Get' em While They're Young: Kiddie Pulp

Encyclopedia Brown
Created by Donald J. Sobol (1924--)

Probably the most famous child detective of them all, ranking right up there inpopularity with teenage sleuths The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN first appeared in Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective in 1963 by Donald J. Sobol, and the series hasn't been out of print since.

That first book set the pattern for the twenty-odd that have followed. Each chapter is a short mystery with the solution in the back of the book. The clues are pretty fair and quite numerous, and well-distributed through each story. As well, Sobol turns out to be a deft storyteller. Each story is a little gem, rich in atmosphere, with plots that are often quite inventive, full of jokes and metaphors. Although perhaps a little dated now, the details of kids' life and activities still ring true. They've proven extremely popular with young readers, and have been translated into over a dozen languages around the world.

Encyclopedia lives in Idaville, Florida, often referred to as a typical American town. He's aided in his investigations by his best friend, Sally, who plays Watson to his Holmes. The perennial villian in many of the stories is Bugs Meany.

Sobol and his wife, Rose, also an author, live in Florida and have three grown children. Sobol has written several other acclaimed children's books, including Secret Agents Four, Angie's First Caseand The Amazing Power of Ashur Fine. He's also written Two-Minute Mysteries, More Two-Minute Mysteries and Still More Two-Minute Mysteries, all featuring the crime-solving Dr. Haledjian. They're puzzle stories intended for younger readers.

COLLECTIONS

• Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (1963)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Secret Pitch...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Finds The Clues...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man (1967)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All (1968)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Keeps The Peace...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Saves The Day...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Tracks Them Down...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Shows The Way...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Case (1973)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Lends A Hand (1974, AKA The Case of the Exploding Plumbing)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Dead Eagles...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Midnight Visitor (1977)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Carries On (1980)
• Encyclopedia Brown Sets The Pace...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Takes The Cake (1982)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Mysterious Handprints (1985)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Treasure Hunt (1988)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers (1990)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Two Spies (1995)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of Pablo's Nose (1996)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog (1998)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Slippery Salamander
  .
  Also
• Encyclopedia Brown's Book of Wacky Sports Vol 1 (1984)...Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown's Book of Strange but True Crimes (1992)...Buy this book

TELEVISION

• ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN-THE BOY DETECTIVE
  (1989, HBO)
  Director: Savage Steve Holland
  Producer: Howard Deutch
  Starring Scott Bremner as ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN
  Also starring Sally Bridge

RELATED LINKS

• Guide to Classic Mystery and Detection
  Under the "Contemporary Mystery Fiction" heading, there's a brief write-up and analysis by Michael E. Grost of Donald J. Sobol's work, including his Encyclopedia Brown stories.

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Thanks to Derek Gilbert for his help with this one.