Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case

Encyclopedia Brown #24

by Donald J. Sobol

Since 1963, when Dutton published the first book in the series, Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective , the brainy crime-stopper has been a favorite character among middle-grade readers. Now, for the first time in twenty-five years, Dutton is pleased to present a brand-new Encyclopedia Brown mystery. Following the classic formula, the book presents ten separate mysteries, complete with answers that allow the reader to solve the cases along with the Boy Detective. Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case will be a flagship for the backlist titles, which Puffin will reissue in paperback on the same list with new cover art.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Short Stories, Juvenile

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2007

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neo and I enjoy reading these sets of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, having read almost all of the books. We quickly read this group of stories, filled with some unique mysteries we can process in a few minutes, connecting with one another as we guess the all but obvious solutions. The kid detective still works his magic in Idaville, USA, keeping the town crime-free and collecting his coins from those who can pay. Encyclopedia assists cracking a stamp robbery attempt, stops a scam of a space-bound duck, and dodges entrapment by Bugs Meany. These wonderful five-minute mysteries seek to entertain and exercise the brain of both child and adult, but require some keen sleuthing. Neo and I have used them as a before bedtime activity and we are getting much better at piecing the clues together in a timely manner. Young sleuths in the making may want to sharpen their skills with the massive collection of stories.

Neo really likes the stories that keep him thinking. I remember having these stories read to me when I was young as well, helping me want to pass along the tradition. Neo thoroughly enjoys listening to the stories and making an effort to uncover the clues that will help solve the cases. He mentioned that these are perfect stories for parent-child reading, but would be great for a good reader when they have time or are on a road trip. A note to parents: the stories are dated (even as they author writes in the 1990s) and some of the terminology or word choices might not be as correct as you would like your young reader to use on a daily basis.

Did you know Neo’s has his own GR account for reviews? Check him out: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...

[Neo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad and I enjoy reading these sets of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, having read almost all of the books. We quickly read this group of stories, filled with some unique mysteries we can process in a few minutes, connecting with one another as we guess the all but obvious solutions. The kid detective still works his magic in Idaville, USA, keeping the town crime-free and collecting his coins from those who can pay. Encyclopedia assists cracking a stamp robbery attempt, stops a scam of a space-bound duck, and dodges entrapment by Bugs Meany. These wonderful five-minute mysteries seek to entertain and exercise the brain of both child and adult, but require some keen sleuthing. We have used them as a before bedtime activity and we are getting much better at piecing the clues together in a timely manner. Young sleuths in the making may want to sharpen their skills with the massive collection of stories.

I really like the stories that keep him thinking. My dad had these stories read to him as a young kid, now wanting to pass along the tradition. I enjoy listening to the stories and making an effort to uncover the clues that will help solve the cases. These are perfect stories for parent-child reading, but would be great for a good reader when they have time or are on a road trip. A note to parents: the stories are dated (even as they author writes in the 1990s) and some of the terminology or word choices might not be as correct as you would like your young reader to use on a daily basis.

Did you know Neo’s has his own GR account for reviews? Check him out: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...

[Samuel West]

Most of the cases he solved in this book came from neighborhood kids.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did I read this book in order to pad my annual stats? Yes I did.

But also, when I read all the other Encyclopedia Brown books a decade or so ago, this one wasn't in my local library system. It was published in 2007, well after I'd finished elementary school. I solved all the cases except for one that involved a veterinary fact.

[Ethan Hulbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to read a lot of these as a kid and always recalled being annoyed by them. I recently found this one for free and thought I'd give it another try as an adult.

Nah, it was still annoying. There were clever bits for sure, but some were simply so dumb... I mean in one they do a whole handwriting sample thing to prove that "Louis Carol" didn't sign a copy of Alice in Wonderland when they could've just ... looked at the author's name.

In the dumbest one (and the one featured on the cover illustration) a random guy is pretending to be a NASA scientist who's... raising public money for his next space mission? And says the missions at NASA are top secret? And then brings out a duck that he claims walked in space with him? And then needs a boy from Idaville to pay to look after the duck??? And it's like, "how did Encyclopedia know he was lying?" Uh, I don't know, because of all of it?
And then the answer is something ridiculous like "Encyclopedia knew that ducks can't swallow in space" as if that, THAT fact is the thing that clinches it.

Both child-Ethan and adult-Ethan are frustrated at stupid setups like this. I'm glad to know that I'm consistent in my judgments across my life.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of the strongest. A few relied on esoteric outside knowledge, and in a few the logic had loopholes. However I will continue to read all of these I can find at my libraries.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate to admit this as an adult but this is such a fun quick read. As someone who loves puzzles, Encyclopedia Brown books are quick for anyone trying to catch up on their reading challenge or just trying to keep their brain sharp.

[Dorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theres not a crime that Encyclopedia Brown cant solve. Favorites were the case of the Autographed Alice In Wonderland....case of missing butterfly brooch...case of missing money.
Good times!!

[Ashley Love Sellers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to read these all the time. The boys have requested more.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the only Encyclopedia Brown book I never read as a child, because it wasn't published until 2007!

The cases were much easier to solve this time around. They involved actual clues such as misspelled words or inaccurate history lessons. Unlike clues such as "The guy put relish ON TOP of his mustard. NO ONE puts relish on top of their mustard." <-- that is still, to this day, the stupidest case ever.

This was a fun, quick read that made me all happy.

[Scott Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for any classroom and it can be used for several applications. This book has ten mysteries or cases, so it can be used for a short read to the class or for a student's individual book choice. It can also be fun for the students to pretend to be detectives and try to solve the cases. For my future classroom I could also have set up a case from the story in real life like a "crime scene" for the students to try and apply problem solving to a seemingly real world scenario.

[Diz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a bit too reliant on knowing trivia that is not included in the stories themselves, so if you don't know the trivia, then you probably can't solves some of these cases. Also, everyone in town is portrayed as idiots except for Encyclopedia Brown, so there are a lot of cases that just wouldn't have happened if the people in town had any common sense.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to honor Donald J. Sobol. I loved these as a kid, but seldom figured out the answers. This time I figured out a few, but not all of them. Solutions were hardly obvious. Love that Encyclopedia has a female best friend, Sally Kimball, who acts a the "muscle" in their relationship.

[Kevin Hogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as strong as the previous book, but a few decent stories.

Forgetful Jewel Thief - This is the sort of case that should have Chief Brown thrown off the force. The suspected thief sends letters to his mom after every theft. It's suspected that he's concealing information in the letters. Every time he writes a letter, he's got a glass of onion juice with him. And then, just in case it wasn't obvious enough, Encyclopedia says that they should find the hidden messages in the letters by using a hot light bulb. Not much deduction left for the reader to do.

Autographed Alice in Wonderland - Didn't seem like much of a mystery to me. I enjoy seeing Bugs stumble on his stories, but this just didn't do it for me.

Lemonade Stand - I enjoyed the story itself. I guess I looked too hard for a clue or slip-up and ended up missing the solution. I would have preferred some sort of clue, though.

Revolutionary Treasures - The strongest story in this book so far. I like that the solutions are giving a bit more detail rather than just saying "X said Y, but Y is impossible because..."

Missing Butterfly Brooch - A similar plot to a few others in this series, but a couple of specific clues to make it unique. We're building some momentum now.

Counterfeit Dough - A fun concept, but the clue just seemed to be a bit too highlighted.

Astronaut Duck - I can't imagine any kids knowing that. Does that make it a good story, or is having it too far out of the realm of solvability a problem? Either way, I learned something.

Lucky Catch - Another fun setup, since I enjoy baseball stories. Once again, I overlooked the obvious clue while searching for something deeper.

Missing Money - The story was fine, but it was a bit sad seeing an adult trying to steal from a charity. A bit conflicted on this one.

Stolen Confederate Stamps - I felt good about this one. I figured it out about halfway through. And then Encyclopedia asked for information that made it much easier. Kind of stole my thunder there.

Not a strong start to this book, but a few stories after that redeemed it and brought up my rating.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encyclopedia Brown was one of my gateway drugs into mysteries. As a kid, I always tried to figure out the solution before I read it in the back. Not always successful, but I did try!

Rereading them as an adult was straight-up nostalgia. The formula I remember from childhood was still there (you start to notice it when you read a lot of this series, especially in a row). The first puzzle is always from the Chief, told around the dinner table, the second is at the Brown Detective Agency. There is always at least one case with Bugs Meany and the Tigers, including a corny expression or pun about how crooked they are. And Sally is the junior detective, Encyclopedia's muscle, and both the prettiest girl and the best athlete.

