Children's Book Suggestions | Mystery

Great reads for mystery-loving kids, from picture books for preschoolers to spy thrillers for middle school sleuths. For more recommendations, check out our 2024 mysteries list or browse the online catalog.

Updated December 5, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Oregon City Public Library
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The case of the vanishing caterpillar /
Hogan, Eric, 1979-
Paper Book
As Scout tends to his garden he notices something is missing -- his caterpillar friend has vanished! But where did she go? Join Scout and Daisy as they search for clues to solve the Case of the Vanishing Caterpillar. Titles in The Gumboot Kids series:

This picture book series illustrated with photos of felted mice combines science concepts with mysteries for the youngest readers. (Picture Book Age 4-7)

Inspector Flytrap
Angleberger, Tom
Paper Book
A funny and clever illustrated early chapter book series in the Flytrap Files universe, from New York Times bestselling author Tom Angleberger and Newbery Honor winner Cece Bell!   Meet Inspector Flytrap! He's a Venus flytrap and world-class solver...

A very weird, very silly story about a carnivorous plant detective. The wacky humor and illustrations make this a great choice for fans of Dog Man who are building their stamina for reading narrative fiction. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

Everyone Here Is Lying : A Novel
Paper Book
Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door "The most addictive book I've read in ages--so slick and disquieting and clever. Just brilliant." --Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of...

Inspired by the classic series, a new group of friends solve animal-themed mysteries in this new series from disability advocate and author Kayla Whaley. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

The haunted library
Butler, Dori Hillestad
Paper Book
A brand-new young chapter book series from Edgar Award winner Dori Hillestad Butler!   When ghost boy Kaz's haunt is torn down and he is separated from his ghost family, he meets a real girl named Claire, who lives above the town library with her parents and her grandmother....

A not-too-scary ghost story from an author who's mastered the art of writing mysteries for young readers. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

InvestiGATORS
Green, John
Paper Book
With more than three million copies in print, John Patrick Green's goofy graphic novel series is a colossal comics hit! Join super spy alligator duo MANGO and BRASH as they surf the sewers and fight the forces of evil. With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried...
Goofy alligator spies solve crimes! The toilet travel system ensures Dav Pilkey fans will love this one. (Children's Graphic Novels Grades 3-5)
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's library.
Grabenstein, Chris
Paper Book
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets A Night in the Museum in this action-packed New York Times Bestseller from Chris Grabenstein, coauthor of I Funny, Treasure Hunters and other bestselling series with James Patterson!...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Westing Game in this chapter book about a group of kids whose favorite game-maker builds a new library that also happens to be an escape room. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
Konigsburg, E. L.
Paper Book
When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation.  And she would live in comfort-at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  She invited her brother Jamie to go, too, mostly because he was a miser and would...

While there's definitely a mystery in this classic novel, it takes a backseat to the detailed description of living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Sleepover sleuths
Keene, Carolyn.
Paper Book
Eight-year-old Nancy Drew has her first case to crack! Can you help? Nancy and her two best friends, George and Bess, are so excited! They have been invited to Deirdre's sleepover party! There will be pizza, cake, and even a pajama fashion show. But the most exciting thing is...

Newly independent readers can meet Nancy, Bess, and George in this beginning chapter books series inspired by the classic 1950s novels. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

Nancy Clancy, super sleuth
O'Connor, Jane.
Paper Book
Nancy Clancy is growing up and ready for a whole new adventure . . . in her chapter book debut! Nancy and her best friend, Bree, have everything they need to solve a mystery, from their totally professional trench coats to their top-secret code. But when crime strikes...

Fancy Nancy fans who've aged out of Easy Readers can keep growing with Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth. All the glamour, now with a sprinkle of mystery! (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

The mystery of the gold coin
Paris, Harper
Paper Book
In the first book of this new chapter book series about mystery, travel, and adventure, twins Ethan and Ella must find a missing coin before they move away from their hometown! When Ethan and Ella learn that their mother has accepted the position of travel writer for The...

Travel the world and solve mysteries at the same time with Ethan and Ella in the Greetings from Somewhere series. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

The absent author
Roy, Ron
Paper Book
Help Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose solve mysteries from A to Z! Kids love collecting the entire alphabet and super editions! With over 8 million copies in print, the A to Z Mysteries have been hooking chapter book readers on mysteries and reading for years. Now this classic kid...

This classic 90s series is a perfect introduction to mystery novels for young readers. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

Simon and Chester vol 1 : Super detectives!
Atkinson, Cale
Paper Book
A ghost and a kid team up to solve mysteries and kick butt! A hilarious new graphic novel series for fans of Bad Guys and Dog Man. Welcome to the world of Simon and Chester, ghost and boy duo extraordinaire. They like to kick butt and take names. They don't like chores. They are best friends. And...
A human boy and a ghost solve mysteries in this fun, goofy graphic novel. (Bridging Graphic Novels Grades 2-4)
Poppy & Sam and the mole mystery
Cathon
Paper Book
Strawberry-sized sleuths Poppy and Sam are back on the case! It's a new day in the garden, and Poppy and Sam are paying a visit to their friend Snuggles Molesy. But Snuggles is in a pickle, looking for a lost pair of pretty pink glasses! Sleuths Poppy and Sam begin to investigate: all...
This sweet graphic novel series is perfect for young sleuths who like fairy gardens as much as they like solving mysteries. (Bridging Graphic Novels Grades 2-4)
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...

