Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers

On the day of the Disgusting Sneaker Contest, Phoebe Eastwood, last year's champion, walked into the Brown Detective Agency.  She had on shoes.  
Encyclopedia immediately knew something was afoot.  
All year phoebe had prepared for the defense of her title by wearing the same pair of sneakers.  She had them in really disgusting shape.
"I want to hire you," she said, laying twenty-five cents on the gas can beside Encyclopedia.  "Some girl swiped my right sneaker."

Only Encyclopedia Brown could run into such as crazy mystery as The Case of the Disgusting Sneakers. Donald J. Sobol's imagination shines in this compilation of short mysteries.  The last of the recent Encyclopedia Brown Kindle releases that I'll review on this blog for awhile, Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers had some of my favorite mysteries. I read it more than once as a kid, even though I already knew the answers.  You just get a good feeling when Encyclopedia beats Bugs Meany once again!

The mysteries included in Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers are:
The Case of the Fifth Word
The Case of the Teacup
The Case of the Broken Vase
The Case of the Three Vans
The Case of the Rented Canoes
The Case of the Brain Game
The Case of Black Jack's Treasure
The Case of the Missing Shopping Bag
The Case of the Disgusting Sneakers
The Case of the Smuggler's Secret

Which is your favorite Encyclopedia Brown book?

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Handprints

On Sunday afternoon, Encyclopedia received the treat of treats.  He went with his father on a real police case.  Clarence Heiden had reported a pair of valuable bookends missing.  He had asked Chief Brown to investigate the theft personally...


In Donald J. Sobol's new book, Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Handprints, the boy detective goes on adventures that have made the series bestsellers for years. On March 23, 2011, Yearling published a Kindle edition. Lively drawings by Gail Owens illustrate ten cases that Leroy Brown (Encyclopedia) solves, all while invites readers to decipher each puzzle in their own mind. In the title story, odd handprints will make a wheelchair-bound guest a suspect in the theft of his host's valuables. But leave it up to Encyclopedia to recognize the red herring, absolve the innocent, and make a true accusation against the culprit. 

Bugs Meany comes back as always, and Sally the girl detective does her work.  While Sobol's earlier stories were better in my opinion, these were also very fun to solve and each was still a unique challenge. 

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Handprints includes the following mysteries:
The Case of the Blond Wig
The Case of the Battle Cries
The Case of the Stolen Tools
The Case of the Angry Girl
The Case of the Albatross
The Case of the Prize Pig
The Case of the Hard-luck Boy
The Case of the Giant Watermelon
The Case of the Fighter Kite
The Case of the Mysterious Handprints

Other than Encyclopedia Brown, what is your favorite mystery story and why?

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablo's Nose

Desmoana came to the front door herself.  "What do you want?" she demanded, giving Pablo an unfriendly look.
Pablo accused her straightaway.  "About an hour ago you stole my nose didn't you?"
"No, but I should have," Desmoana retorted. "I'd have improved your looks."


Stolen noses, masked men, and smoke signals are all apart of this newest Encyclopedia Brown Kindle release from Yearling on May 4, 2011. Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablos Nose by Donald J. Sobol is a good choice for critical thinkers or for getting children to start problem-solving. Each short mystery is full of clues that make solving the mystery with Encyclopedia Brown a ton of fun.

Without giving too much away, I'll just say that this time around, Encyclopedia uses wordplay to figure out a safe's combination, one of the presidents to catch a forger, and a wallet full of money to prove that a thief was blind. As usual, a good and fun workout for the brain. Pencil illustrations by Eric Velasquez occur at key moments in the text.

The mysteries included in this volume are:
The Case of the Sleeveless Lock
The Case of the Smoke Signals
The Case of the Peace Offering
The Case of the Masked Man
The Case of the Organ-Grinder
The Case of Pablo's Nose
The Case of the Carousel Horse
The Case of the Wilford Whammy
The Case of the Racing Reptiles
The Case of the Unknown Thief

While I found this particular selection of mysteries much more difficult to solve than some of the others in previous books I've reviewed, I still enjoyed Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablos Nose.  I am rating it only for 10-12-year-olds this time, however, since I feel that the solutions might be discouraging to the 6-9 age range this time around.

Will you figure out what happened to Pablo's nose?

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery Salamander

One Monday night Chief Brown sat at the dinner table, staring at his plate of spaghetti.  So far he hadn't slurped up a single strand.  Encyclopedia and his mother knew the reason.  
The chief wasn't eating because he had come up against a crime that he couldn't solve.  
Encyclopedia waited for his dad to tell him about the case.  Whenever Chief Brown was stumped, Encyclopedia creacked the case for him, usually by asking just one question.  
At last Chief Brown looked up.  "There was a theft at the aquarium today..."

Remember the boy detective Encyclopedia Brown and his crazy mysteries?  On April 13, 2011, Random House released Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery Salamander by Donald J. Sobol.  Parents will remember these stories and the fun in solving the mysteries right along with Encyclopedia.  Answers to each case are found in the back of the book.

Mysteries to solve in this Encyclopedia Brown book include:
The Case of the Slippery Salamander
The Case of the Banana Burglar
The Case of the Dead Cochroach
The Case of the Roman-Numeral Robber
The Case of the Runaway Judge
The Case of the Peacock's Egg
The Case of the Umpire's Error
The Case of the Calculating Kid
The Case of the Presidential Auction
The Case of the Stolen Surfboard

Which is your favorite mystery and why?

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog

To a visitor, Idaville looked like an ordinary seaside town.  It had churches, two car washes, and three movie theaters.  It had bike paths, sparkling white beaches, a synagogue, and plenty of good fishing spots.  

But there was something out of the ordinary about Idaville: for more than a year, no child or grown-up had gotten away with breaking a law.

From coast to coast, people wanted to know: How did Idaville do it?

Anyone from my parent's generation who was an avid reader should remember the Encyclopedia Brown series.  Since my mom loved them as a child, she introduced me to them growing up and I enjoyed them just about as much.  Now they are coming out on Kindle, so I will be reviewing a bunch of them over the next couple of weeks to give you an idea about which ones your children might enjoy.  They are still in print, as well, for those of you who don't have a Kindle.

In Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog, Donald J. Sobol gives readers ten new mysteries to solve with the ten-year-old crime-solver of Idaville.  His real name is Leroy, but only his parents and teachers call him that.  Everyone else knows that his brain is more full of fact than a reference book, and they fondly call him Encyclopedia.

The mysteries are short enough (organized by short chapters) to keep a child's attention but present a challenge to them.  The answers are in the back with an explanation of how Encyclopedia came up with the conclusion.  These books are great for children who need practice reading for details; if you don't look for details in these books, you might just miss that necessary clue!

The mysteries in Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog include:
The Case of the Shower Singers
The Case of the Invisible Writing
The Case of the Stolen Fan
The Case of the Sleeping Dog
The Case of the Fig Thieves
The Case of the Mouse Show
The Case of the Tied-up Twins
The Case of the Wilford's Big Deal
The Case of the Fake Soup Can
The Case of the Shoeshine War

I was able to solve seven out of the ten.  How many will you solve?