Mysteries for Upper Elmentary

Grades 3-5

Updated April 26, 2024
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Capture the flag
Messner, Kate
Paper Book
Three kids get caught up in an adventure of historic proportions!Anna, José, and Henry are complete strangers with more in common than they realize. Snowed in together at a chaotic Washington D.C. airport, they encounter a mysterious tattooed man, a flamboyant politician, and a rambunctious...
R.L. 4.5
Hold fast
Balliett, Blue
Paper Book
From NYT bestselling author Blue Balliett, the story of a girl who falls into Chicago's shelter system, and from there must solve the mystery of her father's strange disappearance. Where is Early's father? He's not the kind of father who would disappear. But he's gone . . . and he...
R.L. 5.2
A royal conundrum
Yee, Lisa
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER .When a notorious thief is out for priceless treasure (gems! cats! general decorum!)-who're you gonna call? An elite team of crime-fighting underdogs, that's who! The Misfits are on the case in this hilarious illustrated series from Newbery Honoree Lisa Yee and...
R.L. 5.8
Scream for ice cream
Keene, Carolyn.
Paper Book
How can a contest this sweet turn so sticky? Nancy and her friends think there is nothing more fun than ice cream in the summer. So when they find out that the owners of the local ice-cream factory are hosting a contest, the Clue Crew can't wait to enter! Contestants must come up...
R.L. 3.4
A to Z mysteries: 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...
R.L. 3.4
Timmy Failure
Pastis, Stephan
Paper Book
Want to aspire to greatness? Check out this edition of Timmy Failure's first adventure--featuring the bonus section "How to Draw Timmy and Total." He may be clueless, but the comically self-confident Timmy Failure is CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the...

R.L. 3.8

Insignificant events in the life of a cactus
Bowling, Dusti
Paper Book
"Aven is a perky, hilarious, and inspiring protagonist whose attitude and humor will linger even after the last page has turned." --School Library Journal (Starred review) Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator...
R.L. 4.6
The Fenway foul-up
Kelly, David A.
Paper Book
Now leading off the line-up--book #1 in a brand-new early chapter book mystery series where each book is set in a different American ballpark! Thanks to Kate's mom, a sports reporter, cousins Mike Walsh and Kate Hopkins have tickets to the Red Sox game and All Access passes to Fenway...
R.L. 3.9
Cam Jansen and the mystery of the stolen diamonds
Adler, David A.
Audiobook
When Cam and her best friend Eric are interrupted in the middle of the memory game by the alarm bell of a nearby jewelry shop, they watch the police catch a man running from the scene of the crime. But when the police find he doesn't have any stolen jewels, they have to let him go. Cam's not so sure...
R.L. 3.2
The Swifts : a dictionary of scoundrels
Lincoln, Beth
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestseller! "Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket...This archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever as its heroine." - Publishers Weekly...
R.L. 6.0
Bunnicula : a rabbit tale of mystery
Howe, Deborah.
Paper Book
THIS book is written by Harold. His full time occupation is dog. He lives with Mr. and Mrs. X (here called Monroe) and their sons Toby and Pete. Also sharing the home are a cat named Chester and a rabbit named Bunnicula. It is because of Bunnicula that Harold turned to writing. Someone had to tell...
R.L. 4.2
The Parker inheritance
Johnson, Varian
Paper Book
A Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor winner * Four Starred Reviews * Over Ten Best-of-Year Lists"Powerful.... Johnson writes about the long shadows of the past with such ambition that any reader with a taste for mystery will appreciate the puzzle Candice and Brandon must solve." -- The New York Times...
R.L. 4.2
The lost library
Stead, Rebecca
Paper Book
Now a New York Times bestseller and a #1 Indie Bestseller, readers won't want to miss this story of a little free library guarded by a cat, and a boy who takes on the mystery it keeps. A TODAY SHOW Kids' Read Pick! * The Amazon #1 Best Book for Kids * "A...
R.L. 4.3
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!...
R.L. 4.5
The boxcar children
Warner, Gertrude Chandler
Paper Book
Four brave siblings were searching for a home - and found a life of adventure! Join the Boxcar Children as they set out on their own in the first book in this illustrated chapter book series beloved by generations of readers. Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are brothers and...
R.L. 3.9
Winterborne Home for vengeance and valor
Carter, Ally
Paper Book
"This is the kind of read that makes your soul sit up straight. At once a heart-wrenching tale of found family and a thrilling, atmospheric mystery that keeps you guessing at every page, Ally Carter's middle grade debut is a triumph. I loved April's character down to the barb wire wrapped around...
R.L. 4.7
From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Konigsburg, E. L.
Paper Book
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with E. L. Konigsburg's beloved classic and Newbery Medal­-winning novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler! When Claudia decided to run away, she...
R.L. 4.7
One came home
Timberlake, Amy.
Paper Book
In the town of Placid, Wisconsin, in 1871, Georgie Burkhardt is known for two things- her uncanny aim with a rifle and her habit of speaking her mind plainly. But when Georgie blurts out something she shouldn't, her older sister Agatha flees, running off with a pack of "pigeoners"...
R.L. 4.8
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....

