Reddit mentions of Encyclopedia Brown Box Set (4 Books)

OP, I really really hope you see this. I was like her as a child--obsessed with mystery, detectives, etc., and have read many, many mystery books. Get her Encyclopedia Brown. It is the greatest books I've read as a kid. And as she gets older, have her read the complete Sherlock Holmes books. Those two were the most memorable ones I've read. I promise you she'll love them.

I second the Tamora Pierce suggestion. Also definitely Gregor the Overlander! Suzanne Collin's lesser known series (she wrote Hunger Games). I recently finished reading (it's a 5-book series) and it was FANTASTIC. Just amazing. It's a YA series. The House of the Scorpion is also great, might be for your stronger readers. Eragon series is fun, and Dealing with Dragons is still one of my all-time favorite dragon books/series. Bruce Coville is a great author, and his work might be a little young but it's good to have a mix. I absolutely loved everything of his I have read, but especially Aliens Ate My Homework and the rest of that series. Most of these will appeal to the young men, hopefully.



When I was a young lady, I read pretty much anything, but I know a lot of boys like books with a boy main character. I really was a bit horse crazy, so here's some you might look into for your young ladies. The Saddle Club is a very long series about 3 girls and their horse-y adventures. It was really fun and it's great to find longer series because, if they like the first one, there's a lot to enjoy. (Oh a thought - you could always get the first one in a series, then just tell them to get the rest from the library or something, if there's budget concerns) I also liked the Thoroughbred Series and the wonderful Marguerite Henry horse books, especially the famous Misty of Chincoteague but really any of her books is a good read. My all time favorite horse series was and still is The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. Oh, how I loved that book.


There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom was fantastic the first time I read it, and I also like the "Wayside School" books which are both by Louis Sachar. Judy Blume is fun as is Beverly Cleary. Redwall gets a lot of kids into reading, you also might consider some high-level comics/graphic novels to reach a different audience. The Hobbit Graphic Novel has great illustration and I loved reading it so much when I found it one day in a store.


I found history pretty boring so avoided those books but I did enjoy The King's Swift Rider about Robert the Bruce and Scotland, might be the only vaguely historical book I remember reading around those ages. I tried to avoid mystery books more or less, but I loved Encyclopedia Brown (even though according to Amazon it's for younger ages). I enjoyed Harriet the Spy she was a pretty cool girl role-model at the time. My Side of the Mountain was absolutely fantastic and such a great adventure, though I enjoy everything Jean Craigshead George writes. I feel like Julie of the Wolves is pretty standard reading material, maybe not anymore, but what a great story. Oh my gosh, I just about forgot The Indian in the Cupboard, that was such a good story. Anything Roald Dahl is wonderful as is Jane Yolen, I especially recommend the Pit Dragon trilogy. The Golden Compass, So You Want to be A Wizard, Animorphs, Goosebumps, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Kiki Strike, Dinotopia, Song of the Gargoyle and The City of Ember.


I am sure that is way more than you need, but my mind started racing. It was hard to stop once I started -- thank you for that enjoyable tour through my past. Lots of great memories of time spent reading. Hope you find some of this helpful, at least.

My side of the mountain was a favorite of mine.

I also loved the Encyclopedia Brown books too.

Here are some books my kids love:

Picture books:

• Boot and Shoe by Marla Frazee - Sweet story of two dog brothers
  
  
• Look! A Book! by Bob Staake - Fun, funny I Spy type book but with an absurd silliness and fun rhymes
  
  
• And it's not really obscure since it's a NYT Bestseller but I'd be remiss if I didn't plug The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt since he's an old friend of mine. Plus my kids love it.
  
  Chapter books:
  
  Most of the chapter books my kids read are part of a series so they aren’t really obscure but my kids love them so I figured I’d note them in case you hadn’t heard of any of them:
  
  
• The Magic Treehouse series is a good series to start with for chapter books
  
  
• Bunnicula is hilarious
  
  
• Encyclopedia Brown – I loved them and now my son loves them
  
  
• Stink – My son loves that Stink and his friends are a lot like him and his friends. Their adventures are very relatable
  
  
• And my five year old daughter and I love Ivy and Bean and their antics. They’re laugh out loud funny and it’s great to have girl books that are about girls horsing around and getting into trouble. Ivy and Bean are real kids, not just precious little princesses in training.