I'll willingly suspend my disbelief. Cam and Eric of course solve the mystery - but really, does Eric ever do anything, or is he just there to explain Cam's 'amazing memory' to people?
What do You think about The Mystery Of The Stolen Corn Popper (2004)?
