First Mystery Books Kids Can Actually Follow

 

Remember all the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys we grew up reading? I simply loved them when I was a child. And then we graduated to Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie and the like, later in life. 

If you wish to ignite that love of mystery books in your child, here is a list of some books that children can read while taking their first steps in the world of mysteries and detective stories.

I have talked about the following books here:

Beginner mysteries
1. The Case of the Missing Duckie by Linda Hayward

2. The Case of the Cat's Meow by Crosby Bonsall 

3. The Pumpkin Mystery by Carol Wallace

4. Garfield: The Case of the Vanishing Elephant and The Case of the Mystery Mail

Now they're ready for slightly longer stories…

Next Step: Beginner Chapter Book Mysteries

5. Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds by David A. Adler

6. Who Broke Lincoln's Thumb? by Ron Roy

7. Mystery at the Washington Monument by Ron Roy

 The Case of the Missing Duckie by Linda Hayward and illustrated by Maggie Swanson
Featuring Jim Henson’s Sesame Street Muppets

A fun-filled storybook that children will most likely enjoy, especially those who are used to seeing these familiar characters on television. Ernie’s favourite Rubber Duckie is missing, that too on his birthday, so he calls his friend Sherlock Hemlock to solve the case. 

Children will have fun reading what happens next as Sherlock keeps forgetting what exactly had gone missing and looks for all sorts of other things that are rubber, like a rubber ball, a rubber glove and a rubber raft, but the Duckie. 

If you wish to introduce your little one to mystery stories, this could be a good choice. As Sherlock, the forgetful that he is, plays with words like rubber guppy, ruffled buggy and dubby nucky, he also explains to Ernie all about clues, which is a good introduction for little readers who are just beginning to read mystery stories. 

The best part is, the pictures on each page give away the whereabouts of the Rubber Duckie (mostly). So, let the children enjoy their first mystery book and figure out where the Rubber Duckie has gone!

 The Case of the Cat's Meow by Crosby Bonsall

A very simple and easy-to-read storybook about a little boy, Snitch, and his pet cat that goes missing. So he, along with his brother and two friends, plays detective to find out who stole the cat. They try all sorts of clever things that detectives do. They keep their eyes open day and night, ask around, sleep outdoors in the yard in sleeping bags, and even make a clever plan using flour to track pawprints, but nothing helps. 

It is a story that most children will be able to relate to, having their own little clubhouse, a sign on the door, and laying a trap by tying a string across the door, which would eventually lead to a bucket of water on the trespasser’s head–things that little children would love to do, or at least love reading about.

The most important part is the language. Since it is one of the I Can Read Books, the words and sentences are carefully chosen. The entire story is narrated in simple sentences that early readers will be able to read with ease and at the same time enjoy the interesting turn of events.

The Pumpkin Mystery by Carol Wallace and illustrated by Steve Bjorkman

This is yet another good picture mystery book that is very appropriate for early readers. The book is divided into four chapters and has illustrations on each and every page to keep the reader's attention. The language used is simple, making it easy for little ones to understand if they try to read it on their own.  

What makes this book different from the rest of the mystery book titles in my list is that in this story there are two detectives trying to find out what’s wrong with the pumpkins that the family planted, but unlike the other stories, the detectives here are a cat and a dog!

These two animals help their human owners to solve the pumpkin problem they are having. 

Apart from this, the story also gives a detailed description of gardening along with the mention of garden tools like stakes, strings, wheelbarrow, and tiller. The two children Leah and Aden, their parents, and their pet cat and dog team up to rake the dirt, pound the stakes, drop the seeds, and water the garden. This gives readers a fair idea about gardening and planting. It is only after this process that the little mystery begins, and their pets save the day.

Garfield: The Case of the Vanishing Elephant and The Case of the Mystery Mail

Created by Jim Davis. Story by Jim Kraft. Illustrated by Dave Kuhn and Mike Fentz

This is a two-in-one mystery storybook where the famous cartoon character Garfield is the detective. This is more of a children’s picture book than a real mystery book for that matter. The Case of the Mystery Mail is a simple story with a very gentle ‘mystery’ that children will enjoy solving with Garfield. The story is extremely simple with no complicated plot whatsoever, but will excite little readers by making them feel they are reading a mystery book, or listening to a mystery story. Here, Garfield solves a picture puzzle. He receives three envelopes with three pictures inside and all three together make up a message. 

