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Get a Clue @ the Library: Mysteries for Kids

An asterisk (*) indicates an author who has written a mystery series or other mystery titles.

• For Grades 1–3
• For Grades 4–6

For Grades 1–3

*Young Cam Jansen and the Speedy Car Mystery by David A. Adler

Cam Jansen uses her photographic memory at the school Green Fair to solve a mystery involving a missing electric car.

*Bones and the Clown Mix-Up Mystery by David A. Adler

Detective Jeffrey Bones helps a clown who performed at his friend's birthday party to find some lost clothing.

*Miss Nelson Is Missing by Harry Allard

The kids in Room 207 take advantage of their teacher's good nature until she disappears and they are faced with a vile substitute.

*Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective: Bad Bugs Are My Business by David Biedrzycki

After being mugged, Scratch Murphy the flea asks Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective, for help in finding the culprit who stole money from his Six Legs Amusement Park.

*Dirk Bones and the Mystery of the Missing Books by Doug Cushman

Investigative reporter Dirk Bones sets out to discover who is stealing books in the town of Ghostly.

*Mazeways: A to Z by Roxie Munro

Collection of maze puzzles corresponding to each letter of the alphabet.

*The Case of the Groaning Ghost by James Preller

Ghosts start haunting Jigsaw's classmates, but there's a new ghostbuster in town stealing all of Jigsaw's clients.

What Really Happened to Humpty: (From the Files of a Hard-Boiled Detective) by Jeanie Franz Ransom

Detective Joe Dumpty rushes to investigate the mysterious circumstances under which his older brother, Humpty, fell from a wall on his first day as captain of the new Neighborhood Watch program.

*April Adventure by Ron Roy

Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy follow clues on an Easter treasure hunt, while trying to figure out who set it up for them.

Ballroom Bonanza by Nina Rycroft

Animals from alpacas to zebras gather in Blackpool for the annual dance competition, while the monkeys hide twenty-six musical instruments for which the reader is invited to search in the illustrations.

*Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club by Marjorie Sharmat

Nate and his dog Sludge help Rosamond discover who has been tearing pages out of her books.

*Encyclopedia Brown Super Sleuth by Donald Sobol

Idaville's secret weapon against lawbreakers, ten-year-old Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown, helps the police force solve ten new cases, the solutions to which are found in the back of the book.

*Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation by Mark Teague

While on vacation, Mrs. LaRue receives letters from her dog Ike who has been falsely accused of harming the neighbor's cats and is trying to clear his name.

The Pumpkin Mystery by Carol Wallace

Two sleuths, a farm cat and dog, team up with their enemy, a rabbit, to solve a Halloween mystery.

*Martha on the Case by Jamie White

Martha tries her paw at sleuthing to find out who ruined the birthday cake at Alice's birthday party and she later tries to prevent a jewelry store robbery.

For Grades 4–6

Gilda Joyce: The Dead Drop by Jennifer Allison

Almost-fifteen-year-old psychic investigator Gilda Joyce interns for the summer at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., and solves a mystery involving national security.

*Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware by M.T. Anderson

Boy Technonaut, Jasper Dash, and his friends Lily Gefelty and Katie Mulligan travel into the mist-shrouded heart of the forbidden mountainous realm of Delaware to try and unravel a terrible mystery.

*If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge by Marc Aronson

Explores the mysterious monument of Stonehenge and reveals some of its secrets and history.

*The Calder Game by Blue Balliett

When seventh-grader Calder Pillay disappears from a remote English village — along with an Alexander Calder sculpture to which he has felt strangely drawn — his friends Petra and Tommy fly from Chicago to help his father find him.

*The Case That Time Forgot by Tracy Barrett

Xena and Xander Holmes, an American brother and sister who are living in England, use clues from their ancestor Sherlock Holmes' casebook when they are asked by a classmate to find an ancient Egyptian artifact that has been missing for many years.

*The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett

When twelve-year-old Steve Brixton, a fan of Bailey Brothers detective novels, is mistaken for a real detective, he must elude librarians, police, and the mysterious Mr. E as he seeks a missing quilt containing coded information.

*The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael Beil

Catholic-schooled seventh-graders Sophie, Margaret, Rebecca, and Leigh Ann help an elderly neighbor solve a puzzle her father left for her estranged daughter twenty years ago.

*The Potato Chip Puzzles by Eric Berlin

Winston and his friends enter an all-day puzzle contest to win fifty-thousand dollars for their school, but they must also figure out who is trying to keep them from winning. Puzzles for the reader to solve are included throughout the text.

