Despite the fact that our family bookshelf included numerous Nancy Drew books lovingly read by my older sisters, I never “got into” the girl sleuth. I confess, I never read any of those books. Nor did I read any of the Hardy Boys books we had.

Shocking isn’t it? Especially since I was a child that did enjoy a good mystery book. I’m not sure why there was no appeal for Nancy Drew. Her books were easily accessible, they were mystery stories…to this day I can’t put my finger on it. I guess that mystery remains unsolved.

I think mystery books are great for kids. They teach critical thinking and problem solving. In their own way they can also show that things we may be afraid of are nothing to be feared after all.

The mystery books I did read, I thoroughly enjoyed and constantly sought out more in the series. My top 5 favorites (in no particular order) were:

1. The Happy Hollisters by Jerry West (pseudonym of Andrew E. Svenson)
   The Hollisters were a family of five children, their parents, numerous cats and a dog. Mr. Hollister owned and operated a general store while Mrs. Hollister was ready and available to help solve mysteries and to give tips for solving clues.

   The Happy Hollister series was published for 17 years, from 1953 to 1970. There are 33 books in the series, the first being The Happy Hollisters and the last, The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Midnight Trolls .

2. The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope (pseudonym)
   The Bobbsey Twins books told of the adventures of two sets of brother-sister fraternal twins: Bert and Nan and Flossie and Freddie. Mr. Bobbsey is a successful  lumber merchant and Mrs. Bobbsey is a housewife.

   The first book in the series, The Bobbsey Twins, or Merry Days Indoors and Out was published in 1904 and the last, The Bobbsey Twins: The Coral Turtle Mystery in 1979. There are 72 books in total in the series.

3. Trixie Belden by Julie Campbell and later, Kathryn Kenny (pseudonym)
   Girl detective, Trixie Belden lived at Crabapple Farm with her parents and three brothers. Her friend, and fellow sleuth was the wealthy Honey Wheeler who lived next door. The two girls amazingly solved mysteries that had everyone else, including the authorites baffled.

   The Secret of the Mansion is the first book in the series and was originally published in 1948. The last book, The Mystery of the Galloping Ghost was published in 1986.

4. Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol
   I loved these books because I had the opportunity to solve the mystery myself!

   Each book was  subdivided into several short mystery stories each with a logical or factual inconsistency that was intended to lead you to solving the mystery. The part of the book where Encyclopedia Brown reveals the answers was at the back of the book so you wouldn’t inadvertently see the solution before you had an opportunity to guess.

   Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown was the son of the police chief who reads from his casebook, giving his son, and the reader a mystery to solve. Encyclopedia also has a sidekick, the tomboyish Sally Kimball.

   The first in the series was Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective and was released in 1963.  The last book, so far, was published in 2007 and was titled, Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case.

5. The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton
   The Secret Seven or “Secret Seven Society” was made up of Peter (the society’s leader), Janet (Peter’s sister), Jack, Barbara, George, Pam, Colin, and Scamper the dog. The group regularly met together to try and solve mysteries that have stumped the police.  They have a secret password, a badge and secret garden shed headquarters.  Mysteries are solved by The Seven shadowing and interviewing people and looking for clues. And of course, they always solved the mystery!

   Enid Blyton published the first book The Secret Seven in 1949 and the last, Fun for the Secret Seven in 1963.