Spies and Detectives

A list of suggested titles for this summer's Reading is an Adventure Challenge: Mystery. Features picture books and chapter books about spies and/or detectives.

Updated June 24, 2024
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Gabby Duran and the Unsittables
Allen, Elise
Paper Book
The Association Linking Intergalatics and Earthlings (hereby known as A.L.I.E.N.) has a new member. After months of investigation, Gabby Duran, Associate 4118-25125A, has proven herself to be a babysitter extraordinaire. Her celebrity clients fly her around the country to care for their rambunctious...
Agent Q, or the smell of danger! /
Anderson, M. T.
Paper Book
In the zany and humorous fourth book of National Book Award winner M.T. Anderson's Pals in Peril series, Jasper Dash and his friends must escape the clutches of The Awful Autarch! Having mopped up their last crime-fighting caper, our three heroes--Lily Gefelty, Katie Mulligan,...
Mac undercover /
Barnett, Mac.
Paper Book
A thrilling, hilarious fully-illustrated spy adventure series, from the esteemed New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author Mac Barnett!A New York Times bestsellerAn Amazon Best Book of 2018Before Mac Barnett was an author, he was a kid.And while he...
Spy to the rescue
Bernstein, Jonathan (Journalist)
Paper Book
Middle school meets Mission: Impossible in the second hilarious adventure of a girl whose life is turned upside down when her long-lost father recruits her to be a superspy. When the top-secret spy agency that recruited Bridget turns out to be a fake, Bridget hopes her superspy father will...
The spy catchers of Maple Hill /
Blakemore, Megan Frazer.
Ebook
Hazel Kaplansky is a firm believer in the pursuit of knowledge and truth-and she also happens to love a good mystery. When suspicions swirl that a Russian spy has infiltrated her small town of Maple Hill, Vermont, amidst the fervor of Cold War era McCarthyism, Hazel knows it's up to her to find a...
NERDS : National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society
Buckley, Michael.
Paper Book
NERDS combines all the excitement of international espionage with all the awkwardness of elementary school, and the results are hilarious. A group of unpopular fifth graders run a spy network from inside their school. With the help of cutting-edge science, they transform their nerdy qualities into...
Greetings from witness protection! /
Burt, Jake,
Paper Book
Nicki Demere is an orphan and a pickpocket. She also happens to be the U.S. Marshals' best bet to keep a family alive. . . . The marshals are looking for the perfect girl to join a mother, father, and son on the run from the nation's most notorious criminals. After all,...
Winterborne Home for vengeance and valor /
Carter, Ally.
Paper Book
"This is the kind of read that makes your soul sit up straight. At once a heart-wrenching tale of found family and a thrilling, atmospheric mystery that keeps you guessing at every page, Ally Carter's middle grade debut is a triumph. I loved April's character down to the barb wire wrapped around...
Spy school
Gibbs, Stuart
Paper Book
"Combines Alex Rider's espionage skills with a huge dose of the sarcasm of Artemis Fowl." --School Library Journal Can an undercover nerd become a superstar agent? In the first book in the New York Times bestselling Spy School series, Ben Ripley sure hopes so-...
Concealed
Gonzalez, Christina Diaz
Paper Book
The 2022 Edgar Award Winner for Best Juvenile Mystery! What if you had no name, no past, and no home? Ivette. Joanna. And now: Katrina Whatever her name is, it won't last long. Katrina doesn't know any of the details about her past, but she does know that she...
Mission unstoppable /
Gutman, Dan.
Paper Book
Twelve-year-old Coke McDonald and his twin sister, Pepsi, are sure their family's cross-country RV vacation will be boring--until a man in a golf cart tries to run the twins off a cliff! Now it's a race against time to find out who's after them and just what it means to be a part of...
The spy who loved ice cream
Hay, Sam
Paper Book
In this hilarious second novel in Sam Hay's action packed illustrated chapter book series, Spy Penguins, two young adventure-loving and gadget-obsessed penguins must prove their favorite uncle is innocent before the Frosty Bureau of Investigation locks him away forever! ...
Spy penguins /
Hay, Sam.
Paper Book
Two young adventure-loving and gadget-obsessed penguins dream of joining the FBI (Frosty Bureau of Investigation) in Sam Hay's hilarious new illustrated chapter book series, Spy Penguins. Adventure-loving penguin Jackson dreams of being a secret agent like his Uncle...
Mystery on Magnolia Circle
Klise, Kate
Paper Book
Rear Window meets Nancy Drew in this middle-grade novel by Kate Klise about a girl who believes she has witnessed a crime What happens when two best friends take on the world's worst summer? On the first day of vacation, ten-year-old...
Notorious /
Korman, Gordon.
Paper Book
A new standalone middle-grade novel from Gordon Korman, set (partly) in Canada! Keenan is bored. He is recovering from tuberculosis, acquired while overseas with his mom. Now he's stuck sitting in a lawn chair at his dad's place on Centerlight, Michigan, an island of about 7000 residents in the...
The case of the disappearing pets
Lake, Angie
Paper Book
Book 2 in the laugh-out-loud detective series with comic-style illustrations and mystery-solving throughout! Disappearing hamsters? Vanishing toads? Missing snails? This needs investigating. This looks like a case for Mina Mistry. Pets. Mina doesn't have any. This is...
The spy's secret
Luper, Eric
Paper Book
