Young Cam Jansen and the Dinosaur Game
Kindergarten-Grade 2?The child detective of chapter-book fame now appears in a beginning-to-read series. Dinosaur Game, however, does not quite measure up to Adler's earlier tales. Cam and her friend Eric are invited to a birthday party, where everyone has a chance to guess how many toy dinosaurs are in a jar. When Robert guesses the exact number, Cam becomes suspicious and sets out to prove that he cheated. She is the only one to realize that there is a problem, so there's no shared experience of problem solving. Missing Cookie has suspense and humor. Cam and Eric solve the mystery with the help of her photographic memory. Adler explains the girl's amazing mental abilities through a sequence in math class. Later, Cam puts them to the test when Jason's chocolate-chip cookie disappears from his lunch box. Natti's illustrations in both books will win the approval and attention of young readers. The sharp, detailed strokes and bright colors complement Adler's simple texts. However, each adventure is concluded in 32 pages, which really limits plot and character development.?Mary Ann Bursk, Bucks County Free Library, Levittown, PACopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.