R.L. 4.9

Room one : a mystery or two
Clements, Andrew
Paper Book
R.L. 5.1
The sisters Grimm, book one : the fairy-tale detectives
Buckley, Michael
Paper Book
Orphaned sisters Sabrina and Daphne are sent to live with their mysterious grandmother, Relda Grimm, who lives in a town in rural New York State that experiences an extraordinary number of unexplained and unusual crimes. In this book, the girls are pitted against a giant who has been rampaging...
R.L. 5.2
The real McCoys
Swanson, Matthew
Paper Book
The first book in an illustrated middle-grade series in which a precocious detective solves mysteries with her super-smart little brother. Her name's Moxie. Moxie McCoy. Bold, opinionated, and haplessly self-confident, the world's greatest fourth-grade detective...
R.L. 5.2
The Westing game
Raskin, Ellen.
Paper Book
For twenty-five years, Ellen Raskin's Newbery Medal-winning The Westing Game has been an enduring favorite and is now being reissued with a brand-new jacket by Kevin Hawkes and an introduction by Ann Durell. This highly inventive mystery involves sixteen people who are invited to...
R.L. 5.3
Wrecker
Hiaasen, Carl
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Wrecker needs to deal with smugglers, grave robbers, and pooping iguanas--just as soon as he finishes Zoom school. Welcome to another wild adventure in Carl Hiaasen's Florida! Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great...
R.L. 5.3
The shadow cipher
Ruby, Laura
Paper Book
"The pleasures of the novel go far beyond the crackling, breathless plot and the satisfaction of watching the puzzle fall into place. The book is shot through with humor, both laugh-out-loud and subtle." --New York Times Book Review From National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner...
R.L. 5.3
Greenglass House
Milford, Kate
Ebook
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...
R.L. 5.4
Who could that be at this hour?
Snicket, Lemony
Paper Book
A New York Times Notable Children's Book of the Year*A Kirkus Best Book of the Year*A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year ★ "Fans of A Series of...
R.L. 5.5
Book scavenger
Bertman, Jennifer Chambliss
Paper Book
A New York Times-Bestseller! "Full of heart and replete with challenging ciphers for readers to decode, Bertman's debut is literary cousin to classic puzzlers like The Westing Game." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review "Fans of Escape...
R.L. 5.5
The name of this book is secret
Bosch, Pseudonymous
Paper Book
Read the series that's sold more than 2 million copies--if you dare! Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch. As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his...
R.L. 5.6
The murderer's ape
Wegelius, Jakob
Paper Book
"This may be the most charming book I've read all year." --The New York Times   "I don't know when I last read a book with such pure and unalloyed pleasure." -Philip Pullman, internationally bestselling author of the His Dark Materials series ...
R.L. 6.4
The case of the missing marquess
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...
R.L. 6.6

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