Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Jumping Frogs

Encyclopedia Brown #23

by Donald J. Sobol

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Offers readers a collection of ten new Encyclopedia Brown mysteries. Features the clever sleuth, his partner, Sally Kimball, and the full cast of suspicious characters, including Bugs Meany and Wilford Wiggins.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Mystery Thriller, Juvenile, Short Stories

80 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2003

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]

Neo and I enjoy reading these sets of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, having read 23 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 helps with an air guitar competition, uncovers a hoax sales opportunity, and discovers someone tampering with a racing lawnmower. 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...

[Cheryl]

Another solid entry in the franchise. I found this one (and some others) as an ebook from my library's overdrive/ libby service. I wonder why nobody has taken up Sobol's baton and written more of these books? I guess 23+ is a lot and should satisfy most fans... but I'd read more if more were avl.!

[Andrew Wolgemuth]

More remarkable than Encylopedia's ability to solve crimes by asking just one question is his skill in inducing a full confession from criminals and trouble makers by noting a single inconsistency in their story. Amazing.

[Mark Baker]

Yep, he's still around and as crafty as ever. Of the 10 cases in this book, I was only able to solve two of them without reading the solutions in the back.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Kevin Hogg]

This book was okay. Some interesting cases, and some that could have used a bit more detail or complication to make them a bit tougher. A couple didn't seem like the solution was conclusive enough--more like a hunch than a deduction. A couple of stories stood out above the others. Overall, it was an okay collection, but not among the best in this series.

Rhyming Robber - This is another one of the cases where the author comes up with something clever, but hardly any readers would be able to recreate the very specific thought process.

Miracle Pill - I caught the solution, although I don't honestly know the science behind it. It would have been great to giver an explanation in the solution--a bit of a missed opportunity.

Black Horse - I'm going to have to trust that the solution is true. I guess it's some relatively obscure knowledge that works okay as a solution. This is the best story so far in this book...

Nemo's Tuba - I don't know that I agree with the solution. Difficult, maybe. Impossible, no.

Ring in the Reef - A decent story. Again, the solution could use more of an explanation of why it happens that way.

Lawn Mower Races - The solution really stood out. It's one of those stories with three possible solutions, but one of them just gets highlighted a lot more than the others.

Jumping Frogs - I actually found the writing a bit confusing in this one. Maybe I was just more tired than usual. I didn't get it, and I should probably reread the story.

Toy Locomotive - I enjoyed this story. It might be the best in the book. I anticipated the answer, but not so much because it was too easy. It was more that I hoped the story would come together in a certain way, and it did.

Air Guitar - Yeah, probably. Or maybe not. I wouldn't say that was conclusive evidence.

Backwards Runner - A decent story, but a solution quite similar to one that's been used a few times throughout the series.

[Neo]

My dad and I continue enjoy reading these sets of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, having read 23 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 helps with an air guitar competition, uncovers a hoax sales opportunity, and discovers someone tampering with a racing lawnmower. 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 these stories read to him when he was young, helping him want 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.

[Sophia Lawrence]

This book is for 3rd to 5th-grade reading level. It presents a case/mystery and then Encyclopedia asks a few clarifying questions and solves the case. However, the solution is not revealed right away. In bolded font at the bottom, it says "Want to know how he did it? Flip to page 60 to see." There are 10 chapters/mysteries for readers to try and solve and then all the solutions are a page length in the back. It usually has to do with a riddle, a word that can mean two things, or something else tricky. There is never any hidden information though. Encyclopedia never adds information that we do not know.
I could see myself using this book in front of my class. Maybe start the day with a chapter then let kids think about it all day and at the end of the day read the solution. Maybe even let the students share what they think the solution is and how he found it. It could be a fun practice to start each day with and the let kids sit on it all day. Some kids may not be able to follow the directions on their own and read the book straight through and not understand the stopping point of each solution, but luckily this book still works pretty well like that. Students who really enjoy mystery and riddles could really enjoy these books.

[Scott Parker]

The book, Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Jumping Frogs, is one of my favorites of this series. I loved chapter six, "The Case of the Lawn Mower Races." In addition, Donald J. Sobol was apparently a fan of The Odd Couple as two of the characters in the final chapter are named Felix and Oscar.

[Linda Klinedinst]

I really enjoy reading this Book. It was a very fun enjoyable adventure book to read. I am going to be reading the rest of the Books in this Series. I dearly love this Book.

I highly recommend this Series. I give this Book 5/5 Stars.

Happy Reading :)

[Anthony]

Idaville's youngest detective returns in ten new cases involving robbery, theft, bribery, and an assortment of other crimes. Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown, and his partner Sally Kimball work together to solve the crimes, and keep Idaville's crime rate low.

[Canavan]

✭✭

[JP]

I liked the cases and my favorite is the case of the backwards runner because I solved that one.

[Alex]

Another nostalgic buddy read with my dad!

[Hannah]

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!

[Brooke]

H

Hello hello hello hello test test test we will rock you dun dun we will we will rock you test

[Teresa]

Always good although a little dated.

[Genevieve Paquette]

I am 35 years old, and I STILL suck at solving these. After reading a short story for adults that had a "can you solve it?" ending (and getting it right!) I was reminded of Encyclopedia Brown, and my many, many failures as a child to solve his cases. Apparently, my crime solving skills have not improved one jot in the intervening years! I got one right. One. Ouch.
That said, these are so much fun. I wish my town had as much going on as Idaville. They have all manner of clubs, contests, fairs... If it weren't for all the junior petty criminal, it would be a charming, idyllic place to live.

[Cathy]

My 8-year-old is really "into" frogs, and likes Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, so this seemed like a good fit. In fact, she said that "Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective" was her favorite book of the summer. It's been so long since I've read any Encyclopedia Brown books, that I read this one, too. I was able to solve most of them, whereas, as a child, I could figure out very few. I don't think I read this particular book as a child. It's interesting reading that encourages kids to read.

[Chris Aldrich]

Interesting to come back to Encyclopedia Brown after almost 30 years... almost too formulaic, though 20 books into something, it's hard to keep it fresh. Most interesting is some of the language and turns of phrase which are no longer seen - somewhat similar to some of the great phrases in screwball cinema of the 30's.

[Rachel]

Bought this for Christmas for my frog - loving daughter, who just discovered encyclopedia brown. It seems to have been written by a different author, but the mysteries themselves were just as much fun as I remember from my own childhood. :-)

[Jessie]

When I got this I didn't realize it was a collection of ten mysteries. If each story had been longer it would have been better but to pack ten stories into 80 pages is kind of ridiculous.

[George]

I actually read the Kindle version of this book.

[Jennasis]

A great childrens series about a younf boy detective. He solves the mysteries that go on in his town with the help of his friends and insight from his father the police officer.

[Melanie]

Never read this one before... a couple of them stumped me.

[Mskychick]

Re-read placeholder for Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison