RATING: 4.5 STARS

I loved this mystery series as a kid, but have not read them since so this review is based on my memories. My love of mystery started pretty early and Encyclopedia Brown was among my first series. Each book has several mysteries that you can solve along with Encyclopedia, complete with clues. I could not get enough of these books, and didn't realize that this series started in 1963.

These are easy to read chapter books for young kids.

***This is a series Review***

I’m not going to actually give this a rating because it’s too difficult to rate. I enjoyed this due to nostalgia but it was incredibly dated and I still couldn’t solve a single case. Maybe I’m just salty because Encyclopedia remains smarter than me.

2021 Reading Challenge - ATY - A book with six or more words in the title

I recall these being a lot of fun as a kid. I am considering using them in the classroom but I am not sure I make a good sleuth. I find the mysterious hard to figure out as they rely on making a lot of assumptions.

Neo and I enjoy reading these sets of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, having read sixteen collections (that’s about 160 cases!). We quickly read this group of stories, filled with some unique mysteries we can process in a few minutes, connecting with one another as we guess the all but obvious solutions. The kid detective still works his magic in Idaville, USA, keeping the town crime-free and collecting his coins from those who can pay. Encyclopedia helps solve a case related to a boat race for his father, proves Bugs Meany is a liar as he seeks cause more trouble, and finds himself deep in a case about watermelons. These wonderful five-minute mysteries seek to entertain and exercise the brain of both child and adult, but require some keen sleuthing. Neo and I have used them as a before bedtime activity and we are getting much better at piecing the clues together in a timely manner. Young sleuths in the making may want to sharpen their skills with the massive collection of stories.

Neo really likes the stories that keep him thinking. I remember having these stories read to me when I was young as well, helping me want to pass along the tradition. Neo thoroughly enjoys listening to the stories and making an effort to uncover the clues that will help solve the cases. He mentioned that these are perfect stories for parent-child reading, but would be great for a good reader when they have time or are on a road trip. A note to parents: the stories are dated (even as they author writes in the 1980s) and some of the terminology or word choices might not be as correct as you would like your young reader to use on a daily basis.

Did you know Neo’s has his own GR account for reviews? Check him out: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/108030884-neo-pechey

That was a blast from the past