Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective: Encyclopedia Brown Series #1
Friday, April 4th, 2008When I was in fourth grade I read a lot of Encyclopedia Brown stories. I loved the mysteries. I suspect that help foster my love of thrillers, suspense, and puzzles.
This is my first year teaching with this particular anthology. In it is an Encyclopedia Brown mystery titled “The Curse of Pablo’s Nose.” It just so happened that a week or so prior to us getting to that story we finished our read aloud book. Looking for something different, I pulled the first Encyclopedia Brown book that I recall reading 35 years ago.
My students (as did I) loved this! There are 10 cases in the book. My students did very well solving the last eight; the first two were spent seeing how to look and think about the clues. Once they saw me model the strategies, they did very well. I recall as a boy being able to solve some, but not all.
The first case, “The Case of Natty Nat,” introduced Encyclopedia and the rest of the Brown family. One thing I noticed is that the police in Idaville do not seem to be that sharp if 10-year-old Encyclopedia picks up on clues the trained officers don’t. But if one can suspend that disbelief, he can fully enjoy the cases that are presented.
Our favorite story was “The Case of the Bank Robber.” The students thought this through very well.
It’s nice to reread a book that you recall fondly from childhood. That I read this twice, both in fourth grade, seems somewhat