And I still learn a little each time I read these! Despite the formula, they are great for building critical thinking with kids. Short stories let you get right into the puzzle, and are quick for short attention spans or quick reads when you only have a few minutes.

Encyclopedia debuted in the mid-60s. I was reading them 25+ years ago. And I'd still recommend them to budding mystery readers.

[Megan Ewald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encyclopedia Brown is a series of books that are all about mysteries. This one, Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case is about 10 cases that he solves when helping his dad, the chief of police in his town. He uses puzzles to catch thieves and track down people who don't belong in different cases that include jewels, thieves, missing butterfly brooch and a missing Confederate stamp. In each case, clues are provided that gives readers the chance to crack the case themselves with the answers and summary at the end of the chapter. This book is a perfect introduction to chapter books because of its length and easy reading level.

I absolutely love the Encyclopedia Brown series and I believe it is a great book to introduce to children when beginning to read chapter books. I particularly love this one because it allows readers to read short stories that are all chunked into one big book. It helps readers break up different stories and clues but has the same plot and characters throughout the book. I also love the idea of providing clues for the students throughout the chapters allowing them to make educated predictions about what might happen to the person/people/situation. I think these books are great to have in a classroom and even bring out for a whole class reading followed by introducing forensics and real life scenarios of situations like these.

[Laura B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don't love revisiting childhood books but i had to go back for Encyclopedia Brown, my forever favorite little detective. since i've been dumping mysteries and thrillers into my brain lately, this felt like a really fun sidebar to take. in the vein of like choose-your-own-adventure flipping-of-pages back to front, i love the idea that you get to solve the mystery on your own first before finding the answer. for number like 24 in the series, this is still pretty fresh on its ideas for twists, though some of the solutions here are flimsy at best. love the reality that i never at all questioned in childhood that the whole town's police force is absolutely reliant on a twelve year-old boy genius outsmarting its best minds over dinner each night.

[Emmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn't love a good mystery??? I have never read any of these books so I wasn't sure what I was getting. Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case was such a fun book! The children and I loved reading each chapter and guessing the who done it and how Encyclopedia knew the answer. What a great way to teach listening, looking for clues and introductory logic. Now that we know what these books are like, all of us are excited to read more in this series and solve more mysteries both together and individually.

[Scott Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading 25 Encyclopedia Brown books (or more accurately, 24 1/2, if you consider Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake as only half of a book), I am still waiting for Leroy Brown and Sally Kimball to sue Bugs Meany for defamation of character. There should be, at the bare minimum, an out-of-court settlement.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 3 out of 5]

bugs meany doesn't figure so much in this book, so the criminals tend to be outsiders and adults. there's always something to be learned in these books. for example, who knew ducks needed gravity to swallow? fun for kids and the stories are short for short attention spans.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Encyclopedia Brown series as a young reader, now I read the series with my kids. We successfully solved eight of the ten cases. This one was not written 50 yrs ago like the other ones. I think this one is from 2007. Illustrations in the older books are much better.

[Heidi Stallman · Rating 3 out of 5]

My boys and I find these fun to read aloud at night before bed. I didn't find this collection as engaging or challenging as some of the others, but my boys loved being able to guess the right answer more often than usual.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown puts on his thinking cap, and delves into busting crime in ten new cases involving insurance fraud, con artists, petty theft, and various other crimes in and around the town of Idaville.

[Kathleen Meacham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book (and probably the series -- this is the 1st one I have read, so can't say for sure) would be engaging when read aloud to a group of kids. They could guess as to who committed each crime in these 10 different cases.

[Eve Putman]

Encyclopedia Brown audiobooks are having a minute at our house currently. My kids always like to pause it to tell their predictions. It’s clever (somewhat repetitive) and sweet. I remember loving these novels as a child.

[Max Stapleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting

[Private Account · Rating 4 out of 5]

My five year old found this book to be delightful. I thought it was fine.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, the mysteries were rather hard to figure out. I loved it.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of hate these stories. The “mysteries” were stupid. I’ll be skipping the rest of the series.

[ems · Rating 3 out of 5]

used to love these books