Children's Mystery Books

Mystery Books for Grades 1 - 6

Updated June 18, 2026
C
City of Mission Viejo Library
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Ada Lace, on the case : an Ada Lace adventure
Calandrelli, Emily
Paper Book
From Emily Calandrelli--host of Xploration Outer Space, correspondent on Bill Nye Saves the World, and graduate of MIT--comes the first novel in a brand-new chapter book series about an eight-year-old girl with a knack for science, math, and solving mysteries with technology.

AR: 4.0

Lexile: 590

Banana Fox and the Secret Sour Society
Kochalka, James
Paper Book
Eisner Award-winning cartoonist James Kochalka makes his Graphix Chapters debut with this laugh-out-loud mystery series! Get drawn into reading with Graphix Chapters! Graphix Chapters are ideal books for beginning and newly independent readers aged 6-8. With approachable page...

AR: 2.5

Lexile: 520

The body under the piano
Jocelyn, Marthe
Paper Book
Aggie Morton lives in a small town on the coast of England in 1902. Adventurous and imaginative but deeply shy, Aggie hasn't got much to do since the death of her beloved father... until the fateful day when she crosses paths with twelve-year-old Belgian immigrant Hector Perot and discovers a dead...

AR: 5.4

Lexile: 750

Bog gone!
Jones, P. Knuckle
Paper Book
Meet detective-in-training Finder and her friends as they try to figure out why everyone in Belly Acre Bog has disappeared in this hilarious graphic novel mystery! Perfect for fans of The InvestiGators! Finder the tree frog absolutely loves solving mysteries. So when all...

AR: N/A

Lexile: 550

The case of the poached egg
Newman, Robin
Paper Book
When Penny goes missing from the nest, Wilcox and Griswold are called in to track her down. Was the egg stolen by a rival for The Most Round in the Spring Egg-stravaganza? Was she used in a carrot cake or scrambled by a hungry porker? Or was she held for a hefty corn ransom? Who took Penny...

AR: N/A

Lexile:500

The case of the poached painting
Curran-Bauer, Christee
Paper Book
The Museum of Food Art is in a state of panic! A priceless painting was pilfered in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the Pigeon Private Detectives--PPD for short--are on the scene. These three detectives crave cracking a good case almost as much as they like snacks. But can they...

AR: 3.9

Lexile: 540

The case of the strange splash
Winkler, Henry
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling creators--Emmy Award-winning actor Henry Winkler, children's book author Lin Oliver, and Caldecott Medal-winning author-illustrator Dan Santat--comes Detective Duck: The Case of the Strange Splash, a hilarious, full-color...

AR: 3.9

Lexile: 680

Cosmos Camp
Giles, Lamar
Paper Book
An Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee! From Edgar Award nominee and WNDB cofounder Lamar Giles, this middle grade adventure stars the Epic Ellison twins as they race to solve the mystery of Cosmos Camp for young geniuses in a stand-alone companion to the Legendary Alston Boys series. ...

AR: N/A

Lexile: 830

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's library
Grabenstein, Chris.
Paper Book
THE START OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES WITH MORE THAN TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD! Can you escape from what James Patterson calls "the coolest library in the world"? Follow along and solve the clues in this interactive adventure! From the co-author of Murdle...

AR: 4.5

Lexile: 720

The ghost tree
Deen, Natasha
Paper Book
Is it science...or strange and ghostly? Asim's new town is freaking him out! There are weird noises at night, eerie lights, and now an evil tree that is growing way faster than it should. he's sure there's something supernatural going on. His friend Rokshar...

AR: N/A

Lexile: 440

The golden necklace : a Darjeeling tea mystery
Perkins, Mitali
Paper Book
National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins crafts a contemporary chapter-book mystery about a 12-year-old Nepali girl who sets out to solve the disappearance of her Bengali friend's missing jewelry. Set within a tea plantation in Darjeeling, 7-10-year-old readers are transported...

