Mystery & Adventure

Top reading picks for junior mystery and adventure

Updated December 4, 2023
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The furball strikes back
Blabey, Aaron
Paper Book
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!"I wish I'd had these books as a kid. Hilarious!" -- Dav Pilkey, creator of Captain Underpants and Dog ManThey may look like Bad Guys, but these wannabe heroes are doing good deeds...whether you like it or not! This New York Times bestselling illustrated...
The Chicken Squad the first misadventure
Cronin, Doreen
Paper Book
Now an animated series on Disney Junior! They're darling. They're daring. They know their shapes! They're chicks on a mission--and on this, their first (mis)adventure, the Chicken Squad launches a galactic backyard expedition. Meet the Chicken Squad: Dirt,...
Evil genius
Grabenstein, Chris
Paper Book
Meet middle schooler Jake McQuade. Jake became the smartest kid in the universe when he accidentally ate a jarful of ingestible knowledge jelly beans. But what happens when those jelly beans fall into the wrong hands?! Readers who enjoy the action of the Last Kids on Earth books will...
Genius Camp
Grabenstein, Chris
Paper Book
"Chris Grabenstein just might be the smartest writer for kids in the universe." --James Patterson The Smartest Kid in the Universe goes to genius camp in book two of this action-packed series from the New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's...
The smartest kid in the universe
Grabenstein, Chris
Paper Book
"Chris Grabenstein just might be the smartest writer for kids in the universe." --James Patterson What if you could learn everything just by eating jellybeans?! Meet the Smartest Kid in the Universe and find out in this fun-packed new series from the Bestselling Author of Escape...
Extincts vol 1 : Quest for the unicorn horn.
Magoon, Scott
Paper Book
In The Extincts: Quest for the Unicorn Horn, a team of genetically enhanced extinct animals embark on top-secret missions around the world--first in New York Times bestselling illustrator Scott Magoon's graphic novel series. Meet...
Flight of the Mammoth
Magoon, Scott.
Paper Book
A team of genetically enhanced extinct animals embark on top-secret missions around the world in the second entry in this action-packed graphic novel series--now in paperback! After stopping Dr. Z's nefarious plan and rescuing the unicorn horn, things haven't quite been the...
Real pigeons eat danger
McDonald, Andrew
Ebook
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's--wait, it really IS a bird! Take another look, because what looks like an ordinary pigeon might just be a hero saving your butt! The high-flying adventures continue in book 2 of this hilarious illustrated series perfect for fans of BAD GUYS and DOG MAN.<...
Real pigeons fight crime
McDonald, Andrew
Paper Book
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's--wait, it really IS a bird! Take another look, because what looks like an ordinary pigeon might just be a hero saving your butt! Meet the crime-fighting pigeons secretly flying around chasing bad guys in this hilarious illustrated series perfect for...
Real pigeons nest hard
McDonald, Andrew
Audiobook
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's--wait, it really IS a bird! Take another look, because what looks like an ordinary pigeon might just be a hero saving your butt! The crime-fighting adventures continue in book 3 of this hilarious illustrated series, adapted for audio, perfect for fans of...
Minerva Keen's Detective Club
Patterson, James
Paper Book
James Patterson has just created the most spine-tingling, creepy-crawling, giggle-producing kid's detective club ever. That's ever.   Living in the luxurious Arcanum building--with its interior balconies perfect for playing tag, an...
The ghoul in the school
Rashford, Marcus; Falase-Koya, Alex; Kissi, Marta
Audiobook
Big trouble
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
"A must-have series for middle-grade readers." --Booklist In the third book in R.A. Spratt's hilarious Friday Barnes Mystery series, crime hits close to home when Friday Barnes learns her mother has been kidnapped. But her detective work gets put aside when Friday is...
Friday Barnes, girl detective
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
"A must-have series for middle-grade readers." --Booklist A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, 2017 Imagine if Sherlock Holmes was an eleven-year-old girl! When Friday Barnes, girl genius, solves a bank robbery, she uses the...
No rules
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
"A must-have series for middle-grade readers." --Booklist No Rules, the fourth book of R.A. Spratt's hilarious Friday Barnes Mystery series, brings even more trouble for this genius girl detective. Friday Barnes has been deported to Switzerland . . . but we...
The plot thickens
Spratt, R. A.
Ebook
"Friday Barnes is being attacked on all fronts! When Friday Barnes gets involved in her frenemy Ian Wainscott's family dispute, it appears her knack for uncovering the truth may ruin their friendship once and for all. Highcrest Academy is no longer a fun place to be. Ian has declared war on...
Under suspicion
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
"A must-have series for middle-grade readers." --Booklist Friday Barnes, girl detective, is... under arrest?! Getting arrested was the last thing Friday expected after solving the swamp-yeti mystery at her boarding school. But she better clear her name fast...
Undercover
Spratt, R. A.
Ebook
Wave riders : a storm is coming what will it take to survive?
St. John, Lauren; Dean, Rachael
Ebook
The sea almost killed them, and now it must lead them to the truth in this standalone middle-grade eco-mystery about twins lost on the high seas from the author of the bestselling novel The White Giraffe. Twelve-year-old Jess and Jude live a dream life on a battered old...
The under dogs
West, Tracey
Ebook
Unhappy campers (the underdogs #3)
West,Tracey
Ebook
Camp creepy
White, Kiersten
Paper Book
The third book in the middle-grade series that's part Scooby-Doo, part A Series of Unfortunate Events, and entirely genius! Follow the Sinister-Winterbottoms on their most outrageous adventure yet, when they find themselves at a normal summer camp! After leaving the...
Wretched waterpark
White, Kiersten
Paper Book
A middle-grade mystery series that's spooky, creepy, and filled with gothic twists!Meet the Sinister-Winterbottom twins, who solve mysteries at increasingly bizarre summer vacation destinations in the hopes of being reunited with their parents-or at the very least finally finding a good churro....

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