Masterpiece by Elise Broach

After Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing as an eleventh birthday gift for James, a human with whom he shares a house, the two new friends work together to help recover a Durer drawing stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

*The Inside Story by Michael Buckley

Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck, stuck in the Book of Everafter, chase the Master through a series of stories, where they're willing to change what they need in order to save their baby brother.

*The Hive Detectives by Loree Griffin Burns

Apiarist Dave Hackenberg's bees have a busy travel schedule, pollinating around the United States from February to July. So when Dave inspected four hundred of his hives and found that the bees had simply vanished, a dream team of bee scientists got to work.

*The Buddy Files: The Case of the Mixed-Up Mutts by Dori Hillestad Butler

While attending obedience class with his new humans, Buddy the dog helps solve a mystery involving two pugs that were switched at the dog park.

The Chihuahua Chase by A. E. Cannon

When Teddy's chihuahua Phantom goes missing, he and Addie May join forces to try to figure out what happened to the dog

The Unknowns: A Mystery by Benedict Carey

When people start vanishing from a godforsaken trailer park next to the Folsom Energy Plant, two eleven-year-olds investigate using mathematical clues that were hastily planted by their friend Mrs. Clarke before she disappeared.

*The Curse of the Ancient Mask by Simon Cheshire

Saxby Smart is no ordinary ten-year-old. He's the best detective in the world, or at least the best one who also happens to be in elementary school.

Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements

Ted Hammond, the only sixth grader in his small Nebraska town's one-room schoolhouse, searches for clues to the disappearance of a homeless family.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

When Ted and Kat's cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel, the two siblings must work together--Ted with his brain that is "wired differently" and impatient Kat--to try to solve the mystery of what happened to Salim.

*The Case of the Secret Weapon by John R. Erickson

"There's a burglar on the loose, and he's robbing houses with the help of a super-sneaky, super-stinky, secret weapon. As Head of Security, Hank knows it's his job to protect the ranch and all the buildings on it. So when a suspicious character comes sniffing around Slim's bachelor shack, Hank heads right into action. But does Hank have what it takes to save the day--even after getting caught in the spray of some very unsavory artillery?"--From publisher description.

*Write Your Own Mystery Story by Tish Farrell

Provides tips on how to write mystery stories, including how to get started, how to create characters, and how to develop plots. Includes suggestions from famous authors.

*Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Eleven-year-old Harriet keeps notes on her classmates and neighbors in a secret notebook, but when some of the students read the notebook, they seek revenge.

The House on the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix

When Britt's older brother, Bran, lands a summer job house-sitting for the Marquises, an elderly couple, it seems like a great opportunity. Britt and Bran have moved to Florida so their mother can finish college, and the house-sitting income will allow their mom to quit her job and take classes full-time. Having never lived in a real house before, Britt is thrilled. There's only one problem: Britt starts to suspect her family isn't supposed to be there.

Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn

When thirteen-year-old Logan and his family move into a run-down old house in rural Virginia, he discovers that a woman was murdered there and becomes involved with his neighbor Arthur in a dangerous investigation to try to uncover the killer.

*Dial M for Mongoose by Bruce Hale

Fourth-grade detective Chet Gecko and his associate Natalie Attired investigate a series of mishaps that all seem to point to the school janitor.

Tales of the Cryptids: Mysterious Creatures That May or May Not Exist by Kelly Milner Halls

Cryptozoology is the study of animals that may or may not be real: such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison

Bedeviled by evil fairies that only she can see, thirteen-year-old Tanya is sent to stay with her cold and distant grandmother at Elvesden Manor, where she and the caretaker's son solve a disturbing mystery that leads them to the discovery that Tanya's life is in danger.

Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King by Zahi A. Hawass

Learn about the life of King Tut, his burial and the fabulous discovery of his tomb.

*The Greek Who Stole Christmas by Anthony Horowitz

Fourteen-year-old Nick and his brother, an ineffectual private detective, try to prevent the threatened murder of an international pop star in London at Christmas time.

*Bunnicula : A Rabbit-Tale Mystery by Deborah Howe

Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

After twelve-year-old Annika, a foundling living in late nineteenth-century Vienna, inherits a trunk of costume jewelry, a woman claiming to be her aristocratic mother arrives and takes her to live in a strangely decrepit mansion in Germany.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 12-year-old Claudia Strives to keep things in order in their new home and to become a changed person and a heroine to herself.

