Encyclopedia Brown Box Set (4 Books)

The Encyclopedia Brown series are still some of the best books for kids ever written. They stimulate the mind, educate and most importantly, are awesomely fun! By inviting the reader to decipher the mystery, it involves him/her much more than if it was just a typical mystery story and this box set is quite special because it includes four books for a reduced price. Now, just like some of the puzzles in Professor Layton and some of the mysteries in Case Closed, not all of the mysteries here always make sense and some are questionable. Still, for the most part, they are brilliantly designed and greatly stimulating. I grew up with these series and still find them a privilege to read so I would say, if you're not yet acquainted with the honorable Encyclopedia Brown (Leroy to his parents) yet, buy yourself this box set now. It has the first 4 books in the collection so it's the perfect place to start! :)

A great series of books with awesome crimes,characters and they even let you solve the crimes by yourself (answers at the back)

Books from my childhood being thoroughly enjoyed by my son who loves putting his baseball cap on, closing his eyes and solving the case.

These stories are very much like the two minute mysteries and are great fun to read so everyone can work aout the answer

perfect reading for boys especially 8-10 years

I think most kids will love these books - that is, if they read at all these days. I loved them when i was young. I had them from family friends from the USA, so they were probably 1960s originals. I loaned them - and of course never got them back. So it was a delight to see they're still in print, and at a very good price! Each book is divided in a series of cases to be solved. Each case is very short - perhaps 5 or 6 pages in most instances. This is quite enough to give the basic story of each case in a convincing way. The language is quite suited to children in the 8 - 14 age range (older kids might find them a bit basic in language, but might still enjoy solving the cases anyway). In fact the language is easy enough even to use by foreign students of English (EFL) and I think these books would be a useful addition in language schools (whodunits are a great way to practise the language). At the end of each case the reader is posed a question like 'Why did Encyclopedia Brown say that?' or 'How did Encyclopedia Brown know that such-and-such was the thief?' with the solutions at the end of the book. I got them for my nephews as an alternative to online gaming and to encourage reading. It seems to have done the trick!

Just what we ordered

Recently, I was at my parent's house going through old books and magazines from my youth and came across a few well-read and tattered Encyclopedia Brown books. I instantly remembered how much fun it was reading these as a kid. I took all I could find for my 10 and 8 year-old son and daughter. You guessed it, shortly after I'm here on Amazon looking for more! I'll admit, my kids aren't crazy about reading, but they enjoy reading these. They are perfect for my 10 year-old, but my 8 year-old struggles a little bit with them--that's where Dad swoops in and saves the day and helps explain things and helps with some of the bigger words. If you're on here looking for books for your kids, then you've undoubtedly heard the saying "Learning to read and reading to learn". These books provide a great opportunity for your child to increase their reading ability, but also requires them to read and think critically to help solve the mystery. I'm no readin' teacher, but I think these books are a fantastic way to help teach your kids real-world problem solving skills. If you are unfamiliar with these stories, they follow the young Leroy (Encyclopedia) Brown as he runs a detective agency (all mysteries solved for 25 cents!) solving crimes in his town where his father is chief of police. Each story lays out facts and clues and leaves it up to the reader to solve the mystery (don't worry, answers are in the back of the book). The stories are short, entertaining, and informative. Every youngster should have these on their bookshelf.

Although meant for children, a nostalgic read for some adults.An American pal borrowed the four books and finished them overnight, remembering many of the 'clues' from his childhood. Also fine for those young at heart, a 76 year-old retired teacher two doors away from NewZealand loved the set. Another was a business man Japanese friend who read the 'crimes' in Japanese as a child. He is reading one crime a night in English for reading practice. He loves Encyclopedia Brown. Will I ever get my set back?!

I had fond memories of these books when I was a kid in the 80s and so I bought them for a gift for a detective-mad 7 year old's birthday. He loves them! His parents say they went through them quickly with nightly bedtime reading and enjoyed solving the mysteries together.

Love this set. I bought it to motivate young readers I teach at school who struggle to read well. Short little stories in a novel type book is not as overwhelming to get through. Having to try to figure out the mystery as they read, forces them to pay attention to the details and go back and reread at times. I loved them when I was a kid too.