Forgotten Kids' Books (a/k/a "Flashlight Worthy")

Patti Abbott's Friday's Forgotten Books this week switches gears to look at children's fiction, primarily in the pre-teen range. I racked my brain trying to come up with just one book to offer up, but couldn't really pin it down to just one (I was an avid reader, especially then when I had more time to do so). Therefore, in the spirit of the occasion, and to possibly give folks with kids on their holiday gift lists some ideas, I thought I'd compile a bibliography of sites with children's and young adult mystery fiction titles:

• First Clues has book lists broken down by age groups, New Sleuths (ages 4 to 6), Future Sleuths (ages 7 to 9), Sleuths in Training (ages 10 to 12) and Apprentice Sleuths (ages 13 and older). The many series referenced there include some of those I read lo those many years ago, such as Encyclopedia Brown and of course the venerable Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, but there are many others, too.

• Another good place to search for kids' books is among the nominees for the annual Edgar Award for Juvenile Fiction handed out by the Mystery Writers of America.

• Author Cynthia Leitich Smith has a listing of gothic fantasy and suspense titles, something that might be more tempting for youngsters (at least the girls) during this era of "Twilight" frenzy. These are all relatively new books, the oldest of which only dates from 1995.

• The Weber County Library has 29 books in their Great Mysteries for Children category with some brief descriptions.

• The Peninsula Library System has mystery books for kids listed by school grades, again with very brief descriptions.

• In addition to mystery lists for young readers, middle readers, and older readers, the Cary Memorial Library also includes selections for "young listeners."

• And the Monroe County Library system has two lists, one for various age groups and another that includes just picture book mystery stories. 

There are many terrific titles on these lists, including some I may have read and literally forgotten due to the passing of time, but there are many other books I wish had been around years ago. Still, I'm sure I went through an awful lot of flashlight batteries staying up reading under the covers...

Comments

[Patti Abbott]

Great idea, Bonnnie. I use our library for our grandson and am always amazed at how much they have and how little it is used. Did H1N1 scare them off?

[BV Lawson]

I go to our local public library quite a bit year 'round, and never see a large number of kids, but then I avoid the weekends, so perhaps that's when they hang out. With the advent of the Internet, more kids are doing homework that way, which means less library research, too. It's a shame, in my opinion. Since I was a small child, the library has always been one of my very favorite places -- and it's the world's best bargain!