Student Question

In which chapter of Slam! does Derek lose the camera?

Quick answer:

Readers learn that Derek lost the camera in chapter 11 of Slam! Apparently, he lost it when he put it down on the stoop and told Darnell to watch it while he went into the store to get some cookies. When Darnell came outside, the camera was gone.

Expert Answers

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Slam borrows a video camera from the school's video department. He wants to use it to tell the story of "Slam the Great," which will involve recording aspects of his daily life: his neighborhood, his house, places where he shops, and stuff like that. Marge suggests that she can then edit the footage down to thirty minutes and put some music to it. Slam thinks that's a cool idea.

Unfortunately, things go awry when Slam's nine-year-old brother, Derek, manages to lose the video camera. Slam made the mistake of letting his kid brother use the equipment. At first, all went well, as Derek just used to film himself goofing off and generally having fun. Though his mother told him not to mess around with the camera, Derek did so anyway, with unfortunate consequences.

In chapter 11 of Slam!, we discover that Derek has lost the video camera. Apparently, he went to the store to buy some cookies. Before he went inside, he asked Darnell to watch the camera while he was in the store.

While Derek was deciding which cookies to buy, Darnell appeared and told him that his mother said he had to go home. Darnell's appearance in the store means, of course, that there's no one watching the camera. So it's not surprising that when Derek finishes buying his cookies and steps outside, he sees that the camera is gone.

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