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67th out of 2,625 books
—
4,845 voters
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (Encyclopedia Brown #1)
A Civil War sword...
A watermelon stabbing...
Missing roller skates...
A trapeze artist's inheritance...
And an eyewitness who's legally blind
Theses are just some of the ten brain-twisting mysteries that Encyclopedia Brown must solve by using his famous computerlike brain. Try to crack the cases along with him--the answer to all the mysteries are found in the back
A watermelon stabbing...
Missing roller skates...
A trapeze artist's inheritance...
And an eyewitness who's legally blind
Theses are just some of the ten brain-twisting mysteries that Encyclopedia Brown must solve by using his famous computerlike brain. Try to crack the cases along with him--the answer to all the mysteries are found in the back
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
March 1st 1985
by Yearling
(first published 1963)
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I could say that I loved the Encyclopedia Brown series as a kid, but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. I wanted to *be* Encyclopedia Brown. When you're the nerdy kid on your block, and you discover a character who is the smartest kid in school, kind of popular despite that fact, can not only stand up to but often humiliate the local bully, and gets to hang out with the prettiest girl in the school? Yeah, you're gonna wish life imitated art in that case. And in my mind, it actually seemed kind...more
Give this to the nearest 6-10 year-old (or adult who wants to be 6-10 years old again). It isn't the "can you solve it, too" mystery aspect, although that's fun enough, it's the attitude: Brown loves--and doesn't fear--a good problem, he wants to help people, he has a good relationship with his family, his friends trust and accept one another while recognizing their individuality, and the underlying sense of justice, both moral and civil, is a valuable lesson to every kid and a valuable refreshe...more
Oh Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown. If only every town's criminal activity involved puns and word problems! Criminals in Idaville are bad at two things: telling lies and getting away with crime. Thanks to a ten year old nerd and his friend Sally.
It's bizarre that despite being the CHIEF OF POLICE, the kid's father brings home work every night and has poor Leroy solve all the town's crime over dinner. I always found that kind of sad (even as a child). Of course my parents are high flying medical prof...more
It's bizarre that despite being the CHIEF OF POLICE, the kid's father brings home work every night and has poor Leroy solve all the town's crime over dinner. I always found that kind of sad (even as a child). Of course my parents are high flying medical prof...more
I loved this series as a child, but I didn't know there was something better to come. That "something better" is hearing my little elementary reader work his way through them.
Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown is a wholesome boy in a wholesome town that has it's share of crime. Encyclopedia wants to help people, and his servant attitude coupled with a good dose of humility keeps him likable. The stories are wonderfully short, perfect for the new reader, especially if that new reader is a boy. The cases...more
Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown is a wholesome boy in a wholesome town that has it's share of crime. Encyclopedia wants to help people, and his servant attitude coupled with a good dose of humility keeps him likable. The stories are wonderfully short, perfect for the new reader, especially if that new reader is a boy. The cases...more
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Sobol, J. Donald. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective. Yearling: 1985, Print
Genre: Children’s Chapter books
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, Donald Sobol is about a boy who is fascinated in the mysteries that occur in life. His father works for the Police Department and he has the idea to start his own business of investigating client’s mysteries. This story has a few black and white pictures that enable the reader to envision what is occurring in the plot. The book is black and white for the con...more
Genre: Children’s Chapter books
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, Donald Sobol is about a boy who is fascinated in the mysteries that occur in life. His father works for the Police Department and he has the idea to start his own business of investigating client’s mysteries. This story has a few black and white pictures that enable the reader to envision what is occurring in the plot. The book is black and white for the con...more
Encyclopedia Brown is a book about a young boy named Encyclopedia Brown who has a cop for a dad. But he can solve 35 mysteries faster than his dad can solve 3. This book has more mysteries than any book I’ve ever read. There are more than 30 plot events in this story, because as you can imagine there are a lot of mysteries.
This book was recommended to me by my sister. Once I read the first page I couldn’t stop reading it. While reading this you should have a lot of reactions. For example, once...more
This book was recommended to me by my sister. Once I read the first page I couldn’t stop reading it. While reading this you should have a lot of reactions. For example, once...more
Leroy Brown, (aka Encyclopedia), is the Idaville Police Department’s secret weapon! With Encyclopedia’s help, no case goes unsolved, whether it is finding a bank robber, or helping a boy not get swindled out of his money by the town thug, Bugs Meany. Got 25 cents? Then you can hire Encyclopedia Brown to help you!
