Books for Young Sleuths, From Toddler to Teen

Mystery fiction is not just an adult pleasure. Holiday book gifts can deliver the joys of detection and puzzle-solving to young people from teen down to toddler. Yes, there's even something for 3- to 5-year-old sleuths this year--appropriately titled Who Done It? by Olivier Tallec. On each page of the picture book, young readers are asked to choose a culprit from a lineup of human and animal characters in response to questions such as "Who ate all the jam?" Spotting the guilty party is not always clear-cut; maybe it's the fox with jam on his face or maybe the rabbit with the upset tummy. Children are exposed to concepts that even trip up adults, such as judging expressions and postures, and avoiding quick assumptions. Of course, some answers are easy and designed to get a giggle from small readers, such as "Who couldn't hold it?" Moving on to readers aged 10 to 12, check out Greenglass House by Kate Milford, a 2015 Edgar Award winner for Best Juvenile Mystery. Twelve-year-old Milo, adopted son of innkeepers of a spooky smuggler's inn called Greenglass House, is spending his winter holidays there when an odd assortment of visitors arrive in the middle of a blizzard. Soon objects have gone missing and secrets abound, and Milo joins the cook's daughter Meddy to follow the clues. For teens, The Art of Secrets by James Klise, 2015 Edgar Award winner for Best Young Adult Novel, provides a more complex and thought-provoking view of the modern world and human character. Muslim immigrant Saba Khan's family apartment burns down, perhaps due to a hate crime, but her high school and community rally to aid with fundraising. Soon she is living in a rent-free luxury apartment, enjoying Facebook fame and even being secretly romanced by a popular boy. The good feelings turn ugly, however, when a piece of "found" art donated to a school fundraiser turns out to be worth a half million dollars, and is later stolen from the school. A web of greed, jealousy, shocking accusations, hidden motives, lies and secrets enmeshes the characters. Check out the other nominees in the Juvenile and YA categories of the 2015 Edgar Awards: http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html

Secrets of Best-Selling Children's Picture Books

The holiday shopping season is starting in earnest, and I'll be hunting for children's picture books for the youngest members of the clan. Can I fall back on my own kids' favorites, or has time eroded their appeal? Well, I was happy to see that the list of the top 100 picture books for the 21st century, chosen by the readers of the School Library Journal, did include my own children's faves with Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown at spots No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 respectively. That got me to thinking about what factors give these books their timeless appeal. Studying the comments of numerous editors, publishers and educators, I put together the following list of secrets to picture book success: illustrations that are colorful, varied and original; interesting, lovable, iconic characters to whom the child relates; humor or emotional appeal; an engaging and authentic concept or story line; text that is well written and plays with word meaning, repetition, rhythm and rhyming to fit the story context; interactivity that encourages the child to participate in story-telling; learning that is subtle and not didactic or boring; and re-readability, because little children engage with a book by repeating the experience again and again (so it better not be a book taxing adult patience). Looking at the list, you realize that, except for illustrations, classic picture books and classic adult literature share secrets to success: strong characters, engaging plot, good writing, and emotional connection. Perhaps an early diet of enriching picture books promotes adult reading enjoyment. Can't hurt! Shop the top-100 picture books at http://www.slj.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SLJ_Fuse8_Top100_Picture.pdf