 Mystery: January 08, 2025 Issue [#12926] |
This week: "If it weren't for those meddling kids" Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
"Mystery spread its cloak across the sky.
We lost our way.
Shadows fell from trees.
They knew why."
~From "House of Four Doors" by the Moody Blues |
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Children love puzzles, and some of the best puzzles are mystery stories.
While mystery stories for children obviously don't include violent crimes such as murder, they do need to have many of the same elements included in mysteries for adults, such as a strong plot, clues and misdirection, and a likeable, intelligent protagonist.
Secret codes, treasure hunts, and missing objects are favorite subjects for children's mysteries. Depending on the age of the target reading audience, plots should be simpler than those for adults, but don't make them too easy. Kids like a challenge as much as adult readers do. Stories with at least some element of comedy are often successful with kids. The ones I liked the best had a perfect blend of comedy, mystery, and spookiness.
The first mystery stories I ever read were in the "Bobbsey Twins" series, written by the Stratemeyer Syndicate of authors under the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope. The series, which was published between 1904 and 1979, followed the adventures of the children of the Bobbsey family, which included two sets of fraternal twins. Bert and Nan were about 12 years old, and Freddie and Flossie were about 6. The stories often involved fun vacations to interesting places. Stories were written at an approximate 3-6 grade reading level. Plots seldom involved any violent crime and often no crime at all.
When I got a little older, I loved the Nancy Drew mysteries, which were also written by the Stratemeyer syndicate under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Nancy Drew, the heroine of this series, was an 18 year old girl who was a skilled amateur detective. These stories have been criticized because the plots are somewhat formulaic, and Nancy seems to excel at everything she tries with little effort. They are fun to read, however, and are one of the first mystery series for young teens with a female protagonist. The spooky settings, which included anything from a dark forest to an old castle, were half the fun.
The Stratemeyer Syndicate was also responsible for many other mystery and adventure series aimed at children and young teens, including the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and Rover Boys series. Just like in Scooby Doo, these stories often included villains who "would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids!" 
Something to try: Write a mystery story for children or young adults. |
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