I read these books as a kid and could never solve the cases on my own…how happy was I to be able to get 2/3 of the cases in this book (without cheating!) at the ripe old age of 27! But r...more
I read these books as a kid and could never solve the cases on my own…how happy was I to be able to get 2/3 of the cases in this book (without cheating!) at the ripe old age of 27! But r...more
Aug 29, 2011
Alex
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
your dorky kid
Shelves:
2011
A sudden fit of nostalgia prompted me to buy and read this. It took like half an hour. It was pretty fun! I love the old-school vision of America, sorta Tom Sawyer-y, where boys spun eggs for fun and 25 cents was a treasure.
Most of the mysteries are not as mysterious as I remember them. You know how each story ends with "How did Encyclopedia Brown solve the case? Flip to page 80 to find out!" and you gotta figure out what his big clue was? Well, it's generally pretty obvious. One of them got me...more
Most of the mysteries are not as mysterious as I remember them. You know how each story ends with "How did Encyclopedia Brown solve the case? Flip to page 80 to find out!" and you gotta figure out what his big clue was? Well, it's generally pretty obvious. One of them got me...more
Liked these growing up, eons ago - and a friend of mine back then did to (you know who you are!) so I'm pretty sure I heard of them through him.
Found them again with my daughter, and we liked them in theory, but in practice, going to sleep isn't the best time to figure things out.
And one shortcoming of the whole sleep-before-reading-always practice might be the dismissal of reading activities at any other point in the day. Or maybe other kids do still read during the day, and just mine never l...more
Found them again with my daughter, and we liked them in theory, but in practice, going to sleep isn't the best time to figure things out.
And one shortcoming of the whole sleep-before-reading-always practice might be the dismissal of reading activities at any other point in the day. Or maybe other kids do still read during the day, and just mine never l...more
when i was a kid, i ate this stuff up. so great. encyclopedia brown is one smart cookie and his nemesis, bugs meany, is soo bad that when he plays checkers against himself, he cheats! a boy like that can't be trusted and encyclopedia brown does a standout job of keeping bugs' scheming in constant check. well done, encyclopedia brown!
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
by Donald J. Sobol
I read the first book of the Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobol, which is called Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective. It is a chapter book published back in 1963, but I see why it is still popular with kids today - the interactive nature of solving the riddles encourages a high level of interest. It's also fun and challenging. The answers are in the back of the book. (I got one wrong and couldn't figure out another one!)
Each 'case' is a...more
by Donald J. Sobol
I read the first book of the Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobol, which is called Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective. It is a chapter book published back in 1963, but I see why it is still popular with kids today - the interactive nature of solving the riddles encourages a high level of interest. It's also fun and challenging. The answers are in the back of the book. (I got one wrong and couldn't figure out another one!)
Each 'case' is a...more
Very fun! There were several things I really liked about this one. First, it's the first children's mystery series I've found with a boy as the main character.
Second, I LOVED that the solutions to the mysteries were all at the back of the book, so they couldn't accidentally be spoiled if you wanted to figure them out for yourself.
And I also thoroughly enjoyed that the solutions to the mysteries were often simple word-plays. They reminded me a lot of brain teasers or riddles rather than actual m...more
Second, I LOVED that the solutions to the mysteries were all at the back of the book, so they couldn't accidentally be spoiled if you wanted to figure them out for yourself.
And I also thoroughly enjoyed that the solutions to the mysteries were often simple word-plays. They reminded me a lot of brain teasers or riddles rather than actual m...more
This is a classic...to me anyway. Growing up I rarely read. My parents didn't force me to. I remember reading this one, though.
My local used bookstore had this book and I bought it to read out loud to my kids, our nightly habit. Reading it brings back some memories. My kids are enjoying it.
Encyclopedia Brown stories are fairly short and they are mysteries. Readers try to solve them based on the clues planted in the stories.
