My daughter is a pretty advanced reader for 7 but otherwise a pretty typical 7yo, not yet into ‘tween’ things.
She enjoyed some of the old Enid Blyton we had around the house (from my wife’s and my childhoods …) and was asking if she could read more mystery books.
I immediately thought of Nancy Drew (being a big Hardy Boys reader in my youth…) but looking at online reviews maybe 7 is too young in terms of themes etc even if she can handle the reading level?
Would appreciate any recommendations.
by Esrog
24 Comments
The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner and Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J Soble.
Have you ever read a Nancy Drew? Ok…I missed something first read thru of your post…I see you were a Hardy Boys fan lol would you let her read Hardy Boys? If so, give her Nancy Drew. Heck, give her Hardy Boys.
Personally, I’d let a 7 year old read them. And I’d not be swayed by online recommendations because they tend to err toward only giving kids what is “grade level approved”, not necessarily reading level approved.
Hank the Cowdog solves mysteries on the ranch. My kids loved those books at that age.
Goosebumps series
The Bailey School Kids series
Nancy Drew series
Hardy Boys series
Hank the Cow Dog series
The Box Car Children series
Encyclopedia Brown series
A-Z Mysteries series
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They are all children’s chapter books.
Choose your own adventure books
Thanks for all the suggestions!
Found a box set of Boxcar Kids at our local bookshop for a good price so she’s just started the first one and enjoying it so far!!
Hank the Cowdog sounds intriguing – is it ‘very’ American in terms of language / cultural references or would it translate ok (we’re in Australia here)?
CYOA were a mainstay of my childhood – some of them might fit the ‘mystery’ bill as well as being a different type of read in their own right … will see if I can unearth my old collection!
What about The Magic Tree House series?
Isn’t there a Nancy Drew Junior or something? These ones: https://www.amazon.com/Sleepover-Sleuths-Nancy-Drew-Clue/dp/141691255X
Cornelia Funke wrote some amazing books for girls her age. Astrid Lindgren is a classic for a reason. And I also immensely enjoyed Rosemary Sutcliff – she writes very well written and researched historical novels for kids). And Susan Cooper wrote an amazing fantasy series for kids, I really enjoyed reading that.
Michael Ende’s books are also amazing – and carry a lot of deeper meanings and themes that you enjoy reading as a grownup, too.
And I was that age when my dad read Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and Treasure Island to us, and I enjoyed those immensely (though I’d recommend a bowdlerized version of Treasure Island, because that scene where Long John Silver kills that poor young sailor in the swamp gave me nightmares).
The [Usborne Puzzle Adventure Books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usborne_Puzzle_Adventure_series) are puzzle books where in order to understand the plot better, the puzzle that’s on each pair of pages should be solved.
A pencil and pad of paper are a good investment with these books.
Depending on puzzle-solving skill level, there are books with easier puzzles.
Not mysteries but the Julie b. Jones books are funny and right at her age level. I haven’t read any of the newer Nancy drew books but the older ones don’t really get into the twen stuff that would be boring for her. I think I was about her age when I started reading them and loved them.
The Westing Game? Has she started Harry Potter, not traditional mystery, but mysterious…?
Maybe hunt down some Trixie Beldon books? The main character is like 13 or so.
The Benedict Society is a good series.
Maybe from the mixed up files of Mrs. basil, E Frankweiler?
I loved the Westing Game as a kid. I don’t remember the exact age I was when I read it, but was in elementary school.
Pseudonymous Bosch books might be a good fit! They give a very Lemony Snicket vibe.
I saw A-Z mysteries mentioned, there’s also encyclopedia brown and Cam Jansen books. And Harriet the Spy.
The Shelby Holmes series is a middle-grades retelling of classic Sherlock Holmes stories. And I haven’t read any of the Agatha Oddly series, but I’ve heard good things!
Reading level and maturity wise, I also think The Mysterious Benedict Society books could be good, but they are very long and she might still find that intimidating.
I might wait a few years for Westing Game. Although the reading level itself is probably fine, and it is a classic mystery so many of us love, I have found that a lot of my students don’t have the abstract thinking to be able to hold the different perspectives and asynchronous timelines in their head until they are on the upper end of elementary or even into middle school. Then they get frustrated and don’t end up liking the book.
Cam Jansen, David A. Adler.
a young girl Cameron with a photographic memory that she uses to solve each case. probably my first exposure to mystery stories, see my bad pun there?
Later I would read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys I believe there are some like junior Nancy Drew books called Nancy Drew Notebooks, but I could be wrong.
Our Man Weston by Gordon Korman is about a daft 14 year old with an impressive collection of spy equipment who tries to solve a mystery while working as a bellhop at a fancy hotel. It doesn’t go well for him, or the people he’s investigating, or his anxious spycraft averse identical twin. It’s funny, easy to read, interesting, and there is a dog.
All the Encyclopedia Brown books are amazing.
My parents gave me the classic Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, but mom had me read Trixie Belden first. It’s a group of younger kids solving mysteries and I remember really liking them. I think it would be fine for a 7 year old. The old ND/HB ones would too – they’re old fashioned enough that a modern kid is probably less naive than Nancy already (I remember thinking in the 80s that the only reason Nancy kept Ned around was because she couldn’t go some places unescorted, lol.)
My daughter really enjoyed this series, she’s a similar age.https://robin-stevens.co.uk/series/murder-most-unladylike/
“Under the Egg” by Laura Fitzgerald
There are a range on Nancy Drew series. The originals she can read no problem and I remember them being fun mysteries.
She might also like the Secret Garden.
She might enjoy Bunnicula series
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken. I loved it when I was seven, and then both my daughters did too, at around the same age. It’s about the same reading level as The Secret Garden but with a lot more suspense—and, of course, a lot more wolves.