I’ve always enjoyed puzzles, riddles, and games that involve using logical reasoning to solve. I’ve read many mysteries, for both adults and children, over the years, and my favorite kinds are the ones where the reader can play “detective” right along with the main character. That means that they often involve clues that are more like riddles or puzzles. My own middle-grade novel, Seven Riddles to Nowhere, was designed to have this same kind of “play along” effect.
The Westing Game is a riddle-solving mystery book that I used to read with my middle school students when I taught reading to a combined fifth and sixth-grade class. They loved trying to solve the pieces of this puzzle along with the characters. In this classic mystery book, sixteen people, who all live in the same apartment building, attend the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. They are shocked to learn that one of them is actually Westing’s murderer. They are paired up and given a set of clues. The heir to Westing’s fortune will be the one to discover the murderer.
"A supersharp mystery...confoundingly clever, and very funny." —Booklist, starred review
A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead…but that won’t stop him from playing one last game!
Winner of the Newbery Medal Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award An ALA Notable Book
"Great fun for those who enjoy illusion, word play, or sleight…
I had the pleasure of meeting the author Trenton Lee Stewart when he came to visit one of the schools I used to teach at. He read a portion of the first book in The Mysterious Benedict Society series, and I knew right away this was a book my students and I would enjoy. The main character is an orphan named Reynie, whose tutor shows him an ad in the paper looking for “gifted children.” At his tutor’s prompting, Reynie decides to apply for this program. After passing a very peculiar “entrance exam,” Reynie is inducted into the Mysterious Benedict Society, where he and other very bright children must solve a series of riddles and puzzles in order to thwart a mad scientist with evil intentions.
"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.As our heroes face physical and…
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library was recommended to me by a bookstore employee who knew I had a love for riddles and middle-grade books. This is definitely a book for anyone who loves children’s literature and solving puzzles. The main character Kyle loves playing board games designed by his hero Luigi Lemoncello. When Mr. Lemoncello designs a new library in Kyle’s town, a special contest is held to celebrate the library’s grand opening. Kyle wins a spot in this “lock-in” contest where twelve students are locked into the library at night. The winner must solve a series of riddles (all based on books and libraries) in order to escape from the library.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets A Night in the Museum in this the action-packed New York Times bestseller from Chris Grabenstein, coauthor of I Funny and other bestselling series with James Patterson!
Kyle Keeley is a huge fan of all games - board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most famous and creative gamemaker in the world, is the genius behind the town's new library that is as much a home for tech and trickery as it is for stories. Kyle wins a spot at a puzzle-packed lock-in on the library's opening night.…
Without spoiling anything, let’s just say that there’s a surprise twist in this book that completely caught me off guard—and, as a mystery writer myself, I usually catch onto these things so it’s hard to surprise me! The story seems pretty ordinary at first. Miranda is a sixth-grader in the 1970s, and her mom is slated to be a contestant on a game show. While Miranda helps her mom prep for her appearance, mysterious notes that seem to predict the future start appearing. To make matters worse, her best friend dumps her, and her hidden apartment key is stolen. Miranda must solve the mystery behind these notes in order to avoid impending doom.
Miranda's life is starting to unravel. Her best friend, Sal, gets punched by a kid on the street for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The key that Miranda's mum keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives: 'I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favours. First, you must write me a letter.'
The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realises that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she…
This story takes place in my hometown of Chicago near the campus of the University of Chicago, and I’ve taken my own sixth-grade students on a field trip to a museum located right on this campus. Chasing Vermeer is about two sixth graders, Petra and Calder, who join forces when a painting by the artist Vermeer disappears. They have to solve a number of mathematical puzzles and connect a series of rather random events to see if they can uncover an international art scandal.
This bewitching first novel is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure and delivered as a work of art. When a book of inexplicable occurences bring Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen- seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the centre of an international art scandal. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth they must draw on their powers of intuition, their skills at problem solving, and…
All seventh grader Kameron Boyd wants is to keep his little Catholic school from closing. It's the only school where they've made life as a selective mute somewhat bearable. As the school faces financial distress, Kam learns he is one of many potential heirs to a fortune large enough to keep his school open.
With the school’s bully as one of the other competitors, Kam and his friends race to solve the riddles first. Their journey takes them through the churches of Chicago to decipher the hidden meanings in artwork all while avoiding the mysterious men following them. But creepy men in trench coats won't stop them! They're on a quest--not only to keep the school open but to help Kam recover his voice.
My favorite fantasy novels tend to be rather complex. Winding plotlines, mysteriously interconnected characters, whimsical settings, and intricate, thoughtful worldbuilding combine to create immersive stories that stick in the mind like overworn folklore. Time travel or interworld travel lend additional layers of intrigue and mystery, forcing the inescapable contemplation of a more thrilling, alternate reality. And if it’s all packaged in artful, breathtaking prose that breeds full-color images, audible noises, indelible flavors, nose-crumpling odors, and tangible textures, I will happily lose myself in the pages, truly forgetting about the strictures of everyday life… at least until I get hungry and remember I need to consume more than books to survive.
An Heir of Realms tells the tale of two young heroines—a dragon rider and a portal jumper—who fight dragon-like parasites to save their realms from extinction.
Rhoswen is training as a Realm Rider to work with dragons and burn away the Narxon swarming into her realm. Rhoswen’s dream is to Ride, but her destiny will pit her against her uncle and king, who have scorned her since before her birth.
In the Exchange, the waystation between realms, Emmelyn fights the G’Ambit, a gambling ring with members more intent on lining their pockets than protecting the realms—or their own lives.
Realm-devouring parasites threaten all existence. The Exchange is desperate to destroy them. But could their radical plans endanger the realms, too?
Soul-sucking parasites are overwhelming the realms.
Rhoswen of Stanburh is of age to train as a Realm Rider—a defender of the realms. Riders and their dragons work together to burn away infiltrating Narxon as they swarm in through tears in a realm’s fabric. But it’s not an easy battle: the mere touch of the smoky, dragon-like adversaries can reduce the lively winged beasts—and their Riders—to ash.
Becoming a Realm Rider is Rhoswen’s dream, but she carries far more responsibility…
