As the father of two boys, I know how hard it can be to get kids engaged in reading. My boys were excited about mysteries and sports, which is why I created The Ballpark Mysteriesseries, in which cousins Kate and Mike solve mysteries at different MLB stadiums. By including facts and history in the books I can also engage readers who like real-life stories. For me, the best mystery and adventure chapter books for kids will meet readers where they are and take them on an exciting (and perhaps even scary or thrilling) journey while keeping them safe in their chairs and coming back for more.
I love books that mix fact and fiction, mystery and adventure, and include real-life settings and history. Kate Messner’s greatRanger in Timeseries, starting with Rescue on the Oregon Trail does all of this incredibly well. These books do a terrific job of making history both personal and present to today’s readers. Interested readers can delve deeper by locating landmarks mentioned in the book on a map, in person, or via the internet. Add on top of the fact that the main character is a time-traveling golden retriever, and young readers can’t lose anything but time otherwise spent in front of screens. Her later Ranger in Time book on 9/11 is especially terrific, making a very difficult subject very approachable to interested readers.
Meet Ranger! He's a time-traveling golden retriever who has a nose for trouble . . . and always saves the day!
Ranger has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog, but can't officially pass the test because he's always getting distracted by squirrels during exercises. One day, he finds a mysterious first aid kit in the garden and is transported to the year 1850, where he meets a young boy named Sam Abbott. Sam's family is migrating west on the Oregon Trail, and soon after Ranger arrives he helps the boy save his little sister. Ranger thinks his job is done,…
Dragons in the Bagunleashes imaginative fantasy creatures—yes, dragons—in the middle of present-day, gentrifying Brooklyn. The heart (and there’s a strong heart here) of the story is Jax, a Black protagonist. The book combines a real sense of place with magic, family mysteries, and an adventure challenge of managing a bag of dragons. I loved the way that the author, Zetta Elliott, created believable and lovable characters, such as Ambrose, an apparent homeless man, that drive the story forward in unforgettable ways. A solid read even for people like me who don’t normally pick up fantasy stories.
The dragon's out of the bag in this diverse, young urban fantasy from an award-winning author!
When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she's not his grandmother--but she is a witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they'll be safe. There are two rules when it comes to the dragons: don't let them out of the bag, and don't feed them anything sweet. Before he knows it, Jax and his friends Vikram and Kavita have broken both rules! Will Jax get…
Jigsaw Jones books by James Preller are classic mysteries for developing readers. Totally grounded in real-life, Jigsaw and his friend Mila spend their time solving cases around their neighborhood. These books have great, natural illustrations that bring readers into the stories. I also love the humor sprinkled throughout and the way that Preller encourages his readers to step up and solve the mystery alongside Jigsaw.
James Preller's wry, witty, Jigsaw Jones chapter book mysteries are once again available to inspire the next generation of young readers, featuring both new titles and classroom classics!
The Case of the Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost
Glow-in-the-dark footprints, eyewitness accounts of a ghost haunting school grounds—something doesn't add up! Ghosts don't have feet, do they?
Either way, Jigsaw Jones and his partner Mila Yeh are on the case, and they'll do whatever it takes to solve this spooky new mystery . . . even if it means they have to be at school extra late!
Is it a novel? Or a graphic novel? Who cares! Timmy Failure books pull in young readers with engaging stories with lots of sidetracks and lots of cartoons along the way, ostensibly created by the main character, a detective named Timmy. However, Timmy’s a terrible detective, but that’s good when you encounter (and generate) silly mysterious situations like missing Halloween candy. Timmy continually seems to miss obvious clues, making the reader feel smarter and like they’re in on something that Timmy isn’t.
The movie tie-in edition of the award-winning and hugely popular adventures of Timmy Failure and his polar bear sidekick Total, who create chaos as they attempt to make sense of the world in the first book in the New York Times bestselling series.
Riotously funny and perfect for fans of Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates and Barry Loser, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made has been listed as one of 100 Children's Modern Classics by The Sunday Times and was chosen for inclusion in Tom Fletcher's second book club.
Meet Timmy Failure, founder of the "best" detective agency in town - Total…
The Festival of Sin is a three-story light sci-fi arc about a young boy rescued in 6000 BCE and taken to the home planet of the Hudra. Parts two and three are exploratory excursions. It's a fish-out-of-water series. More than fish-out-of-water. Fish-on-another-planet.
A step up in reading level from some of the other books on my list, the Stuart Gibbs Spy Schoolseries gives readers looking for mystery and adventure something to sink their teeth into. Young readers will feel like secret agents as they trail Ben Ripley, a nerdy middle grade student, as he spies and sleuths his way through what turns out to be a CIA junior academy. I like the way the books move along quickly, like a Dan Brown novel, and also keep the humor flowing.
“Combines Alex Rider’s espionage skills with a huge dose of the sarcasm of Artemis Fowl.” —School Library Journal
Can an undercover nerd become a superstar agent? In the first book in the New York Times bestselling Spy School series, Ben Ripley sure hopes so—and his life may depend on it!
Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he’s already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn’t exactly scream “secret agent.” In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate nerdiness,…
The Ballpark Mysteries series are mystery books set in major league baseball stadiums. Cousins Kate and Mike solve mysteries at different MLB stadiums while learning a little bit about the stadiums and team histories. Great for reluctant readers or readers who like mystery and adventure with some real-life context.
Former police detective Michael McLaren is looking forward to spending Christmas at his grandfather's ancient Hall with his grandfather, uncle, and his lady love, Melanie. But McLaren’s holiday plan gets snowed under when a dead man is discovered outside his grandfather’s house--in circumstances similar to an older murder. And it’s…
Maximilian Tundra is about to have an existential crisis of cosmic proportions.
When a physical duplicate of him appears in his living room, wearing a tight-fitting silver lamé unitard and speaking with an English accent, Max knows something bad is about to happen. Bad doesn’t cover it. Max discovers he’s…