A perfect way to introduce middle school readers to suspenseful, action-packed spy thrillers. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The maze of bones.
Riordan, Rick.
Paper Book
The first book in the #1 bestselling phenomenon sends readers around the world on the hunt for the 39 Clues!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...

An action-packed mystery series by some of the world's most popular children's authors! Each book is written by a different author, with online mysteries to solve in between each book. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The tower treasure [sound recording (CD)] /
Dixon, Franklin W.
Audiobook

The original Hardy Boys mystery series opener! Perfect for fans of classic mysteries and historical fiction. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The secret of the old clock. [online electronic book]
Keene, Carolyn
Ebook
Read the original Nancy Drew mystery, the first book in the iconic mystery series that introduced readers to America's favorite teenaged sleuth! The accidental rescue of a little girl who lives with her two great-aunts leads to an adventurous search for a missing will....

Join the most famous sleuth in children's literature on her first mystery! (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Greenglass House : A National Book Award Nominee
Milford, Kate
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * National Book Award Nominee * Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery It's wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler's inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his...
Winter break has arrived. Instead of a quiet week at his family's inn with just his parents, a group of mysterious guests descends just as a snowstorm breaks out--leaving them snowed in with someone sinister. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)
The Westing game.
Raskin, Ellen.
Paper Book
When an eccentric millionaire dies mysteriously, 16 very unlikely people are gathered together for the reading of the will--and what a will it is. A Newbery Medal-winning novel.
An eccentric millionaire dies and leaves his fortune to an unusual group of people, who must solve the mystery of his death before they can claim his inheritance. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)
The boxcar children.
Warner, Gertrude Chandler, 1890-1979.
Paper Book

It blows my mind that the first book in this popular series was published 100 years ago in 1924! With over 150 books in the series to date, it's still going strong. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The bad beginning, or ; Orphans!
Snicket, Lemony.
Paper Book
Imagine tales so terrible that as many as fifty million innocents have been ruined by them--tales so indelibly horrid that the New York Times bestseller list has been unable to rid itself of them for seven years. Now imagine if this scourge suddenly became available in a shameful...

A story in which everything that can go wrong, does. Orphaned siblings Violet, Klaus, and Sunny solve increasingly bizarre mysteries in this quirky, somewhat scary series. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The story collector
Tubb, Kristin O'Donnell
Paper Book
"For every book lover who fantasized about getting locked in the library overnight, The Story Collector is a dream come true!" --New York Times-bestselling author Alan Gratz In the tradition of E. L. Konisburg, this middle-grade...

A historical mystery featuring siblings who investigate a haunting at the New York Public Library in the 1920s, great for fans of classic mysteries looking for a new take on a familiar setting. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The maze of bones. [graphic novel]
Young, Ethan, 1983-
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...

A graphic novel adaptation of the popular mystery/adventure series. (Children's Graphic Novels Grades 3-5)

Shirley and Jamila save their Summer. [online electronic book]
Goerz, Gillian.
Ebook
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...

Two unlikely friends team up to solve mysteries in their Canadian neighborhood during an otherwise boring summer. (Children's Graphic Novels Grades 3-5)

The secret letters
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
Paper Book
In this page-turning middle grade series by New York Times bestseller Margaret Peterson Haddix, Colin and Nevaeh, whose parents own rival junk-removal businesses, uncover mysteries hidden in attics and basements and discover how trash can become treasure. In The Secret Letters, Colin and Nevaeh...
Two kids from rival junk removal family businesses team up to solve a mystery found in a box of letters from the 1970s. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)
Restart
Korman, Gordon
Paper Book
The amazing New York Times bestseller about what you can do when life gives you a second chance. Chase's memory just went out the window. Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes...

A tween with amnesia tries to solve the mystery of who he was before the accident and learns he might not like the answer. (Young Teen Grades 5-7)

The case of the missing marquess : an Enola Holmes mystery.
Springer, Nancy
Paper Book
Now a Netflix original movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter! Meet Enola Holmes, teenaged girl turned detective and the younger sister to Sherlock Holmes. When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her...

The Sherlock Holmes spinoff that inspired the series starring Millie Bobbie Brown, featuring the youngest Holmes sibling solving mysteries in 19th century London. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

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...

Friends and boarding school classmates Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong form a detective agency to solve the murder of a teacher. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The Mona Lisa vanishes : a legendary painter, a shocking heist, and the birth of a global celebrity
Day, Nick
Paper Book
A "witty thriller" (The New York Times) for middle-grade readers about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, how the robbery made the portrait the most famous artwork in the world--and how the painting by Leonardo da Vinci should never have existed at all. ...

A true crime story featuring one of history's most notorious art heists--the theft of the Mona Lisa--and how it turned an obscure painting into a global sensation. (Children's Nonfiction Age 10-14)


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