AR: N/A

Lexile: 790

King and Kayla and the case of the missing dog treats
Butler, Dori Hillestad
Paper Book
King & Kayla are back on the case in this laugh-out-loud mystery from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award-winning series. Kayla made peanut butter treats for Thor, Jillian's new puppy. But now the treats are missing, and King is under suspicion. Analytical Kayla...

AR: 2.2

Lexile: 440

Murder is bad manners
Stevens, Robin
Paper Book
Two friends form a detective agency--and must solve their first murder case--in this "sharp-witted debut" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) that is the first adventure in a brand-new middle grade mystery series set at a 1930s boarding school. Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong...

AR: 5.9

Lexile: 910

Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park
Johnson, Aaron
Ebook

AR: 4.8

Lexile: N/A

Mystery James digs her own grave
Russell, Ally
Ebook
Abandoned in a cemetery and raised in a funeral home, a girl who can see and smell the supernatural must solve the mystery of a priceless heirloom stolen from her family's business. Perfect for fans of Netflix's Wednesday and Beetlejuice! "A new middle grade heroine you...

AR: N/A

Lexile: 860

The mystery of locked rooms
Currie, Lindsay
Paper Book
*Instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller!* Crack the codes. Find the treasure. Escape the house. From the acclaimed author of Scritch Scratch and What Lives in the Woods comes a action-packed adventure novel about three friends who team up to find a hidden treasure in an...

AR: 4.4

Lexile: 620

Mystery on Museum Mile
Wells, Marcia.
Paper Book
Art, mystery, fun and friendship, combine in this illustrated middle grade series debut. Sixth grader Edmund Xavier Lonnrot, codename "Eddie Red," has a photographic memory and talent for drawing anything he sees. When the NYPD is stumped by a mastermind art thief, Eddie...

AR: 4.9

Lexile: 690

The Sherlock society
Ponti, James
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! In the tradition of Nancy Drew, four kids and one grandfather in Miami tackle a decades-old mystery in this first book full of "atmosphere, history, and lively humor" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) in the Sherlock Society middle...

AR: 4.9

Lexile: 770

Shirley and Jamila save their summer
Goerz, Gillian
Paper Book
This middle-grade graphic novel for fans of Roller Girl and Smile introduces Jamila and Shirley, two unlikely friends who save each other's summers while solving their neighborhood's biggest mysteries. Jamila Waheed is staring down a lonely summer in a new...

AR: 2.8

Lexile: 490

Sisterhood of sleuths
Bertman, Jennifer Chambliss
Paper Book
A clever and thought-provoking mystery that pays homage to classic Nancy Drew stories, perfect for fans of Wendy Mass and Trenton Lee Stewart. Maizy always assumed she knew everything about her grandmother, Jacuzzi.?So?when a box full of vintage Nancy Drew books gets left at...

AR: 5.1

Lexile: N/A

Super Max and the mystery of Thornwood's revenge
Vaught, Susan
Paper Book
"An excellent addition to middle grade shelves, with a differently-abled main character that readers will root for." --School Library Journal "Vaught makes Max the brash, bold star of the book, exchanging stereotypes and sympathy cards for a well-drawn character whose...

AR: 5.5

Lexile: 820

Under locker and key
Hymas, Allison K.
Paper Book
Eleven-year-old Jeremy Wilderson teams up with his rival crime fighter to stop the stealing spree that's wreaking havoc on Scottsville Middle School in this action-packed MAX novel. Jeremy Wilderson is not a thief. In fact, he is his middle school's one and only retrieval...

AR: 4.6

Lexile: 630

Wallace and Grace take the case
Alexander, Heather
Paper Book
The Read & Bloom line offers high interest, character driven stories for newly independent readers that feature full-color illustrations throughout and will transition kids from leveled readers to a lifetime of reading. In this charming series, perfect for newly independent readers, kids will be...

AR: 2.7

Lexile: 490


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