Lists and Suggestions for Kids
List: Mystery Novels for 4th-6th
The case of the time-capsule bandit
Spencer, Octavia.
Twelve-year-old Randi, unhappy about moving from Brooklyn to Deer Creek, Tennessee, after her mothe... More
Twelve-year-old Randi, unhappy about moving from Brooklyn to Deer Creek, Tennessee, after her mother's death, soon finds new friends and a case to solve surrounding a stolen time capsule and rumors of a centuries-old treasure. Less
The Harlem charade
Tarpley, Natasha, author.
Seventh-graders Jin, Alexandra, and Elvin come from very different backgrounds and circumstances, b... More
Seventh-graders Jin, Alexandra, and Elvin come from very different backgrounds and circumstances, but they all live in Harlem, and when Elvin's grandfather is attacked they band together to find out who is responsible--and the search leads them to an enigmatic artist whose missing masterpieces are worth a fortune, and into conflict with an ambitious politician who wants to turn Harlem into an historic amusement park. Less
Cat detective
Greenfield, Amy Butler, 1968- author.
In ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh's pampered cat Ra and his scarab-beetle sidekick question the ro... More
In ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh's pampered cat Ra and his scarab-beetle sidekick question the royal palace's animal inhabitants, solve a crime, and exonerate a servant girl falsely accused of theft.-- Less
The great Greene heist
Johnson, Varian, author.
Jackson Greene has a reputation as a prankster at Maplewood Middle School, but after the last disas... More
Jackson Greene has a reputation as a prankster at Maplewood Middle School, but after the last disaster he is trying to go straight--but when it looks like Keith Sinclair may steal the election for school president from Jackson's former best friend Gabriela, he assembles a team to make sure Keith does not succeed. Less
The Parker inheritance
Johnson, Varian, author.
Twelve-year-old Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house ... More
Twelve-year-old Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house that belonged to her grandmother, who died after being dismissed as city manager for having the city tennis courts dug up looking for buried treasure--but when she finds the letter that sent her grandmother on the treasure hunt, she finds herself caught up in the mystery and, with the help of her new friend and fellow book-worm, Brandon, she sets out to find the inheritance, exonerate her grandmother, and expose an injustice once committed against an African American family in Lambert. Less
Mystery in the mansion
Magaziner, Lauren, author.
Carlos and his friends must uncover who is sending death threats to a wealthy eccentric or Carlos... More
Carlos and his friends must uncover who is sending death threats to a wealthy eccentric or Carlos' mother may lose her business, and the reader decides which clues they will follow.--Provided by Publisher. Less
Belly up
Gibbs, Stuart, 1969-
Twelve-year-old Teddy investigates when a popular Texas zoo's star attraction--Henry the hippo... More
Twelve-year-old Teddy investigates when a popular Texas zoo's star attraction--Henry the hippopotamus--is murdered. Less
Chasing Vermeer
Balliett, Blue, 1955-
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappe... More
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal. Less
The disappearance of Emily H.
Summy, Barrie, author.
Eighth-grader Raine, a new girl at Yielding Middle School, uses her supernatural ability to see oth... More
Eighth-grader Raine, a new girl at Yielding Middle School, uses her supernatural ability to see other people's memories to solve the disappearance of a teenaged girl. Less
Floors
Carman, Patrick.
Ten-year-old Leo's future and the fate of the extraordinary Whippet Hotel, where his father is... More
Ten-year-old Leo's future and the fate of the extraordinary Whippet Hotel, where his father is the maintenance man, are at stake when a series of cryptic boxes leads Leo to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances. Less
The Great Shelby Holmes
Eulberg, Elizabeth, author.
Nine-year-old Shelby Holmes, the best detective in her Harlem neighborhood, and her new easy-going ... More
Nine-year-old Shelby Holmes, the best detective in her Harlem neighborhood, and her new easy-going friend from downstairs, eleven-year-old John Watson, become partners in a dog-napping case. Less
Greenglass House
Milford, Kate.
