Encyclopedia Brown Takes The Case (1983) - Plot & Excerpts
tFirst, I’d like to note that a chose a title from this series because at the school library I volunteer at, Encyclopedia Brown has been very popular among the 3rd and 4th graders and I wanted to see what it was all about. I was really surprised to find that the series is quite old! This led me to wonder whether the library collection was lacking mysteries, or whether this series had been book talked in some way by the teachers.tLeroy “Encyclopedia” Brown has never gotten a case wrong. The child detective always asks just one question, and with that answer solves the mystery. Despite this being book ten in the series, the characters of Encyclopedia Brown are well, albeit briefly, introduced in the first chapter. Each chapter is a different case that Encyclopedia and his partner Sally are either paid to crack, or become involved in by association or by trouble. The fact that the solutions are kept separate in the back not only invites readers to try solving the mystery themselves without the help of Encyclopedia, but also develops a page-turning anticipation that really the rush of not knowing as much fun as knowing the solution. I found the characters flat, but this probably had to do more with the length of the book and chapters than the intention of the author. I think ultimately what makes this series popular with young kids even almost 40 years after the original publishing is the logic that Encyclopedia and Sally must apply to their cases—each case is not only fun, but educational for students unfamiliar with the element that allowed the detectives that solved the house, while encouraging students to use logic in the mysteries of their daily lives as well.
What do You think about Encyclopedia Brown Takes The Case (1983)?
