As a kid I loved a great mystery book. I wanted to be Miss Marple, or Mandie Shaw when I grew up. Often I would stay up all night reading my favorite mystery series because I just had to know who did it. Mystery books are great for kids because they encourage readers to use logical thinking and deductive reasoning. They're also fun to read! This month, Lucas and I picked out some of our favorite mystery books from the library to share. Some of the books he was able to read, but mostly I read aloud to him. Overall, he enjoyed reading/listening to the stories and tried to solve the mysteries right along with the characters.
1. Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat is the first book in this fantastic series about a pancake loving boy detective. In this book Nate is working on the case of the missing painting. He takes detective work seriously. This was a favorite for Lucas. He could relate to Nate's love for pancakes and enjoyed trying to solve the mystery of the missing painting. These books are clever and funny, and are perfect for early readers.
2. The A to Z Mysteries Series by Ron Roy was also a favorite for Lucas. As the name suggests..A to Z.., the book titles in this series follow the alphabet..The Absent Author, The Bald Bandit, The Canary Caper..etc. In The Absent Author, readers are introduced to detectives Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose. In this story the three friends have to figure out what happened to their favorite author! This series is well written, the clues make sense and the author wraps up the mysteries in a way young readers can understand and feel good about solving.
3. Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall is a favorite of mine. I used to read this book to my students when I worked as a substitute teacher. It is a fun read, and a great way to talk about classroom expectations. In the story, Miss Nelson's students have gone a little crazy! They won't stop talking, they won't do their homework and spitballs are flying everywhere! Miss Nelson has had enough. She calls in sick and brings in the horrible, Miss Viola Swamp as her substitute. Miss Viola Swamp cancels recess and gives out lots of homework. When the students try to find Miss Nelson, no one knows where she is! After Miss Viola Swamp whips the class back in shape, the sweet Miss Nelson returns to a much better behaved and appreciative class.
4. Young Cam Jensen series by David Adler is a great series for early readers. In Young Cam Jensen and the Library Mystery, her father's shopping list has gone missing! Cam and her friend Eric put their brains together and solve the mystery of the missing shopping list. Out of the four books we read, this was the one that Lucas could read himself. He enjoyed the story, and illustrations that went along with the book. We are looking forward to reading more books from this series.
