Thematic Reading List: Nancy Drew and Other Sleuths
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew may have started the detective mystery for children’s reading, but many notable detectives have held their own throughout the years. The list of sleuths that follows is divided by the age of the sleuth, not by reading level. We were disappointed to find little diversity in modern publications, a problem that we hope publishers will remedy.
Girl Sleuths: | |
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Sly the Sleuth and the pet mysteries By: Donna Jo Napoli and Robert Furrow Sly the Sleuth, also known as Sylvia, solves three mysteries for her friends and neighbors, all involving pets, through her detective agency, Sleuth for Hire. |
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Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood mummy By: Wendelin Van Draanen A Hollywood actress, who had been competing with Sammy’s mother for an important role, is murdered, but thirteen-year-old Sammy and her friend Marissa are on the case. |
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Cam Jansen: the chocolate fudge mystery By: David A. Adler When Cam Jansen and her friend Eric uncover a mystery while selling fudge door-to-door to raise money for the local library, Cam uses her photographic memory to foil a crime. |
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The Sisters Grimm: the fairy-tale detectives By: Michael Buckley Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother whom they have always believed to be dead. |
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The Red Blazer Girls: the mistaken masterpiece By: Michael D. Beil Sophie and her friends, who call themselves The Red Blazer Girls, embark on solving a case involving mistaken identities, switched paintings, and some priceless family heirlooms. |
Boy Sleuths: | |
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The buried bones mystery (Clubhouse Mysteries) By: Sharon M. Draper When the Black Dinosaurs, a club made up of four friends, discover what’s hidden in an old trunk buried near their clubhouse, they set out to solve the mystery. |
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Nate the Great By: Marjorie Weinman Sharmat When Annie tells him about her missing painting, Nate the Great and his trusted companion, Sam Spade, set out to investigate, gather clues, and solve the mystery. |
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The case of the frog jumping contest (A Jigsaw Jones Mystery) By: James Preller Jigsaw Jones investigates when the champion frog in a frog-jumping contest mysteriously disappears. |
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Encyclopedia Brown takes the case By: Donald Sobol Each chapter is a new mystery to be solved: The case of the stolen money — The case of the talking house — The case of the two-timers — The case of the false teeth — The case of the skin diver — The case of the barefoot thieves — The case of the dog-paddle derby — The case of the broken globe — The case of the pet skunk — The case of the seven-foot diver. |
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The case of the case of mistaken identity (Brixton Brothers) 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. |
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The pirate’s blood and other case files (Saxby Smart Private Detective) By: Simon Cheshire Saxby Smart, schoolboy private detective, invites the reader to follow the clues as he investigates three cases involving hidden treasure, a string of break-ins where nothing is stolen, and a rare comic book taken from an undamaged safe. |
Teen sleuths: | |
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The Nancy Drew files, case 121: natural enemies By: Carolyn Keene When Ned convinces Nancy to join him at the Rocky Isle Marine Institute in Maine, she discovers that the aquarium’s baby dolphin is being held for a million-dollar ransom. |
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Gilda Joyce: the drop dead 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. |
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Lulu Dark can see through walls: a mystery By: Bennett Madison When someone steals her purse and her identity, high-school junior and reluctant girl sleuth Lulu Dark investigates. |
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Hardy Boys Adventure: secret of the red arrow By: Franklin Dixon Frank and Joe Hardy follow dangerous copycat pranks to a criminal group, identify the culprits who key an expensive car and post a video on the Internet; investigate the disappearance of an amusement park patron; and seek two missing girls. |
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Found: a Mickey Bolitar novel By: Harlan Coben Mickey Bolitar and his friends continue to investigate the Abeona Shelter, while Mickey searches for answers about his father’s tragic death. |
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The Dark Stairs: Herculeah Jones mystery By: Betsy Cromer Byars The intrepid Herculeah Jones helps her mother, a private investigator, solve a puzzling and frightening case. |
Not to mention: the Dana Girls, Donna Parker and the the Adventure Series by Enid Blyton