Suggested reading for ages 6-9 and ages 10-12.   | more books for kids

Ages 6-9

The Bald Bandit by Ron Roy.
Third-grader Dink and his detective friends hope to receive a big reward by finding the person whose video recorder picked up a picture of the local bank robber.

Dead Guys Talk by Barbara Joosse.
In the dead middle of summer, the Scarface Detectives investigate their creepiest case yet when a mysterious client sends them to Oak Hill Cemetery, where Loonie Loraine is buried. A Wild Willie Mystery.

Dirk Bones and the Mystery of the Haunted House by Doug Cushman.
"Daily Tombs" newspaper reporter Dirk Bones, who also happens to be a skeleton, investigates when a family of ghosts fears that they are being haunted.

Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues by Donald Sobol.
Fifth-grader "Encyclopedia" Leroy Brown solves ten mysteries and, by putting the solutions at the back of the book, challenges the reader to do the same.

High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Missing Monkey by Cynthia Rylant.
While having breakfast at their favorite diner, two detectives, Bunny and Jack, solve a mystery that is not what it seems.

Horrible Harry Cracks the Code by Suzy Kline.
Harry is determined to uncover the special set of numbers that the school cook uses to award the daily prizes in the cafeteria’s “February fun” program and prove to the class that he is a great detective.

Minnie And Moo: The Case Of The Missing Jelly Donut by Denys Cazet.
While picnicking, Minnie notices that her jelly donut has disappeared.  The cow sleuths deduce that the thief must be a chicken when they find a chicken feather next to the empty pastry box - but where did she go?
 
Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.
Nate the Great gets an urgent call from Annie who has just painted a picture and can't find it anywhere. Nate plunges into the new case of the missing picture, and solves another mystery while he works.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? by Jon Agee ... [et al.]
Fourteen illustrators give their own answer to the perplexing mystery of why the chicken would cross that busy road.

Ages 10-12

The 100-Year-Old Secret by Tracy Barrett.
Xena Holmes and her brother Xander are playing a favorite game, guessing people's occupation by appearance, in front of their hotel when a strange man delivers a note written in disappearing ink directing them to the Dancing Men Pub. Once there, they’re told that Sherlock Holmes is their great-great grandfather and they are given their inheritance –his "Unsolved Cases" notebook.

Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams.
Thirteen-year-old amateur sleuth Ingrid Levin-Hill, from Down the Rabbit Hole, is back and she seems to be surrounded by people with secrets.

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer.
Enola, the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, stars in her own mystery when her mother disappears. Following “flower clues” she begins searching for her mother who may, or may not have, run away.
            Read her newest adventures --The Case of the Left-Handed Lady and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
A plane arrives at an airline gate unnoticed by radar and most personnel. There are no flight attendants, no pilot, in fact no adults at all, but there are 36 passengers--each seat is inhabited by an infant. Thirteen years later, teenage adoptees Jonah and his friend Chip begin receiving ominous messages that lead to a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, trying to repair the fabric of time. 

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman.
Brainteasers and tricky puzzles are all part of the Gollywhopper Games, a promotional sweepstakes leading to untold wealth and fame for the lucky contestants.

Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer.
Fletcher Moon’s first case is finding out who swiped the lock of a pop star's hair that April Devereux, "head of an entire tribe of Barbies," bought on eBay.

Jackson Jones and the Curse of the Outlaw Rose by Mary Quattlebaum.
Jackson and sidekick Reuben agree to become rose rustlers and steal a clipping of an old rose branch from a cemetery for their friend Mr.K. When terrible things begin happening, Reuben is convinced the clipping is cursed.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd.
Salim, a visiting cousin, never emerges from ‘The London Eye’ a huge tourist Ferris wheel. Was he kidnapped, did he run away, or did he spontaneously combust?

Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan.
What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful in human history? What if you were told that the source of the family's power was hidden around the world, in the form of 39 Clues? What if you were given a choice, take a million dollars and walk away, or get the first Clue? If you're Amy and Dan Cahill, you take the Clue, and begin a very dangerous race.  

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.
“Are you a gifted child looking for Special Opportunities?"  When orphan Reynie answers this strange ad from the newspaper he has no idea that it will lead him to puzzling clues, new friends and a chance to save the world.

Nightmare at the Book Fair by Dan Gutman.
Trip Dinkleman can’t imagine anything more boring than reading a book or going to the library.  But Miss Durkin, the media specialist, grabs him on his way to Lacrosse tryouts and asks him to help move some shelving for the book fair. When a heavy shelf conks him on the head, he ends up living in some very interesting and dangerous books.

Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements.
A shrinking school in a dying town and a face in the window of an empty house don't seem to be related; but as fifth-grader Ted Hammond learns, in a very small town, there's no such thing as an isolated event.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.
The sixteen heirs of magnate Sam Westing are called upon at the reading of his will to unravel the secret behind his untimely demise.  The will is in the form of a puzzle, and the heirs must solve the mystery, in order to inherit the fortune.

The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett.
Petra, Calder and Tommy are drawn into another art mystery focusing on Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpiece, the Robie House. The sixth graders attempt to save this landmark from demolition encountering hidden puzzles, coded messages and eerie sightings.