What do you think?
Encyclopedia Brown #6
Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace
Leroy Brown is back in the next six books in the Encyclopedia Brown series. As Idaville's ten-year-old star detective, Encyclopedia has an uncanny knack for trivia. With his unconventional knowledge, he solves mysteries for the neighborhood kids through his own detective agency. But his dad also happens to be the chief of the Idaville police department, and every night around the dinner table, Encyclopedia helps him solve some of the most baffling crimes. With ten confounding mysteries in each book, not only does Encyclopedia have a chance to solve them, but readers are given all the clues as well and can chime in with their own solutions. Interactive and fun—it's classic Encyclopedia Brown!
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
About the author
Donald J. Sobol
186 books227 followersDonald 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
February 23, 2020
Neo and I finished another collection of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries. The ten year-old super detective is back, keeping Idaville USA free from crime and ensuring those pesky Tigers stop pulling the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting children. Encyclopedia battles the wits of the Tigers’ leader, Bugs Meany, helps locate a wanted felon, and proved a money hungry teenager is cheating kids out of change. These five-minute mysteries prove to be the perfect way to exercise the brain and spend a little time thinking. Neo and I use them as a before bedtime stumping, though we are getting better at solving them. Young sleuths in the making may want to sharpen their skills with the massive collection of stories.
Neo says he really likes the stories, as they keep him thinking. I had 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 (1960s) 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 says he really likes the stories, as they keep him thinking. I had 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 (1960s) 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...
July 19, 2026
Just like I remembered when I read Encyclopedia Brown books as a kid. Read it to my 8yo and he was into them. I correctly solved the mystery along with Encyclopedia maybe 40-50% of the time.
May 9, 2019
These books are so fun and interesting! I wanted to be just like Encyclopedia when I was a kid.
February 23, 2020
We finished another collection of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries! The ten year-old super detective is back, keeping Idaville USA free from crime and ensuring those pesky Tigers stop pulling the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting children. Encyclopedia battles the wits of the Tigers’ leader, Bugs Meany, helps locate a wanted felon, and proved a money hungry teenager is cheating kids out of change. These five-minute mysteries prove to be the perfect way to exercise the brain and spend a little time thinking. My dad and I use them as a before bedtime stumping, though we are getting better at solving them. Young sleuths in the making may want to sharpen their skills with the massive collection of stories.
I really like the stories, as they keep me thinking. My dad had these stories read to him when he was young, and now wants me to have the same experiences. 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.
I really like the stories, as they keep me thinking. My dad had these stories read to him when he was young, and now wants me to have the same experiences. 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.
February 9, 2019
In this volume, Encyclopedia solves the theft of several items including a silver bowl, a candle shaped like one of Snow White's dwarves, a diamond ring, and jewels and furs - there's a lot of robbery going on in his tiny town!
June 18, 2025
Dug this up out of a very old box and decided to read it for nostalgia’s sake. (I loved this whole series as a kid.) Yeah, it’s aged quite a bit and is fairly corny in some parts now, but it’s still as much fun as I remembered.
The other thing I remembered is that a good portion of the mystery solutions are based on very obscure facts or specific wording in the stories that no one but the author could ever possibly guess! But that was always part of the charm.
Hey, still fun, and I got 6 out of 10 of these, which is good enough for me.
The other thing I remembered is that a good portion of the mystery solutions are based on very obscure facts or specific wording in the stories that no one but the author could ever possibly guess! But that was always part of the charm.
Hey, still fun, and I got 6 out of 10 of these, which is good enough for me.
March 21, 2020
These books were the source of my still expanding love of mysteries. Also my great desire to have a detective agency in the garage, marry Sally Kimball, and to live in a town flat enough to ride my bike everywhere.
This one is not the best of them, but I really like “The Case of the Falling Woman.” And I will always love when Bugs Meany gets his.
This one is not the best of them, but I really like “The Case of the Falling Woman.” And I will always love when Bugs Meany gets his.
February 11, 2019
With his unconventional knowledge, he solves mysteries for the neighborhood kids through his own detective agency. But his dad also happens to be the chief of the Idaville police department, and every night around the dinner table, Encyclopedia helps him solve some of the most baffling crimes.
September 9, 2021
Sometimes you just need a break from adult issues and return to your childhood. I couldn't solve them then...I can't solve them now! Maybe a bit too stressful...Maybe I need to return to my true crime genre...
January 3, 2018
These books are still good to make the "little grey cells" function, but they become a trifle repetitive... Still a good challenge...
Maria Carmo,
Lisbon 3 January 2018.
Maria Carmo,
Lisbon 3 January 2018.
October 25, 2023
A decent collection of mysteries of varying difficulty. This didn't come across as the strongest batch, although the writing and setups are pretty solid for some of them. Some specific thoughts:
Silver Fruit Bowl - An okay story, but it kind of forced the solution on you. Maybe it's a confidence builder to get readers into the book.
Dwarf's Beard - Yet another one where Bugs Meany gives slightly too much information. Sometimes less is more, Bugs.
Bugs Meany's Revenge - A bit more of the same. A pretty easy solution.
Cave Paintings - Far too obvious, but I like the concern about Elmer's breath holding championship.
Wanted Man - Just enough of a hint to steer the reader in the right direction--one of these things is not like the others. But maybe trying a bit too hard to unite the clues, as it's an unlikely plan for the wanted man.
Angry Cook - I like the idea behind the answer. It's a small detail, but it stood out a bit too much.
Missing Ring - Again, the idea is really good. It just ends up too precise for me to suspend disbelief.
Money Changer - The setup makes the solution a bit too obvious for me.
