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 Den of Danger
Clover, Andrew
Paper Book
"Such fun! And, happily, more to come!" - Kirkus Reviews Be bold, be curious, be DETECTIVES! The first book in this hilarious crime-fighting middle-grade detective series reads like an extended graphic novel for aspirational readers and devoted fans of diary-style fiction. ...
Rory Branagan (Detective)
Clover, Andrew
Paper Book
"Such fun! And, happily, more to come!" - Kirkus Reviews Be bold, be curious, be DETECTIVES! The first book in this hilarious crime-fighting middle-grade detective series reads like an extended graphic novel for aspirational readers and devoted fans of diary-style fiction. ...
The Chicken Squad the first misadventure
Cronin, Doreen
Paper Book
Now an animated series on Disney Junior! They might be chicks, but they sure aren't chicken, and they're on a mission. And on this, their first (mis)adventure "in this delightful spinoff of the J.J. Tully series" (Kirkus Reviews), the Chicken Squad launches a...
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...
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...
Real pigeons eat danger
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! 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
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! The crime-fighting adventures continue in book 3 of this hilarious illustrated series perfect for fans of BAD GUYS and DOG MAN...
Real Pigeons peck punches
McDonald, Andrew
Paper Book
The fifth laugh-out-loud funny adventure in the blockbuster Real Pigeons series! More pigeons are fighting crime than ever before, but the REAL PIGEONS still have lots of CATastrophes to untangle ...  Who stole a rare jewel from the world's...
Real pigeons splash back
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! Don't miss this hilarious illustrated series perfect for fans of DOG MAN. The REAL PIGEONS are ready for...
Minerva Keen's Detective Club
Patterson, James
Paper Book
James Patterson has just created the most spine-tingling, creepy-crawling, giggle-producing kids' detective club ever. That's ever.   Living in the luxurious Arcanum building--with its interior balconies perfect for playing tag, an...
Big trouble
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
In this quirky middle-grade detective novel, mystery abounds but a girl genius is on the case! Crime hits close to home when Friday Barnes learns her mother has been kidnapped. But her detective work gets put aside when Friday is distracted by other happenings at school: a new...
Danger ahead
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
School camp . . . what could possibly go wrong? Friday Barnes is forced to face her biggest fear - her own emotions! She must wave goodbye to Ian as he takes off to join his father in the Cayman Islands. But when your dad is a white-collar criminal, family reunions never go to...
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...
Never fear
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
Friday's time at Highcrest is running out! The new headmaster is turning everything upside down. Friday's irritatingly high IQ has her fast-tracked to graduation, while a pair of incriminating pants puts Ian on the rocky road to expulsion. When a rumour emerges...
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...
Undercover
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
Friday is not running away. Yes, she did get on a train to Norway without telling anyone where she was going - but she had to help Binky. He may or may not have been attacked by a polar bear. Now he's facing court martial for dereliction of duty. Obviously, Friday had to drop everything and travel...
Wave riders : a storm is coming what will it take to survive?
St. John, Lauren; Dean, Rachael
Paper Book
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...
Choose your own adventure: heroes and monsters, Netflix Stranger Things
Tahir, Rana.
Paper Book
A thrilling Choose Your Own Adventure® book based on Netflix's Stranger Things! Are YOU ready to journey to the dark side of Hawkins, Indiana? Join Eleven, Dustin, Max, Lucas, and their friends as they explore Pennhurst Asylum, the creepy old Creel house, and possibly...
The under dogs
West, Tracey
Paper Book
From the writer of the bestselling Dragon Masters series and the illustrator of the bestselling Diary of a Pug series comes a high-energy, illustrated chapter book series about four dogs who learn that being yourself is much more fun than being Best in Show. Welcome to the town of...
Unhappy campers (the underdogs #3)
West,Tracey
Paper Book
From the writer of the bestselling Dragon Masters series and the illustrator of the bestselling Diary of a Pug series comes a high-energy, illustrated chapter book series about four dogs who learn that being yourself is much more fun than being Best in Show. Welcome to the town of...
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...
Vampiric vacation
White, Kiersten
Paper Book
The spooky summer adventures of the Sinister-Winterbottom twins continue in another gothic mystery- can Theo and Alexander solve the secret of the Sanguine Spa in the little Transylvania Mountains? The second book in the new Sinister Summer series by #1 NYT bestselling author Kiersten...
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....
MENACING MANOR
WHITE, KIERSTEN.
Paper Book
Book four in the tragic series about the Sinister-Winterbottom twins, who must solve one wretched mystery after the next, brought to you by #1 New York Times bestselling author KIERSTEN WHITE. The electrifying penultimate adventure finds the Sinister-Winterbottoms at the...
The maze of bones
Young, Ethan
Paper Book
The graphic novel adaptation of the mega-bestseller that launched a global phenomenon! Minutes before she died Grace Cahill changed her will, leaving her descendants an impossible decision: "You have a choice - one million dollars or a clue." Grace is the last matriarch of...

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