The answers to the mysteries are in the back of the book and we find ou...more
My local used bookstore had this book and I bought it to read out loud to my kids, our nightly habit. Reading it brings back some memories. My kids are enjoying it.
Encyclopedia Brown stories are fairly short and they are mysteries. Readers try to solve them based on the clues planted in the stories.
The answers to the mysteries are in the back of the book and we find ou...more
The books in this series are fourth grade primers on textual investigation. I was into these books. In each small book of the series, there is presented, a short story such as The Case of the Missing Roller Skates, and then some sort of inconsistency in the whereabouts of the skates. Encyclopedia goes about to locate the skates. In the back each vignette has the reader see if they can find the spot in the story where those skates had rolled under the dentist office couch. No, there was a slight...more
I read this book because my teacher recommended to me.
And it was really fun book!
One that is kind of disappointed about this book is that you would know answer so easily.And the answer explanation doesn't make any sense.
Watermelon case (The case that one of boy scout not kept came to Fruit store and try to stole fruits.)is great example. They know the answer because one of the boy said mine is inch longer than mine.And First case too! They know the answer because one boy step on card and th...more
And it was really fun book!
One that is kind of disappointed about this book is that you would know answer so easily.And the answer explanation doesn't make any sense.
Watermelon case (The case that one of boy scout not kept came to Fruit store and try to stole fruits.)is great example. They know the answer because one of the boy said mine is inch longer than mine.And First case too! They know the answer because one boy step on card and th...more
Oh man. When I was (more of) a kid, I loved these things. A short story, short enough to read completely during a break in schoolwork or whatever, setting up a mystery that YOU, yes you!, were supposed to solve.
What killed me about these, though, is that the thing that gave the perpetrator away was so... trivial. An arrow was fired wrong when the murderer was a COMPLETE ARROW EXPERT WHAT HOW COULD HE SCREW UP or something. Or, some garlic bread was stolen and THAT GUY IS EATING PARSLEY TO DISGUI...more
What killed me about these, though, is that the thing that gave the perpetrator away was so... trivial. An arrow was fired wrong when the murderer was a COMPLETE ARROW EXPERT WHAT HOW COULD HE SCREW UP or something. Or, some garlic bread was stolen and THAT GUY IS EATING PARSLEY TO DISGUI...more
I read the hell out of some Encyclopedia Brown when I was a young'un. As a child, they were great stories of a clever and principled boy detective. As an adult looking back at the series, they seem more an indictment of blathering, idiotic police work and the decimation of civil liberties. What kind of fucking moron is Encyclopedia's dad, the police chief who can't solve any crime without the help of his ten-year-old kid? And how the hell can he be arresting people based on the non-forensic test...more
I never read this as a child. And that may be why I don't find it so enchanting. Perhaps I should have.
In my quest to read the best literature this came up as an acquisition for my iPad. Easy to store and add to my collection. And then I started to read it.
Amazon says that it is for ages 7 and up. I should have noted that. It is not like the Hardy Boys, but written as a series of puzzles for the reader to guess the answer. Short three to five page teasers.
For a child, it is probably enjoyable. F...more
In my quest to read the best literature this came up as an acquisition for my iPad. Easy to store and add to my collection. And then I started to read it.
Amazon says that it is for ages 7 and up. I should have noted that. It is not like the Hardy Boys, but written as a series of puzzles for the reader to guess the answer. Short three to five page teasers.
