ALA Booklist (Wed May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2002)

From the library to the pizza shop, the Young Cam Jansen mysteries in the Viking Easy-to-Read series are set in places many beginning readers know well. This eighth title in the series takes place at the beach, where once again Cam uses her photographic memory and her deductive reasoning to solve a mystery. Why can't Cam and her friend Eric find their way back to Mom's red umbrella on the beach? What has changed? And why have Mom's papers disappeared even though she put a rock on them to keep them from blowing away? With bright, active pictures on every page, there are plenty of visual clues. The story will make new readers look closely at the detail and think about the action and about being lost and found; it's just scary enough to keep kids on edge.

Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2002)

Cam, her friend Eric, and her ditzy aunt Molly go shell collecting, then have a hard time finding Cam's mother again on the beach. After solving this mystery, Cam helps her mother locate some papers buried under the sand. Though the simple text and color illustrations will draw early readers, even the youngest may find these mysteries bland. The volume includes a visual memory game.

Kirkus Reviews

Cam Jansen uses her photographic memory to solve two mini-mysteries that take place on a trip to the beach with her mother, her aunt, and her friend, Eric. This is Cam's eighth mystery in Adler's successful easy-reader series ( Young Cam Jansen and the Library Mystery , 2001, etc.), which features the main character from his longer Cam Jansen stories. In this summertime beach adventure, Cam, Eric, and Aunt Molly stroll down the beach to look for shells, leaving Cam's mother under her red beach umbrella. Cam's group briefly loses track of Cam's mother (mystery number 1) as the tide rises and the configuration of colorful beach umbrellas changes. Cam's mother briefly loses track of her papers for work (mystery number 2), which were covered by blowing sand. Cam solves both puzzles by reviewing prior situations, a device that offers a repetitive structure for new readers to practice the same descriptive words. The mysteries are rather lame, but the plot hangs together and the controlled vocabulary and familiar, appealing character address the considerable market for new readers who can feel successful reading through a whole series of similarly leveled and structured stories. The final page offers an easy memory game with questions based on the story's first illustration. Natti's watercolor-and-ink illustrations add colorful interest, although Cam often looks a little too young for the intended audience. (Easy reader. 5-8)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-When Cam, her friend Eric, and her Aunt Molly take a walk on the beach, Cam thinks she will be able to find their way back to her mother, but the umbrellas she used to mark their spot seem to have moved. In five short chapters, children discover the case at hand and have the opportunity to solve it through deductive reasoning. The colorful page just before the first chapter previews the scene, affording readers the same view that the young investigator has. Beginning readers will love the colorful illustrations that are so integral to the mystery, as well as the humor innate to the series. Team up Cam Jansen with Marjorie Sharmat's "Nate the Great" for fun mysteries for novice readers.-Kay Bowes, Concord Pike Library, Wilmington, DE Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.