22 Mystery Books for Kids, From Picture-Book Whodunits to Middle-Grade Puzzles

Your child asked who took the last cookie, then spent ten minutes questioning the dog. That curiosity is what mystery books for kids feed: notice the clues, guess the answer, and find out if you were right. Here are 22 verified picks, from picture-book whodunits for 4-year-olds to mystery chapter books and middle-grade puzzles for 10-year-olds.

What makes a good mystery book for kids

A good mystery book for kids plays fair. It shows the reader every clue the detective sees, so a child can solve the case on the page. A whodunit is the form built on that idea: the puzzle of who did it is the main focus, and the reader gets the clues to work it out first.

The case itself stays small at first. A missing hamster, a lost cookie, a stolen painting. The stakes feel big to a child, and nobody gets hurt.

Kid-safe whodunits vs. scary stories

Kid-safe whodunits put the puzzle first and the danger second. Scary books are a different genre. If your child likes a shiver, start with the mysteries here and save horror for later.

Teachers use the same pull in class. A Scholastic lesson for the mystery graphic novel Secret Coders asks students what predictions they have for the next chapter and, after reading, whether their predictions were correct. You can do the same at bedtime.

Picture-book mysteries for ages 4 to 6

Picture-book mysteries for ages 4 to 6 hide the clues in the pictures, so even a child who cannot read yet can solve them. Read them aloud and pause before the last page.

• Miss Nelson Is Missing! by Harry Allard, illustrated by James Marshall (1977). A sweet teacher vanishes and a strict substitute, Viola Swamp, takes over the class. The two are never in the same scene, and sharp-eyed kids spot why.
• Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation by Mark Teague (2004). Ike the dog writes letters to clear his own name in a case about the neighbor's cats. It follows Dear Mrs. LaRue (2002).
• The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach (2015). A narrator explains how a bear ate your sandwich, and the twist at the end asks your child who is telling the truth.
• The Detective Dog by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie (2016). A rhyming picture book about a dog with a detective's nose, listed for ages 3 to 6.

First easy-reader mysteries

First easy-reader mysteries bridge picture books and chapter books. Young Cam Jansen and the Missing Cookie by David Adler (1996) is a Level 2 easy reader for ages 5 to 8.

In it, Cam uses her photographic memory to find a classmate's missing cookie.

Mystery chapter books for ages 6 to 8

Mystery chapter books for ages 6 to 8 solve one case per book in under 100 pages. A series lets a new reader meet the same detective again and again, which makes book two easier than book one. Our list of books for 6-year-olds has more first readers at this level.

• Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, illustrated by Marc Simont (1972). A boy detective in a deerstalker hat who loves pancakes. The first book is 60 pages, and the series has more than 30 cases. His dog Sludge joins in book two.
• Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds by David A. Adler, illustrated by Susanna Natti (1980). Cam says "click" to take a mental picture of a scene. The publisher lists the first book for ages 7 to 10.
• A to Z Mysteries: The Absent Author by Ron Roy, illustrated by John Steven Gurney (1997). Three friends solve 26 cases, one per letter, ending with The Zombie Zone (2005).
• Jigsaw Jones: The Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster by James Preller (1998). Jigsaw and his partner Mila hunt for a friend's lost hamster in a 76-page Scholastic chapter book.
• Inspector Flytrap by Tom Angleberger, illustrated by Cece Bell (2016). A Venus flytrap detective solves cases with his goat assistant, Nina, who keeps eating the clues.
• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner (1924, revised 1942). Four orphaned siblings make a home in an old boxcar. The series now has more than 160 titles, in which the Aldens solve mysteries, for grades 2 to 6.

Mystery series like Nancy Drew for younger kids

The best Nancy Drew series for younger kids is Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, by the house name Carolyn Keene. In Sleepover Sleuths (2006), an eight-year-old Nancy investigates when a doll goes missing at a sleepover. The books are about 96 pages, for ages 6 to 9.

The original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories began in 1930 and suit older readers.

Seven is often the peak year for these series. Our guide to books for 7-year-olds shows where mysteries fit next to funny books and read-alouds.

Middle-grade mystery books for ages 8 to 10 and up

Middle-grade mystery books for ages 8 to 10 and up have longer plots, more suspects and puzzles the reader can work on alone. These nine are all listed by their publishers for about ages 8 to 12.

• Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol (1963). Each short case hides one mistake in the text, and the answers are in the back of the book. The series has 29 books.
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1967). Claudia and her brother Jamie run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and try to learn who carved a marble angel. It won the 1968 Newbery Medal.
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (1978). Sixteen heirs race to solve a millionaire's puzzle will. It won the 1979 Newbery Medal, which ALA gives for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."
• Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, illustrated by Brett Helquist (2004). Two sixth graders in Chicago hunt for a stolen Vermeer painting, with pentominoes and codes to crack. It won the 2005 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile.
• The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd (2007). Ted and his sister Kat work out how their cousin Salim vanished from a sealed capsule on the London Eye.
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (2007). Four gifted children pass a set of strange tests and go undercover at a school sending secret messages.
• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein (2013). Twelve kids are locked in a new library overnight and must solve puzzles to get out. It spent 111 weeks on the New York Times middle-grade list.
• Greenglass House by Kate Milford, illustrated by Jaime Zollars (2014). Five strange guests arrive at an old inn over Christmas, and things start to go missing. It won the 2015 Edgar Award; the publisher lists it for ages 10 to 12.
• The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson (2018). Candice finds a letter in her late grandmother's attic about a hidden fortune, and the puzzle leads into her town's history of Jim Crow injustice. It is a 2019 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book.

The Westing Game is listed by Penguin Random House for ages 8 to 12, grades 3 to 7. The cast is large, so many 8-year-olds do better with it as one of their read-aloud books. A strong 10-year-old can read it alone and keep a list of the heirs.

Are there murder mystery books for kids?

Murder mystery books for kids exist, but they come later, around 10 and up. Most mysteries for younger children are about missing things, thefts and puzzles.

Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens (UK title Murder Most Unladylike, 2014) is the clearest pick. Two schoolgirls at a 1930s boarding school investigate the death of their science teacher. The US edition is listed for ages 10 and up, and the tone is closer to a cozy puzzle than a crime show.

Four books on this list carry heavier themes, so read a chapter first if your child is sensitive:

• The Westing Game: the will claims a murder, and a bomber is among the heirs. The answer is a game, and no one is hurt for real.
• The Parker Inheritance: the history sections show racism and racial violence in the Jim Crow South. It is a strong book to read and discuss together.
• The London Eye Mystery: a child goes missing, and the family's worry is real until the end.
• Greenglass House: a cozy inn, but a thief among the guests drives the plot.

For a wider shelf of novels at this age, see our must-read books for ages 8 to 10.

Mystery books for kids compared by age

Which one to pick first

The first mystery to pick is the shortest one your child can finish this week. For a 5-year-old that is a picture book read aloud; for a 7-year-old, Nate the Great or A to Z Mysteries; for a 9-year-old, Encyclopedia Brown, where each case takes a few minutes.

How to read a mystery together, step by step

Reading a mystery together works best when your child does the detective work and you hold the book.

1. Read the title and cover first. Ask what the mystery might be. Write the guess down.
2. Start a clue list. Keep a sticky note in the book. Each time something odd happens, your child adds one line.
3. Name the suspects. By the middle of the book, list everyone who could have done it and one reason for each.
4. Stop before the reveal. Close the book one chapter before the end and ask for a final answer.
5. Check the guess. Read the ending, then look back at the clue list. Which clue gave it away?
6. Swap roles. On the next book, let your child read a chapter aloud while you keep the list.

Common mistakes when reading mysteries

Most mistakes with mysteries come from rushing the detective work. These four are easy to fix:

• Mistake: giving away the answer. When your child is stuck, point back to a clue instead: "What did the dog have on its paws?" A wrong guess is fine.
• Mistake: starting too long. A 300-page novel can stall a 7-year-old. Start with a 60-page case and move up.
• Mistake: skipping comics. Mystery graphic novels count as reading. Our guide to graphic novels for kids explains why.
• Mistake: reading the ending first. Keep the last chapter closed until your child commits to a guess.

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Your mystery reading checklist

A mystery reading plan needs four things on the shelf:

• One short series: the first book of Nate the Great, A to Z Mysteries or Jigsaw Jones.
• One read-aloud puzzle: Encyclopedia Brown or The Westing Game, solved together.
• A clue list: a sticky note and a pencil in every mystery book.
• The next case ready: book two on the nightstand before book one ends.