Falling Woman - Same as the previous story.
Red Boat - The book ends with one of the stronger stories. The suspense is build from the third paragraph, and the solution takes a bit of thinking.
Silver Fruit Bowl - An okay story, but it kind of forced the solution on you. Maybe it's a confidence builder to get readers into the book.
Dwarf's Beard - Yet another one where Bugs Meany gives slightly too much information. Sometimes less is more, Bugs.
Bugs Meany's Revenge - A bit more of the same. A pretty easy solution.
Cave Paintings - Far too obvious, but I like the concern about Elmer's breath holding championship.
Wanted Man - Just enough of a hint to steer the reader in the right direction--one of these things is not like the others. But maybe trying a bit too hard to unite the clues, as it's an unlikely plan for the wanted man.
Angry Cook - I like the idea behind the answer. It's a small detail, but it stood out a bit too much.
Missing Ring - Again, the idea is really good. It just ends up too precise for me to suspend disbelief.
Money Changer - The setup makes the solution a bit too obvious for me.
Falling Woman - Same as the previous story.
Red Boat - The book ends with one of the stronger stories. The suspense is build from the third paragraph, and the solution takes a bit of thinking.
April 21, 2013
Almost all of the mysteries in this one were either logic puzzles or common-knowledge fact puzzles, so it was back to being much more fun to read.
My favorite mystery from this set was The Case of the Money Changer, where Encyclopedia set up the bully and proved he was stealing.
Also very fun, however, were The Case of the Cave Drawings and The Case of the Missing Ring.
This may very well be my new favorite of the series so far.
My favorite mystery from this set was The Case of the Money Changer, where Encyclopedia set up the bully and proved he was stealing.
Also very fun, however, were The Case of the Cave Drawings and The Case of the Missing Ring.
This may very well be my new favorite of the series so far.
October 5, 2011
Great book for 10 year olds! I **LOVED** this series as a kid, and I still enjoyed it re-reading it as an adult (so that I could discuss it with my 10 year old son). This time through, I even solved about 70% of the puzzles! :)
January 9, 2010
I've not been much of a mystery fan as an adult, but I loved this series, and read the ones in our library several times.
June 15, 2019
One of the crooks was caught from saying "you brought me back to this place" after saying that he'd never been to the place before, but I could argue that the terminology is commonly misused and not a guarantee that the man had been there before - and even if he was, it could be assigned to the cop who had been there before and was bringing him "back".
TL;DR - Some of Encyclopedia's evidence is awfully thin, and the criminals could get away with it if they wouldn't confess at the first bit of pressure.
TL;DR - Some of Encyclopedia's evidence is awfully thin, and the criminals could get away with it if they wouldn't confess at the first bit of pressure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2020
We have been reading some old Encyclopedia Brown books through our Corona isolation journey.
They've been fun to revisit, to see them through my daughter's eyes - to have to explain so many references and moments because culturally they are so very different to now.
Overall, they've aged fairly well. A few of the answers aren't actually 100% correct but I remember thinking that when I was young as well.
We have been enjoying reading them together, for sure.
They've been fun to revisit, to see them through my daughter's eyes - to have to explain so many references and moments because culturally they are so very different to now.
Overall, they've aged fairly well. A few of the answers aren't actually 100% correct but I remember thinking that when I was young as well.
We have been enjoying reading them together, for sure.
November 25, 2022
Devil’s Always in the Tricky Details…
Six gotchas, and one half as close to getting it. The rest this reader didn’t get. Still, clever way to use words trick any armchair sleuths in getting the wrong answer. Yet, one has to use “grey cells” to work out solutions. Still enjoyable, outdated or not. Recommended.
Six gotchas, and one half as close to getting it. The rest this reader didn’t get. Still, clever way to use words trick any armchair sleuths in getting the wrong answer. Yet, one has to use “grey cells” to work out solutions. Still enjoyable, outdated or not. Recommended.
September 7, 2022
This showed up on my little free library and I wondered if I would love it as much as I did when I was 9. I did! And, almost 40 years later, I still remembered all of the solutions. I loved Encyclopedia Brown as a child and it is always a relief to reread a book from childhood and still love it!
Read
October 14, 2025Okay, so reading these two were neat! It's weird having to intensely read a chapter book to look for symbols that could realistically be added onto new editions covers, but it was silly! Also the first Ency Brown I've ever read, so that's pretty neat!
May 25, 2026
I really enjoy reading these books!😁 they are so fun to try to solve the mysteries. And always without fail the answers are SO CLEVER!
Really, in the book, Encyclopedia should get more praise for what he does.
Really, in the book, Encyclopedia should get more praise for what he does.
Read
February 1, 2017The boy is at it again solving crimes and mysterys in his town new ones come.Nothing can go wrong cause of him and his smartness in town.Helps with kids and his dad the chief of police.Go to 4-6
January 27, 2018
My kids and I really enjoy these fun, short mysteries.
March 16, 2018
Another set of cases in the bag for Kai and me. Those occasional ones where the solution doesn't make much sense are frustrating...
May 4, 2018
Some of my favorite case are in this one and I'm amazed at how many I remember and at the same time, how many I couldn't figure out.
January 22, 2019
Cute short stories.
August 12, 2019
I really like Encyclopedia Brown because I like the stories. They make me want to keep turning the pages!
March 5, 2021
Awww yeah short book!
November 23, 2022
Fun puzzle book for an easy read. Definitely looking forward to reading more of these short stories to try and keep my brain firing on all cylinders!
June 29, 2023
It's fun to read through the stories and know exactly where to start scanning for clues, or a certain word that a character used.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews