Blast from the Past: Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case by Donald Sobel

Two generations of mystery fans have cut their literary teeth on the cases of Encyclopedia (Leroy) Brown of Idaville. The young disciple of Sherlock Holmes' detection style made his debut in 1963 with Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (Encyclopedia Brown), which introduced the ten-year-old small town sleuth with a mind like an encyclopedia.

Now comes Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case (Encyclopedia Brown), the first new title in a couple of decades. Missing are the trademark illustrations of Leonard Shortall, who first delineated the wonderful characters of sidekick and tough chick Sally Kimball and burly bad guy Bugs Meany, but all the other elements are in place--the introduction of the case around the Brown's dinner table, as Chief of Police Brown puzzles over the clues, the short four- or five-page exposition which presents Enclopedia Brown's investigation of the major clues of the case, followed with the call for readers to solve the case on their own. The alternative is the Solutions section in the back of book for stumped readers to learn how E.B. figures out who done it.

The cases all involve local Idaville personages, many of them, such as Leroy's local nemesis Bugs Meany, introduced in earlier volumes. Each investigation demonstrates Encyclopedia Brown's powers of observation and vast store of general information which help him pick out the unsuspected perpetrator in every case. Middle readers will be able to solve some of the cases without turning to the solutions in the back of the book, while others are intellectually challenging. Black and white drawings are ably added by illustrator James Bernardin, who fills in for Shortall well. What makes all these slim books so handy is their format, which allows the reader to spend a few minutes reading one case or an hour or so devouring the whole book, making it a perfect traveling or bedtime book for elementary readers.

For kids who are unfamiliar with the previous twenty-two titles in this series, it'll be fun to begin at the beginning, with the first four titles in the long-running series, Encyclopedia Brown Box Set (Encyclopedia Brown)

Some titles in the well-done half-hour HBO video series based on the books are still available, such as Encyclopedia Brown in the Case of the Burgled Baseball Cards or one of my favorites to watch with kids, Encyclopedia Brown: Ghostly Rider in which Encyclopedia Brown, Sally, and the other regulars play dual roles in the present and in flashbacks to the past as they catch the impostor ghost, locate a hidden treasure, and save the ranch for an appealing young heiress. The young actors are appealing, the stories feature just the right amount of good-natured slapstick humor, and a good time is had by all.