Mystery & Adventure

Top reading picks for junior mystery and adventure

Updated December 4, 2023
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The bad guys in 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...
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. ...
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
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...
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
This funny, smart, and action-packed book from the world's #1 bestselling author, twelve-year-old Minerva Keen's neighbors are being mysteriously poisoned--and she's determined to crack the case Living in the luxurious Arcanum building--with its interior...
Friday Barnes, 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...
Bitter enemies
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
Headmasters behaving badly! When four former headmasters arrive at Highcrest Academy to take part in the school's anniversary celebrations, the students are warned to be on their best behaviour. Unfortunately, no one told the headmasters to stay out of mischief too!...
Friday Barnes : 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...
No rules : a Friday Barnes mystery
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...
Friday Barnes : the plot thickens
Spratt, R. A.
Paper Book
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....
Friday Barnes, 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...
Wave riders
St. John, Lauren
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...
The Newshound
Vulliamy, Clara
Paper Book
Meet Eva, Simone and Ash: best friends, budding journalists, and the stars of this delightful new series about family, friends, and DOGS, from the author of the much-loved MARSHMALLOW PIE and DOTTY DETECTIVE books! Eva has always wanted to be a journalist, so when she...
The underdogs
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...
The underdogs
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 decendants an impossible decision: "You have a choice - one million dollars or a clue." Grace is the last matriarch of the...

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