The story of The Case of the Vanishing Elephant is slightly more complex than the first. Garfield visits a circus and enjoys the show in which a magician, a strongman and some acrobats perform. So, the readers will be introduced to the different kinds of performers we find at the circus. As the story continues, it is time for the baby elephant to perform, but no one can find him! As everyone at the circus is discussing the mysterious disappearance of the baby elephant, they come up with all kinds of possibilities, something that will enhance the children’s thinking skills. 

Appropriate for ages 3–6, this book can be read out to the younger ones who will enjoy listening to ‘detective’ stories, while the older ones can read them and proudly say that they have read a detective book!

The Sterling edition I own contains quite a few printing or proofreading errors, although these may be specific to that edition rather than the story itself. 

Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds by David A. Adler

A couple of months ago I noticed my daughter taking interest in chapter books. Even if some of them had little or no pictures, she read them eagerly if she liked the story. I also noticed that she was now able to finish children’s picture books in minutes. 

This is when I realised that it was the right time to give her a taste of different genres in the world of children’s stories that she had not yet been exposed to – and the Cam Jansen series by David A. Adler was a good choice for mystery stories. 

The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds is the first book of the series and a perfect introduction to detective novels for children who are not used to reading chapter books much. 

The plot is very well thought out, as children at this age are interested in playing as well as listening to stories involving theft, police, chasing and mystery solving. 

It is about a little girl who is popularly known as Cam (short of camera) because of her photographic memory. Whenever she wants to remember something, she says her magic word, ‘Click!’, and remembers every detail of what she has seen—a quality her best friend Eric wishes he had.

Together, they solve the mystery of the stolen diamonds from a jewelry store at a busy shopping mall. 

In spite of being a chapter book, the tight plot helps to keep the readers engaged till the last page. As you start reading the story you understand how well planned the book is. Right from the beginning of the story till the very end, there is not an extra or unnecessary word or description that might cause a loss of focus for the readers. 

Written in simple and engaging language, the book can easily keep children engrossed from beginning to end.

Who Broke Lincoln’s Thumb? By Ron Roy

I would place this one a level higher than the Cam Jansen book, which is the previous one on my list. I found this a bit more detailed, meaning a child who has started reading and enjoying the Cam Jansen series would gradually be ready to move on to books from this series too. 

This is the fifth book in a 14-book series and, just like the Cam Jansen series, has two children —best friends — KC and Marshall solving mysteries. 

The plot is kept simple enough for children to understand, yet has a slight touch of a grown-up mystery book. As KC and Marshall investigate the theft of a thumb missing from the Lincoln’s statue, we find short descriptions of the places they are visiting and the things they see around, short enough to hold the attention of the young readers and keep the interest in the story increasing. 

There is mostly one illustration (black and white) for each chapter and also a ‘Did you know’ page at the end, sharing interesting facts about important landmarks in or around Washington DC, since most of the stories in the series are based there.

Children aged 6 to 9 can give this series a try and are likely to enjoy it, but only if they have already started reading simpler chapter books and simpler mystery stories. This series can be treated as the next step after children are familiar with series like Cam Jansen. Otherwise the plot might seem slightly more complex for them and they may not be able to follow the entire story. 

Mystery at the Washington Monument by Ron Roy

This is yet another good book in the Capital Mysteries series and the eighth book overall. It is a simple chapter book novel and can be enjoyed by early readers as well as parents reading it out to their children.

It has all the mystery elements that children enjoy, from spotting lights flashing from a window at night, to discovering a hole in one of the memorial stones in the Washington Monument, from using a monkey to find the real culprit to recovering diamonds stolen a hundred years ago, this is sure to be a thrilling and suspense-filled mystery story.

As readers enjoy the story they also get to learn fascinating facts about the Washington Monument, the landmark around which the story revolves. A map of Washington DC, given at the beginning of the book, along with the history of how the monument was built over the years at the back of the book, gives it the feel of a complete detective book. It also adds to the general knowledge of the young readers. 

One Last Thought

The best mystery readers don't begin with Sherlock Holmes—they begin with books like these.