10 Mystery Books You'll Actually Enjoy Reading to Your Kids
Both you and child will love these mysteries!
Children's Mystery Books
Reading to and with your kids is an important activity for parents. Not only does it help develop their brains, but it's also a great way to bond with your child and instill in them a love of reading at an early age.
Reading children's mystery books with your children is a great way to help grow their problem solving skills. Your child may see it as a fun story and a chance to try and solve the mystery along with the characters in books - all of which is true! - but it's also a chance for their minds to expand, to grow.
There are actually benefits to you, the parent too! Reading to your children are "less likely to exhibit harsh behavior toward their children," another excellent reason to read mystery books with your kids!
We have 10 great recommendations for you to check out. Let us know which books you'd suggest!
1. Greenglass House by Kate Milford
In Kate Milford's Greenhouse Glass, winter has fallen at the Greenglass House. The inn this time of year is quiet and Milo plans to spend his winter holidays relaxing. Things don't go according to plans when the guest bell rings and doesn't stop until the inn is fill with strange, secretive guests, each with an even stranger story about the house. As things in the house go missing Milo and Meddy, the cook's daughter, attempt to uncover the truth of Greenglass House.
2. Clara Voyant by Rachelle Delaney
In Rachelle Delaney's Clara Voyant, main character Clara is baffled when her grandma moves to Florida out of the blue, leaving Clara and her mother on their own for the first time. Clara's mom uses the time to "follow her bliss," which involves moving and getting a job at an herbal shop to grow her so-called mystical powers. Exasperated, Clara joins the school paper and gets stuck writing horoscopes. The problem is that all the horoscopes Clara writes come true. She insists she isn't clairvoyant, that it isn't real, but when a mystery unfold, Clara will be tested with both her journalism skills and her own mystical powers.
3. The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher
Seventh graders Grace Yang and Sophie Young have created their own game of spying on their neighbors in Kristen Kittscher by The Wig in the Window. During one of their middle-of-the-night stakeouts, the girls see something awful at the home of their weird school counselor, Dr. Charlotte Agford (who everyone actually calls Dr. Awkward). Or at least they think they saw something weird. The girls get proven wrong, though they're still convinced Dr. Awkward is hiding a terrible secret.
Get The Wig in the Window here.
4. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
In E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Claudia Kincaid decides she's going to run away and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She brings along Jamie, her younger brother with the wallet. After they settle into their new home, they find themselves in the middle of a mystery: an angel statue bought by the museum is supposedly an early work of Michelangelo, but the museum purchased it for only $250. In trying to figure out what's going on, Claudia and Jamie are lead to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the woman who sold the statue.
Get From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler here.
5. Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller
Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller is the tale of two friends who are exact opposites. Elizabeth Murmur has been abandoned by her mother and gets neglected by her father. She's timid and her only friend is the fearless Zenobia. But Zenobia can be a bit much at times. Elizabeth's father moves them into his family home, Witheringe House, and Zenobia is convinced there's a ghost around. She even makes Elizabeth help her hold séances and wander the rooms at night. They do discover that Witheringe House has a secret: Elizabeth's aunt, just a child at the time, disappeared without a trace.
Get Elizabeth and Zenobia here.
6. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
After a book of "unexplainable occurrences" unites Petra and Calder in Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet, weird things begin to happen around them. A strange, old woman searches them out and an invaluable Vermeer painting vanishes into think air, thrusting them into an international art scandal. Using the clues left behind, Calder and Petra are lead into a mysterious labyrinth and must rely and their Vermeer knowledge to solve the case!
7. The Whispers by Greg Howard
The whispers are magical fairies who will grant you any wishes you have if you leave tributes for them. In Greg Howard's book, The Whispers, eleven-year-old Riley believes in them. He has a lot going on in his life. Riley wishes all his bullies would back off and that he'd stop wetting the bed. He the boy he has a crush on, Dylan, liked him back. His biggest wish is his mom would come home. A few months ago, she disappeared and Riley wants to solve the case. He's frustrated with how slow the case is moving and decides to begin his own investigation. Riley's plan is to go on a camping trip to meet the whispers with his friend Gary and ask them to bring his mom home. The trip will change Riley's life forever.
8. Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar
From the author of Holes, Louis Sachar brings you Fuzzy Mud, the tale of fifth grader Tamaya Dhilwaddi and seventh grader Marshall Walsh. They've walked together to Woodridge Academy since elementary school, but one day, their routine is changed because of Chad Hilligas, a bully who wants to fight Marshall. To avoid him, Marshall decides to head through the off-limit woods to get home and Tamaya, reluctantly, follows. After getting lost and getting themselves into trouble, they uncover something that has the potential to change the world as we know it.
9. The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
Enola Holmes is the sister of famed detective Sherlock Holmes and The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer is her story. After Enola discovers her mother is missing, she heads to London to look for her. She's surprised what she finds herself tangled up in when she arrives, somehow tangled up in the middle of a young marquess' kidnapping. Between murderous villians and Enola's shrewd older brothers on her heels, she has a lot on her plate while she tries to find her mother. Will she find her in time?
Get The Case of the Missing Marquess here.
10. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
Many times, naughty children are said to have been raised by wolves. The children discovered in the forest of Ashton Place actually were. In The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, most governesses wouldn't be able to handle the forest children, but Miss Penelope Lumley isn't an ordinary governess. Sure, she is eager to teach them Latin and geography, but she also knows she must help them adjust to their new life first. However, mysteries begin to arise around Ashton Place. Miss Penelope is used to mystery, but are these ones she'll be able to solve?
Get The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place here.
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