A research blog on the history of radio, film, television and classroom media geared towards children and young audiences through most of the 20th century.
This year is the 60th anniversary of the famed boy detective Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown. Created by Donald J. Sobol (1924-2012) and first published in 1963, the Encyclopedia Brown mysteries remain in print for 21st century readers.
It has been fun finding and examining different editions of the series, especially first editions.
As a childhood fan, I was recently surprised to learn Sobol had created another juvenile detective, Angie. "Angie's First Case" may have been an unsuccessful first entry into a girl detective who had a police officer for a sister, similar to how Encyclopedia Brown helped his police Chief father.
It has been nearly 5 years, but here is a another round of teen detectives that may have helped you pass the EOG reading tests.
Trixie Belden and the Happy Valley Mystery was the 9th adventure of the popular 13 year old detective. Published in 1962 it was the 3rd book written by "Kathryn Kenny" a Western Publishing nom de plume.
Hawaiian Sea Hunt Mystery was the 3rd of Grosset & Dunlap's Biff Brewster Adventures. Published in 1960, the series of 15 books were written by "Andy Adams" an in-house name shared by authors. Walter B. Gibson, Edward Pastore, and Peter Harkins.
The Scarlet Slipper Mystery was originally the 32nd adventure in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. Published in 1954, it was written by Charles Stanley Strong, under the Grosset & Dunlap house pseudonym "Carolyn Keene".
After nearly a year, here is another round of mystery/detective book covers for young readers.
"Ken Holt: The Riddle of the Stone Elephant" by Bruce Campbell, 1949. Grossett & Dunlap
Ken Holt was a world traveling adventurous teen, and the son of a foreign correspondent. "Bruce Campbell" was the psuedonym for Sam and Beryl Epstein. The 18 book series was published by Grossett & Dunlap from 1949 - 1968.
"Robin Kane: The Mystery of the Blue Pelican", by Eileen Hill, 1966. Whitman Publishing Co.
Robin Kane was a 13 year old sleuth in a series of six books published by the Whitman Publishing Company from 1966 to 1971. "Eileen Hill" was reportedly a pseudonym for Nicolete Meredith Stack (1896 - 1978), who also contributed to other girls book series.
"Ghost Writer: Clinton Street Crime Wave" by Laban Carrick Hill, 1994. Bantam Books.
Ghost Writer was a very popular mystery series that aired on PBS in America from 1992 to 1995. In serialized mystery stories a group of kids would solve mysteries with the help of an invisible ghost that would use words from many objects to help solve the case. I can still remember the storyline in which one of the kids, Jamal, was framed for burning down a video store.
"The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo: Hot Rock" by John Peel, 1997. Pocket Books, New York. A series of 15 books based on the Nickelodeon TV series were published.
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo was a Nickelodeon series about the cases of a Chinese-American teenage police department intern. Running from 1996-1998, it was a fun series, and it is surprising that there have not been that many more live action kid detective shows since.
Detective novels, comics, radio shows, TV programs and games geared towards young listeners and readers have existed for quite a while. Here is a look into a sub-collection of juvenile mystery materials.
Doyle, Arthur Conan, and Felix Sutton. 1957. Sherlock Holmes: a study in scarlet and the red-headed league. New York: Wonder Books.
Sobol, Donald J. 1963. Encyclopedia Brown, boy detective. New York: Scholastic Book Services.
Encyclopedia was a favorite growing up. He was easily the smartest of all kid detectives.
Herz, Peggy. 1977. Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. New York. Scholastic Book Services.
Dann, David. 1977. Scooby-Doo and the Mystery of the Rider Without a Head. Newark, N.J.: Peter Pan Industries.
I do not have the record that came with this book, but it was digitized and put on YouTube.
Rathbone, Basil, Nigel Bruce, Patricia Morison, Arthur Conan Doyle, Leonard Lee, Frank Gruber, and Roy William Neill. 1985. Dressed to kill. Charlotte, NC: United American Video Corp.
Not a "juvenile" version of the Holmes character, but Basil Rathbone may be the most recognizable of all Sherlock Holmes actors, and these films were very accessible to young audiences on television and home video
Dubowski, Cathy East. 1996. The case of the Sea World adventure: a novelization. New York: Scholastic.
The Olsen Twins' Sea World outing aired on TV as I recall and it was enjoyable family special on ABC TV. It doesn't seem that any of the Mary-Kate & Ashley detective films be on DVD for a new generation anytime soon.