Griff Carver, Hallway Patrol by Jim Krieg

Legendary Griff Carver joins the Rampart Middle School Hallway Patrol and with the help of his new friends, Griff solves the case of counterfeit hall passes.

*Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle's estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones.

*The Prophet from Ephesus by Caroline Lawrence

Presumed dead by their families but wanted by unknown authorities, Flavia, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus feel very far from home. News of more kidnappings in Italia reach them and when they discover one of Mirian's twins is among the missing, the detectives investigate.

*The Viper's Nest (39 Clues) by Peter Lerangis

Shaken by a shocking loss, Amy and Dan flee to an exotic land and trace the footsteps of their most formidable ancestor yet: a military leader of mythic proportions.

*The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas by Tracy Mack

The ragamuffin boys known as the Baker Street Irregulars help Sherlock Holmes solve the mysterious deaths of a family of circus tightrope walkers.

*Max & Maddy and the Chocolate Money Mystery by Alexander McCall Smith

Asked by a Swiss banker to investigate a series of bank robberies committed by dogs, young detectives Max and Maddy Twist travel to Switzerland, where they discover that the man behind the robberies is none other than Professor Sardine.

*Judy Moody, Girl Detective by Megan McDonald

When a puppy who is being trained as a police dog goes missing, third-grader Judy forms a detective agency to solve the mystery, imitating her literary heroine, Nancy Drew.

*Nancy Drew, Girl Detective. 20, High School Musical Mystery. Part One. by Stefan Petrucha

"Nancy and pals Bess and George meet Louise and Jean Dana on a trip to the town of Penfield, where they visit the Starhurst School for Girls. Once students hear that Nancy has arrived, a contest is developed to see who can solve a concocted mystery first. Their pals plant clues throughout the school, each one in the form of a song! See Nancy Drew and the Dana Girls compete for the title of Top Girl Detective!"

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.

Joey Fly, Private Eye in Creepy Crawly Crime by Aaron Reynolds

Have you ever had one of those moments? You know--you're trying to find a stolen diamond pencil box for your beautiful butterfly customer, your mosquito witness won't give you any information, and your clumsy scorpion assistant has just tampered with your only bit of evidence?Joey Fly has those moments a lot.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

After their father's research experiment at the British Museum unleashes the Egyptian god Set, Carter and Sadie Kane embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest which brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

*The Niña, the Pinta, and the Vanishing Treasure by Jill Santopolo

When the entire Christopher Columbus exhibit disappears from the local museum, fourth-grade sleuth-in-training Alec Flint investigates, aided by his new classmate and potential partner, Gina, who wants his help looking into the disappearance of a teacher

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.

Meanwhile by Jason Shiga

In this choose-your-own adventure graphic novel, a boy stumbles on the laboratory of a mad scientist who asks him to choose between testing a mind-reading device, a time machine, and a doomsday machine.

Tentacles by Roland Smith

After the mysterious disappearance of their parents, Marty and Grace go to live with their scientist uncle and accompany him on what soon becomes an increasingly dangerous expedition to New Zealand to track a giant squid.

*The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer

In late nineteenth-century London, fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, turns to Florence Nightingale for help when her investigation into the disappearance of a Crimean War widow grows cold.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

*The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

*The Karate Mouse by Geronimo Stilton

Geronimo Stilton gets caught up in the World Karate Championships, thanks to the efforts of Bruce Hyena and Piccolo Tao, Bruce's super-sporty cousin. Geronimo only has a week to become real champion material! Will Geronimo manage to overcome his fears in order to win the competition?

*Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen

Thirteen-year-old Sammy meets a mysterious man who dies of a heart attack after telling her to get rid of the large amount of money he is carrying, leading her to investigate who the man was and how he came to be carrying so much cash.

*Mysteries of Giant Humanlike Creatures by Kathryn Walker

There have always been stories of giant, humanlike creatures living in some wild corners of the world. Could these beasts really exist? If they do, then what could they be? Read about the strange reports of the creatures known as Bigfoot, Yeti, Wildman, and Almas. Then decide for yourself if these hairy giants are fact or fiction.

*Vampire Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

When the Aldens agree to watch the house of a local author who has written a book about a vampire, they end up investigating activities that are suspiciously similar to those in his book.

One Minute Mysteries by Eric Yoder

Presents sixty-five mysteries to solve using one's knowlege of earth, space, life, physical, chemical, and general science.