At Greenglass House, a smuggler's inn, twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son,... More
At Greenglass House, a smuggler's inn, twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his winter holidays relaxing but soon guests are arriving with strange stories about the house sending Milo and Meddy, the cook's daughter, on an adventure. Less
A Hitch at the Fairmont
Averbeck, Jim, author.
When his aunt is kidnapped, an eleven-year-old boy staying at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel i... More
When his aunt is kidnapped, an eleven-year-old boy staying at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel in 1956 tries to find her, with the help of Alfred Hitchcock. Less
Kid lawyer
Grisham, John.
With two attorneys for parents, thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone knows more about the law than most... More
With two attorneys for parents, thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone knows more about the law than most lawyers do. But when a high profile murder trial comes to his small town and Theo gets pulled into it, it's up to this amateur attorney to save the day. Less
Last shot : a Final Four mystery
Feinstein, John.
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cov... More
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game. Less
The London Eye mystery
Dowd, Siobhan.
When Ted and Kat's cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel, the two siblings ... More
When Ted and Kat's cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel, the two siblings must work together--Ted with his brain that is "wired differently" and impatient Kat--to try to solve the mystery of what happened to Salim. Less
Murder is bad manners
Stevens, Robin, 1988- author.
At an English boarding school in the 1930s, crime-solving friends Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells strugg... More
At an English boarding school in the 1930s, crime-solving friends Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells struggle to find an exciting mystery to investigate and hit pay-dirt when Hazel discovers the dead body of Miss Bell, the science teacher. Less
Pie
Weeks, Sarah.
After the death of Polly Portman, whose award-winning pies put the town of Ipswitch, Pennsylvania, ... More
After the death of Polly Portman, whose award-winning pies put the town of Ipswitch, Pennsylvania, on the map in the 1950s, her devoted niece Alice and Alice's friend Charlie investigate who is going to extremes to find Aunt Polly's secret pie crust recipe. Includes fourteen pie recipes. Less
The scandalous sisterhood of Prickwillow Place
Berry, Julie, 1974-
"Seven very proper Victorian young ladies conspire to hide a murder from the authorities at th... More
"Seven very proper Victorian young ladies conspire to hide a murder from the authorities at their boarding school"-- Less
Scat
Hiaasen, Carl.
Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildli... More
Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing. Less
Three times lucky
Turnage, Sheila.
Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best... More
Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a café and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder. Less
Under the egg
Fitzgerald, Laura Marx.
Her grandfather's dying words lead thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny to a valuable, hidden p... More
Her grandfather's dying words lead thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny to a valuable, hidden painting she fears may be stolen, but it is her search for answers in her Greenwich Village neighborhood that brings a real treasure. Less
Unstoppable Octobia May
Flake, Sharon G, author.
In 1953 ten-year-old Octobia May lives in her Aunt's boarding house in the South, surrounded b... More
In 1953 ten-year-old Octobia May lives in her Aunt's boarding house in the South, surrounded by an African American community which has its own secrets and internal racism, and spends her days wondering if Mr. Davenport in room 204 is really a vampire--or something else entirely. Less
Who could that be at this hour?
Snicket, Lemony.
Thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket begins his apprenticeship with S. Theodora Markson of the secretiv... More
Thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket begins his apprenticeship with S. Theodora Markson of the secretive V.F.D. in the tiny dot of a town called Stain'd By The Sea, where he helps investigate the theft of a statue. Less
Woof
Quinn, Spencer, author.
Bowser is a mutt, just adopted by eleven-year-old Birdie Gaux and her grandmother, but when they al... More
Bowser is a mutt, just adopted by eleven-year-old Birdie Gaux and her grandmother, but when they all get home to Grammy's bait and tackle shop in the bayou they discover that their prize stuffed marlin has been stolen--so Bowser decides to investigate, and things quickly become complicated and dangerous. Less