Mystery Books

I had another visit with my favorite St. Francis Xavier fourth graders today to promote mystery books. The kids were great--totally participatory and enthusiastic. Together we came up with a bunch of mystery series that we all liked: Nancy Drew (and the update on the "oldies", The Nancy Drew Notebooks), Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Bailey School Kids, A to Z Mysteries, and others. Below is the list of books I brought to promote.

The Sherlock Files: the 100 Year Old Secret by Tracy Barrett
American siblings transplanted to London by their parents learn that they are descendents of Sherlock Holmes & have inherited his unsolved cases.

Grooves: A Kind of Mystery by Kevin Brockmeier
Nerdy 7th grader Dwayne learns about record players in science class and starts experimenting on different surfaces, only to find his blue jeans contain a coded message for help! Could the greedy owner of the bluejeans factory be keeping his workers imprisoned?

The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse: A Chet Gecko Mystery by Bruce Hale
Chet is a 4th grader, a detective, and oh yeah, a gecko lizard. Hilarious spoofs on old "noir" detective stories with great humor & a fun cast of (reptilian) characters.

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson
Siblings, with the help of some ghostly relatives, help their great aunt and uncle jazz up their tourist attraction & solve the mystery of some missing rare white cattle. Good ghost/mystery combo.

Spider Kane and the Mystery at Jumbo Nightcrawler’s by Mary Pope Osborne
The author of The Magic Tree House series takes on mystery-solving insects with entertaining results. Spider Kane's character was inspired by an actual spider who frightened the author when she moved to a country cabin.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Classic, "Clue"-like whodunit from the 1970's. Mysterious millionaire Westing dies, leaving a motley crew of potential heirs, who have to solve clues to find out who gets the big money. So popular it inspired a movie and a website!

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer
Another Sherlock Holmes spinoff: Enola is the younger sister of the great detective, who must struggle against Victorian restrictions on girls while she solves mysteries. Fun series!

Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen by Wendelin Van Draanen
Contemporary series, featuring a feisty heroine with an overdramatic family life. In this one, Sammy takes on a mystery involving dead cats all over town and has to cope with finding out she's actually a year younger than she thought! (Thanks, alot, Mom!)