A ten-year-old boy with an encyclopedic memory opens a detective agency in his garage and invites readers to solve each case with him
Twenty-five cents a day, plus expenses
Leroy Brown is ten years old and lives in the small town of Idaville. Everyone calls him Encyclopedia because his head is full of facts. His father is the chief of police, and at dinner he often helps his dad solve cases that have baffled the department. One summer, Encyclopedia opens his own detective agency in the family garage, charging twenty-five cents a day plus expenses, and the neighborhood's mysteries start coming his way.
Who will enjoy it
Young readers who love puzzles, short mysteries and the challenge of solving a case before the detective explains it.
What you will get
A classic collection of short, clever mysteries that invites young readers to spot the clues and solve each case alongside a boy detective.
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Solve-it-yourself · Kid detective · Short cases
Length
96 pages · ≈ 3 h
More about this book
The book contains ten short cases, each just a few pages long. Encyclopedia tracks down stolen goods, exposes liars and outsmarts Bugs Meany, the leader of a gang of older boys called the Tigers. In this first book he also gains a partner and bodyguard, Sally Kimball, the toughest kid in the fifth grade and the only one who can stand up to Bugs. Each story ends with Encyclopedia announcing that he has solved the case, and readers must work out how before turning to the solution at the back.
The format is the genius of the series. Children become active detectives, rereading for clues about facts, logic and human nature, and the satisfaction of solving a case on their own is real. The humor is gentle and the cases are fair. It is also a wonderful book for reading aloud with a group, with everyone guessing the answer.
Some clues rely on old-fashioned facts that today's readers may not know, which can make a few cases frustrating. But most hold up very well, and the series is long enough to keep young sleuths busy. About 96 pages in the Puffin paperback.
The Westing Game
Chasing Vermeer
The Secret of the Old Clock
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
The Tower Treasure
Bunnicula
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
The Mysterious Benedict Society
Nate the Great
The Red Pyramid
The Monster at the End of this Book
Curious George