For a child, it is probably enjoyable. F...more
Found this at the library last week and I had to bring it home with me. No doubt the Encyclopedia Brown books inspired my love for reading mysteries. I remember reading this as a kid and I couldn't get ANY of the answers right. Even as an adult, I only solved 5 out of the 9 cases in this book! :( So sad... I am happy to see these books reprinted so that a whole new generation can use their noodle to solve these fun mysteries/riddles. However, I doubt any of the kids who will read them now have e...more
Encyclopedia (LeRoy) Brown was not the average ten year old boy. He uses his head which was full of facts to help his father, the Chief of Police, solve some of his most difficult cases at the dinner table. In Idaville, no criminal had escaped arrest for the past year due to Encyclopedia, the best detective. Donald Sobol's first book has ten different mysteries for the young reader. Each mystery, solved by Encyclopedia Brown. Sobol even includes the solutions to the mysteries, so the reader can...more
The boy genius, son of the police chief of Idaville, solves crimes and various puzzles for a quarter. I loved this series as a boy about Encyclopedia Brown's age. I don’t know why I read this again – it’s not especially notable or very high quality; simple nostalgia, I suppose. But the puzzles were fun (clever adult me solved them all, except two which I feel didn’t quite close the case with facts presented), and I admire Sobol for putting a strong girl character in this 1963 kids’ book. Good ti...more
Apr 10, 2012
Jill
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
3rd-grade,
4th-grade,
5th-grade,
j-fic,
j-fic-mystery,
j-fic-short-stories,
good-read-aloud
Reading this again! My old copy from when I was a kid. It's on my son's bookcase now and I each night I read the kids a story and we try to figure out solution. It's not as easy for them as the mini-mysteries that had pictures to go with the story, but my 3rd grader figured out about half to 2/3 or at least was getting there. My 1st grader, only about 1-2, so kids need a certain maturity to be able to figure out the mysteries. That didn't stop them from enjoying them, though, we started the 2nd...more
This is one I never read in my own childhood, but because of its status as a childhood favorite for so many I wanted to read it with my own kid. When we first started, I worried that I'd missed the boat. It just wasn't what I was expecting...at all. Instead of being a novel with one continuous plot/mystery, it's a series of puzzle-like vignettes (with the solutions at the back). Once I kind of wrapped my head around what it was vs. my expectations, I was able to enjoy it more. My kid freaking LO...more
I read this when I was a kid, and stumbled across it recently, so I thought, why not read it again? My only issue is that I had to constantly remind myself that this is a book for kids, so I shouldn't complain (too much) about the prose, which ended up being redundant. The cases were, of course, easy to solve. As a kid starting out to read detective fiction, this is most definitely a good place to start. That being said, I need to find that other book I read as a child that involved candy hearts...more
My poor son was forced to read this book for school, and frankly I thought it was insulting to his intelligence. The mysteries aren't mysteries, the solutions aren't solutions (oh, and it was definitely HIM because of the white glove... what, you don't remember the white glove? No matter, it's still solved!*)
I read along, hoping it would get better. Uh.. no.
Really, not impressed at all.
*I made this up. The white glove, to my knowledge, does not appear in this book.
I read along, hoping it would get better. Uh.. no.
Really, not impressed at all.
*I made this up. The white glove, to my knowledge, does not appear in this book.
"Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective" by Donald J. Sobol was a great series, and I think I read all of them. More than once. I thank (or blame) this series for starting me on my love of the mystery genre. These are gateway books. Finishing this series will lead one to read the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series, then to Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Parker and Sue Grafton, until one day you find yourself strung out on Lee Child or Robert Crais. Be forewarned...
Just how I remember. I remember borrowing this book countless times at a library close to my grandmother's house. They only had 3 or 4 books, but read them fondly over and over again. A few years later I had the HBO movie on tape, and I would watch that over and over again. The book is basically a story on a 10 year old boy sdolving crimes around Idaville. Solutions are in the back of the book. I think the book is great for kids as it will work on their critical thinking skills.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I felt so smart when I solved one of the short tales in this book. A few were pretty obvious, but the rest seemed pretty clever to me when I was in elementary school. Encyclopedia Brown is like the classic, childhood mystery-detective character next to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.
I still remember the watermelon mystery (totally caught the big clue there) and the balancing egg story (cannot believe I didn't solve that one for myself).
I still remember the watermelon mystery (totally caught the big clue there) and the balancing egg story (cannot believe I didn't solve that one for myself).
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Encyclopedia Brown’ author Donald J. Sobol dies at 87 | 6 | 18 | Nov 12, 2012 04:48am | |
| Why has this never made it to TV? | 7 | 29 | Nov 09, 2012 09:29pm |
Donald J. Sobol was an award-winning writer best known for his children's books, especially the Encyclopedia Brown mystery series. Mr. Sobol passed away in July of 2012.
More about Donald J. Sobol...
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“The case called for plain, old-fashioned police leg work!”
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