Getting lost in a good book has never been this dangerous!Cleo and Evan have a secret. A collection of books so dangerous they are locked up tight. A friend has vanished inside the pages of one of them. It's up to them to find the key that will set her free. A SPY MUST BE READY FOR ANYTHING!Agents...
Swift and Hawk :
Macx, Logan.
Paper Book
For fans of the Alex Rider and Spy School series comes a twenty-first-century spin on the spy novel, featuring a girl and boy whose brilliant minds and cutting-edge technology make them unstoppable. When their families are violently kidnapped, Swift and Hawk--teen experts in AI...
The case of the missing cheetah
Mang, Veronica
Paper Book
"This book is a delight. Fun. Funny. And full of adventure." --AndreaBeaty, #1New York Timesbestselling author ofRosie Revere, Engineer The first book in a highly illustrated new chapter book series about three delightfully mischievous young girls and some of the most...
Mrs. Smith's Spy School for Girls /
McMullen, Beth,
Paper Book
A girl discovers her boarding school is actually an elite spy-training program, and she must learn the skills of the trade in order to find her mother in this action-packed middle grade debut. After a botched escape plan from her boarding school, Abigail is stunned to discover...
My mom is a spy!
McNab, Andy
Paper Book
"A fast-paced spy caper complete with good guys to root for, nefarious villains, and plot twists....Thoroughly entertaining and suspenseful. Kids will eagerly await the next volume."--Kirkus Reviews "Idris and Lucía must combine their veterinarian and secret agent skills to...
Detective little boy Blue /
Metzger, Steve.
Paper Book
Miss Muffett is missing... and Detective Blue is on the case! "Today was like any other day. The dish ran away with the spoon. Little Boy Blue is all grown up, and he's a detective working to find Miss Muffet. Join in the fun as Detective Blue tries to solve the mystery...
The doublecross : (and other skills I learned as a superspy)
Pearce, Jackson
Paper Book
Everyone in twelve-year-old Hale's family is a spy, going way back. They've all worked for the Sub Rosa Society, an elite organization that's so top secret that new agents aren't recruited; they're born. His parents may be the ultimate spy team at SRS, but Hale isn't your typical stealthy spy-he...
City spies /
Ponti, James.
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! A GMA3 Summer Reading Squad Selection! "Ingeniously plotted, and a grin-inducing delight." --People "Will keep young readers glued to the page...So when do I get the sequel?" --Beth McMullen, author of Mrs. Smith's Spy School...
Framed! /
Ponti, James.
Paper Book
A budding genius gets recruited by the FBI to find stolen art in this first book in the hilarious middle grade mystery series that has "elements of Alex Rider, James Bond, and Sherlock Holmes" (School Library Journal) from New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award­-winning James Ponti...
Spy toys
Powers, Mark (Children's story writer)
Paper Book
The world's leading toy manufacturer gives each toy it creates a tiny, computerized brain and a unique personality making for some seriously awesome toys. But sometimes there's a faulty toy . . . Dan is a "Snugliffic Cuddlestar" bear--he should be perfect for hugging. But because of...
Nina Soni, Snow Spy
Sheth, Kashmira
Paper Book
Lovable, distractable Nina Soni and her friends and family return in another entertaining tale of big plans gone awry and amusing solutions with unexpected consequences. A long weekend and lots of snow sounds like a recipe for super-special fun to Nina. Best friend Jay is...
A whole nother story
Soup, Cuthbert.
Paper Book
The three Cheeseman children, their father, and their psychic dog are all on the run. From whom? Well the CIA, naturally. But also corporate agents #5, #29, and # 207, plus two international superspies -- one of whom happens to be a chimpanzee. They all want Dr. Cheeseman and his late wife's...
Liar & spy /
Stead, Rebecca.
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller from the author of the Newbery Medal winner When You Reach Me: a story about spies, games, and friendship.   The first day Georges (the S is silent) moves into a new Brooklyn apartment, he sees a sign taped to a door in...
Geronimo Stilton, secret agent
Stilton, Geronimo.
Paper Book
Enter the world of Geronimo Stilton, where another funny adventure is always right around the corner. Each book is a fast-paced adventure with lively art and a unique format kids 7-10 will love.My sister, Thea, is the mystery-loving rodent, not me! But somehow I found myself going undercover to get...
Detective LaRue :
Teague, Mark.
Paper Book
Ike LaRue--the devilish dog hero of Mark Teague's Book Sense Book of the Year, Dear Mrs. LaRue--goes from obedience school dropout to shrewd sleuth in this exceedingly funny sequel.As if obedience school wasn't bad enough, Ike now finds himself in jail--wrongly accused (of course!) of...
Long lost
West, Jacqueline
Paper Book
Winner of the Minnesota Book Award * A Texas Bluebonnet Book "Perfect to be read late into the night."--Stefan Bachmann, internationally bestselling author of The Peculiar "A spooky sisterhood mystery that is sure to be a hit with readers."--School Library Journal (starred...
Spy Guy : the not-so-secret agent
Young, Jessica
Paper Book
Spy Guy is a spy--but not a very good one. He's too loud, too squeaky, and in need of a good disguise. All Spy Guy wants is to figure out the secret to spying. But as the Chief says, that he must discover for himself. With a lot of trial and even more error, can Spy Guy figure out the secret to...

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