"Cozy" mysteries for an 8 1/2 year old? (xposted in Childhood Years)

[LynnS6]

Help! Ds is running out of books to read. He loves mysteries, but we've been through nearly all the mystery books in the library that are appropriate for his age. He's read all of the Boxcar Children Mysteries, all of the A to Z mysteries (2 years ago) and doesn't care for the Hank the Cowdog Mysteries.

What else can we read? They have to be what are termed 'cozies' in the adult literature. Emotionally, he's quite sensitive to scary events and suspense. Absolutely no gore. He's reading at probably a 5th-6th grade level so they don't have to be easy, but emotionally, he's still 8.

ideas?

[Thalia the Muse]

There are tons of mysteries for kids with no gore and usually minimal violence -- however, if he's sensitive to suspense or implied peril (the bad guys threaten our heroes), that could cut down on the selections.

Has he read the Hardy Boys? there are eight million of the books and you know perfectly well that nothing bad is really going to happen to the Hardys, so that should be reassuring.

Cam Jansen is very mild and written around the same level as A-Z mysteries, but some boys won't read books with a girl protagonist. Jigsaw Jones is also around the A-Z mysteries level or maybe a little easier -- might be too easy for your proficient reader.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is a stand-alone mystery that's great fun, and there's no violence or peril at all.

[Thalia the Muse]

Oh my gosh, look at this huge list of kids' mystery series!

http://www.ravenstonepress.com/mysteriesSeries.html

The Stevie Diamond series looks promising.

[snozzberry]

This year's Newbery winner, When You Reach Me, is a mystery, of sorts. Such a fun read!

[christinar]

Have you looked at the Mysterious Benedict Society books? There is threat of violence, and some fighting, but definitely no gore. If he's not ready for them yet, you might want to keep them in mind - I've really enjoyed them & I'm looking forward to reading them with my kids.

[Lindsay1234]

My dd (8.5) LOVES Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew. Just good, clean mysteries.

[tinybutterfly]

I was going to suggest Nancy Drew, too.

And possibley Trixie Belden.http://barbln.org/trixie/

[zinemama]

Alexander McCall Smith's Harriet Bean series. Here's the link to a description. My 8yo boy loved them.

http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-harriet-bean.asp

[travlr]

Has he read E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler?

I second Thalia's suggestion of The Westing Game. I loved that one too!

*I've* been reading The Mysterious Benedict Society series and I've totally enjoyed them. They're listed on Amazon.com as being a 9-12 year old reading level. They are not gory but are very suspenseful.

[Thalia the Muse]

I didn't know McCall Smith had done a kids' series!

I have to check out Benedict Society -- so many people rave about those.

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by Thalia the Muse

Oh my gosh, look at this huge list of kids' mystery series!

http://www.ravenstonepress.com/mysteriesSeries.html

The Stevie Diamond series looks promising.

Oooh, thanks! I'm going to print this out and take it to the library with us.

Originally Posted by christinar

Have you looked at the Mysterious Benedict Society books? There is threat of violence, and some fighting, but definitely no gore. If he's not ready for them yet, you might want to keep them in mind - I've really enjoyed them & I'm looking forward to reading them with my kids.

Haven't even heard of them - so that's a good tip. Thanks!

Originally Posted by zinemama

Alexander McCall Smith's Harriet Bean series. Here's the link to a description. My 8yo boy loved them.

http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-harriet-bean.asp

Several people have recommended these. I like his books for adults, so I'll definitely check these out!

Now if I can just get him to try some of these great book recommendations. He's such a creature of habit and refuses to venture out unless necessary.

[StillForest]

My 8-year-old DD sounds a lot like your DS... in fact we were just talking about mystery series on the way in to school this morning. She's currently reading and thoroughly enjoying The Mysterious Benedict Society. I was actually reading it to check it out for her. She started it and has disappeared with it.
She's also devouring the Liza, Bill and Jed mystery series by Peggy Parish.

My DD is also sometimes averse to checking out books that I explicitly recommend. I take books that I think she'll like out from the library and leave them lying around where she'll see them and/or start reading them myself. The books just mysteriously vanish into her room ;-).