5 Books That Introduce Little Detectives to Mystery

It's never too early to excite a child's mind with the genre

A while back, I was hunting for a gift for my niece, who was turning two. When she was born, I decided to be the aunt that’s always nudging her toward reading. I had one, my Great Aunt Elizabeth, and her love for reading was infectious. When I was younger, we would write letters back and forth discussing authors and books and everything else. Sadly, we drifted apart as I grew older. Gosh, that’s one of my heartbreaks in life. I was too young and self-involved to understand that Great Aunt Elizabeth wouldn’t always be around whenever I decided to poke my head up from my own life to reconnect with her. I still have some of our letters in my keepsake box.

Back to my niece. For her first birthday, I gave her a set of Dr. Suess books that I figured my brother and sister-in-law could read to her. For her second birthday, I wanted to purchase a book she could begin reading to herself. So, board books. I ran across the usual suspects like Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But I’m a mystery gal and wondered to myself if there were any mystery themed books for wee tiny babes and younger readers not ready for chapter books out there?

Yes. Yes, there are. I ended up purchasing six: three board books, two picture books, and one board book that, quite honestly, is aimed at adults but still could be fun to read to young children (with discretion).

The Board Books

Edgar Gets Ready For Bed by Jennifer Adams (Illustrated by Ron Stucki)

This one isn’t about Poe, although he’s very present in silent ways through the story. This tale is about Edgar, a raven, and his playful distractions during bedtime to which he answers his mother’s exasperations with “Nevermore!”. When he finally is convinced to settle into his covers, he asks his mother if she really loves him. Her answer? “Yes Edgar…Evermore.”.

Sherlock Holmes in The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Jennifer Adams (Illustrations by Alison Oliver)

Follow Sherlock as he goes around making all sorts of marvelous noises. Gates creak and shoes scrape. There’s lots of animated fun to be had reading this, for both the adult reader and the child!

Little Poet Edgar Allan Poe: Nevermore! by Kate Coombs (Illustrations by Carme Lemniscates)

This time, the Edgar in question is Poe himself. Lines from “The Raven” are peppered with Coombs text to distill this emotional and heavy poem into a narrative that younger readers can comprehend. Is this too moody for children? As with everything related to raising little ones, that’s for their parents to decide. Themes of love and loss are still present, but so are Poe’s lyrical stanzas.

The Picture Books

Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Marci Kay Monson (Illustrations by Greg Paprocki)

This retelling of Agatha Christie’s first mystery is aimed at readers between four and eight. Readers assist Hercule Poirot in finding clues to who killed Emily Cavendish through activities and games. Just a warning, this book does touch lightly on murder and poison and crime and punishment, if that’s a dealbreaker for you. The illustrations are gorgeous and the addition of a character list at the front and a glossary of words used in the book at the back made this a must buy for me (to read to my niece when she is older).

Little People, Big Dreams: Agatha Christie by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara (Illustrations by Elisa Munsó)

This lovely picture book is a summarizes chunks of Agatha Christie’s life, from childhood to her nursing days to creating Poirot and Miss Marple to finding fame on the stage. I love how the narrative flows from one topic to the next. The typewriter key end papers are a bonus I appreciated. A great introduction to Agatha Christie and a possible companion book to the read with the book listed above.

The Other Board Book

My First Film Noir by ‘lil Cinephile

Themes from murder to the mob and the titles of some great noir films adorn the pages of this board book. So this isn’t for kids necessarily, but I loved the concept and am including it as a bonus recommendation for the adults reading this article. Could you read this to your kids? Sure, but be ready to explain the gritty dynamics of noir if you do.

My personal favorites are the Sherlock Holmes board book and both picture books. Which one is yours?