The popular teenage supersleuths of the 20th century that many parents grew up with still have a place on kids’ shelves. Energetic jetsetter Nancy Drew, created in 1930, is approaching her 100th year in children’s literature. You can revisit four of her original cases in Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #1-4, a boxed set of reissued editions with special covers that harken back to the era in which the original books were published.
Encyclopedia Brown (née Leroy Brown), a child of the 60s, can still be found posing questions to friends and family and gathering information before making his final conclusions about whodunnit at the dinner table. The well-reviewed Encyclopedia Brown Boxed Set highlights four cases this amateur sleuth cracked that his chief-of-police dad couldn’t.
In the late 1970s, author David A. Adler created Cam Jansen, a spirited 5th grader who uses clues in her environment to solve local mysteries. More than thirty years later, she’s still on the best seller list. Adler’s series is great for readers transitioning to chapter books: The chronological way in which Cam solves mysteries supports memory and reading comprehension skills. Check in with Cam where it all begins with Cam Jansen #1: The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds.
Fans of 90s pop culture will be familiar with Carmen Sandiego, the mysterious globetrotting thief who, despite being dressed head-to-toe in red, is known for eluding international police forces with her timely escapes. Who in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, a novelization of the Netflix animated series, gives readers the previously untold backstory on this trench-coated criminal.
