Spine Tinglers

Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? by Avi.

Becky and her brother use some ingenious clues to identify the person who stole five children's books from the town's library (116 pages, RL 3.5).

 

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett.

When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal (254 pages, RL 5.4).

 

Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley. 

A fantasy-mystery series featuring two sisters, Sabrina and Daphne Grimm (RL 5.2).

 

Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements.

Ted Hammond, the only sixth grader in his small Nebraska town's one-room schoolhouse, searches for clues to the disappearance of a homeless family (162 pages, RL 5.1).

Ghosthunters series by Cornelia Funke.

In the first book in this series, timid nine-year-old Tom Tomsky reluctantly agrees to help professional ghostbuster Hetty Hyssop find the Incredibly Revolting Ghost that is haunting the Averagely Spooky Ghost hiding out in Tom's attic (RL 4.5).

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. 
Twelve-year-old Teddy investigates when a popular Texas zoo's star attraction--Henry the hippopotamus--is murdered (294 pages, RL 5.6).

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz.

Follows Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into eight more tales, encountering such wicked creatures as witches, along with kindly strangers and other helpful folk (256 pages, RL 4.6).

Masterminds by Gordon Korman.

A group of kids discovers they were cloned from the DNA of some of the greatest criminal masterminds in history for a sociological experiment (323 pages, RL 5.3).

Real Kids, Real Places series by Carole Marsh.
A fun and educational mystery series incorporating geography, culture, and cliffhanger chapters (RL 4.5).

 

Timmy Failure series by Stephen Pastis.
Follows the sleuthing adventures of Timmy Failure, the clueless, comically self-confident CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the nation (RL 4.0).

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz.

Contains haunting stories and scary songs that feature ghosts, monsters, and creepy endeavors, including selections entitled "Old Woman All Skin and Bone," "Cold as Clay," "The Ghost with the Bloody Fingers," and others (113 pages, RL 4.5).

The Scary States of America by Michael Teitelbaum.

The author introduces his favorite stories of the paranormal from each state of the Union (404 pages, RL 3.2).

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.

Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a cafe and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder (312 pages, RL 3.9).

   

Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen.

The series focuses on Sammy's adventures as an amateur sleuth (RL 4.0).

The 39 Clues series by Various Authors.

A series of adventure novels written by a collaboration of popular authors, including Rick Riordan, Gordan Korman, and Peter Lerangis (RL 4.5).