Encyclopedia Brown Books In Order

Publication Order of Encyclopedia Brown Books

“Encyclopedia Brown” is a series of children’s fiction novels by Donald J Sobol, an award-winning children’s fiction author best known for the critically acclaimed Encyclopedia Brown series of novels. The first of these novels was “Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective” that Sobol first published in 1963. Donald who was the author of several other children’s fiction works was most celebrated for his mystery novels. He died of natural causes in Miami Florida in 2012 aged 87. During his life, he had written dozens of nonfiction and fiction books alongside his mysteries. According to his publisher, Donald Sobol has been instrumental in helping children across the world and generations learn how to analyze and resolve mysteries. Through the character of Encyclopedia Brown, he created one of the most iconic characters to ever grace the pages of a children’s fiction work.

Donald J Sobol was born in New York and while he would become a renowned author, he never started as a writer. He started working for the New York Sun as a reporter and it was only in 1957 that he started writing mystery fiction. He wrote his debut in the “Encyclopedia Brown” series in a fortnight though subsequent novels would take half a year to write given that he was now signed under Bantam Skylark. He is also the author of the popular syndicated column about the characters that solve crimes in the “Two Minute Mysteries and the Wacky” series. The first of the “Encyclopedia Brown” series was written in 1963. Each novel features Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown an amateur boy detective that solves all manner of short mysteries in each work. The series has been a huge influence on the works of several children’s fiction authors and was also made into a TV series in 1989. The series has been a bestseller and sold millions of copies and been translated into more than a dozen languages. Educators have also made use of the Encyclopedia Brown stories to teach learners report writing skills. Over his long career, Sobol won several awards the most prestigious of which was an Edgar Award for his contribution to the mystery genre in the US.

“The Encyclopedia Brown” series is a set of novels that feature a boy nicknamed “Encyclopedia” because of his range of knowledge and intelligence in solving all manner of mysteries. Leroy Brown the ten-year-old detective lives in the neighborhood of Idaville and has an uncanny knack for trivia. He solves all manner of mysteries for many of the kids in the neighborhood and has established his own investigative agency. When he is not busy with his own agency, he usually helps out his father that is the Idaville Police department chief. His father usually brings home details of his tough cases and discusses them at the dinner table. Brown usually takes the opportunity to help resolve some of the most befuddling cases that not even his father or his crack team of detectives has been able to resolve. Each novel usually comes with ten mysteries and the solutions to each are usually given at the end of each. Sobol has asserted that he got the format of the mysteries when he took his father to the New York Public Library. He had asked the clerk for four books and got the fourth one wrong. The wrong novel was a puzzle book with mysteries on one side and solutions on the other. He published the last novel of the series posthumously in 2012. Over the years, the series has spawned games, puzzles, and several books.

The first novel of the Encyclopedia Brown series of novels is “Boy Detective. “The story introduces fifth-grader Leroy Brown an amateur detective who lives in the neighborhood of Idaville. He is an exceptional talent and most often than not he can resolve the toughest of mysteries for the neighborhood kids and his father. Given that he also humiliates and stands up to the bullies, he is a very popular student in school and this gets him a pass to hang out with the school’s prettiest girl. He never knew he had it in him to become a detective until his father came home with a case. His father who was the Chief of Police in Idaville shared some of the pertinent issues of a case that had befuddled everyone and Leroy helped to solve it. Given his success, he decided to open an agency where he would charge his clients 25 cents to solve strange happening and mysteries. While he at first intended to use his agency to help his classmates with their cases, he soon started doing more of the cases that his father brought home. Similar to the other novels in the series the novel has solutions and clues at the back.

“Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch” the second novel of the series is a story set in Texas, where the lead is currently holidaying with his family. A little of the story is set in the neighborhood of Idaville where Leroy spent much of his childhood. He is still involved in helping his father solve some of the cases that befuddle the detectives at the office. Some of the cases he has been involved in include a bank robbery, a lost bet for a violin, and a bike that has disappeared. He also is not below making a fool of the clueless guide that has been hired to take them around during their holidays while debunking some mythical folklore. It is an excellent short story collection with some great mysteries though most people will figure them out before the end of the novel. The author also includes some humorous and fun moments that include the lead’s experiences in school.

“Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues” by Donald Sobol opens to Brown working on a case in which a statue had gone missing. He is also working on the complaint of a jeweler that had an expensive necklace go missing from his shop, a local bully that had gone missing and is feared to have been kidnapped, and a statue that had been stolen. The different cases have varying levels of complexity with some too advanced for kids while some are tough for kids. Even though the author gives the solutions at the tail end of the novel, it is a lot of fun trying to resolve them before turning to the end of the book to see if you are right or wrong.

One Response to “Encyclopedia Brown”

1. Dru Newman: 2 years ago

   What year is the setting for the first Encyclopedia Brown book.

   Reply