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Encyclopedia Brown #19
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Two Spies
Popular boy sleuth Encyclopedia Brown returns in ten short mysteries, including ""The Case of the Manhole Cover"" and ""The Case of the Kidnapped Dog,"" that the reader can solve along with him. Reading Level, 3.0.
73 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
80 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
Donald J. Sobol
181 books222 followersDonald J. Sobol was an award-winning writer best known for his children's books, especially the Encyclopedia Brown mystery series. Mr. Sobol passed away in July of 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 13, 2020
Neo and I enjoy reading these sets of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, having read a significant number of the collections. We quickly read this group of stories, filled with some unique mysteries we can process in a few minutes, connecting with one another as we guess the all but obvious solutions. The kid detective still works his magic in Idaville, USA, keeping the town crime-free and collecting his coins from those who can pay. Encyclopedia helps return a set of fireflies to their owner, cracks the code used by two communicating spies, and exposes a lie surrounding a popular chair in town. These wonderful five-minute mysteries seek to entertain and exercise the brain of both child and adult, but require some keen sleuthing. Neo and I have used them as a before bedtime activity and we are getting much better at piecing the clues together in a timely manner. Young sleuths in the making may want to sharpen their skills with the massive collection of stories.
Neo really likes the stories that keep him thinking. I remember having these stories read to me when I was young as well, helping me want to pass along the tradition. Neo thoroughly enjoys listening to the stories and making an effort to uncover the clues that will help solve the cases. He mentioned that these are perfect stories for parent-child reading, but would be great for a good reader when they have time or are on a road trip. A note to parents: the stories are dated (even as they author writes in the 1990s) and some of the terminology or word choices might not be as correct as you would like your young reader to use on a daily basis.
Did you know Neo’s has his own GR account for reviews? Check him out: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
Neo really likes the stories that keep him thinking. I remember having these stories read to me when I was young as well, helping me want to pass along the tradition. Neo thoroughly enjoys listening to the stories and making an effort to uncover the clues that will help solve the cases. He mentioned that these are perfect stories for parent-child reading, but would be great for a good reader when they have time or are on a road trip. A note to parents: the stories are dated (even as they author writes in the 1990s) and some of the terminology or word choices might not be as correct as you would like your young reader to use on a daily basis.
Did you know Neo’s has his own GR account for reviews? Check him out: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
April 27, 2014
When I was younger I devoured every Encyclopedia Brown book I could get my hands on. I would read and re-read every one of them over and over again, enjoying the characters and the stories even though I already knew the solution to each mystery.
Unfortunately, in a world of Reading Counts and Accelerate Reader programs, the constant re-reading of the same book over and over again that gave me the fluency I have today is no longer encouraged. Quantity of books is favored over quality and students judge a book not by the story that awaits inside but by the number of "points" that the story will give them.
Unfortunately, in a world of Reading Counts and Accelerate Reader programs, the constant re-reading of the same book over and over again that gave me the fluency I have today is no longer encouraged. Quantity of books is favored over quality and students judge a book not by the story that awaits inside but by the number of "points" that the story will give them.
August 11, 2020
I'm going to round up from 3.5 this time.
It's modern enough to have a laser printer. Three of the cases are actually police matters instead of just kid stuff. Most are actually solvable by an ordinary person.
(Yes, Tessie is a large girl, but she's described insultingly because she's not a nice or honorable girl.)
Btw, I sure do admire Bugs Meany's persistence... he tries at least once in every book to get our hero in trouble. But why do the cops keep buying his story, when EB keeps showing the stories as lies?
It's modern enough to have a laser printer. Three of the cases are actually police matters instead of just kid stuff. Most are actually solvable by an ordinary person.
(Yes, Tessie is a large girl, but she's described insultingly because she's not a nice or honorable girl.)
Btw, I sure do admire Bugs Meany's persistence... he tries at least once in every book to get our hero in trouble. But why do the cops keep buying his story, when EB keeps showing the stories as lies?
August 3, 2020
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Two Spies is one of the better books of this series. I particularly enjoyed "The Case of the Stolen Coin" which was the last mystery in the book. (As an aside, in a different case, Benny Breslin's snoring in a tent is part of yet another plotline in this series. I believe someone as brilliant as Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown would probably have discovered a way to help Benny with his obstructed air movement during sleeping, but alas, this has not yet occurred.)
March 11, 2021
Great book to read aloud to your class and have them help figure out the cases!! :)
August 11, 2016
Sixty-five books in and Donald Sobel just keeps going!
I used to love these books as a kid and after coming across a few at a thrift store am finding that they make great bathroom reading now.
I used to love these books as a kid and after coming across a few at a thrift store am finding that they make great bathroom reading now.
March 2, 2024
Some fun cases in this one. A few that are a bit hard to believe, though. Works out to be a fairly average book overall.
Kidnapped Dog - Obviously, something is up with the note. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it was a satisfying solution.
Fireflies - Fairly straightforward, I thought. I must say that I don't love the idea of killing fireflies to earn pennies.
Duck Derby - Another Bugs Meany revenge tale. He's had better efforts than this, though. Can't the police ever see through his lies on their own?
Sand Castle - A strange sequence of events, seemingly onto to build up the possibility of a story. Why was the judging the next morning? Was hoping for a bit more of a challenge, but Encyclopedia's questioning was a bit direct and pointed right to the clue.
Telephone Call - Wow. The people in this story lack a basic understanding of a very simple concept. Impossible to suspend disbelief enough for this story to work.
Stolen Wallet - The case was straightforward enough, but I feel like the telling of it was unnecessarily complicated somehow. Once you wade through the description, it's not too hard.
Manhole Cover - The solution is correct, but the book stops short of explaining it clearly.
Two Spies - I love the idea of investigators being sneaky by renting every single room on the floor where suspected spies are living. The solution shouldn't have taken a 10-year-old boy to point out.
Violinist's Chair - The story is fine. It relies on people knowing a possibly obscure fact, but I guess quite a few of them do.
Stolen Coin - The solution seems unnecessarily complicated and unrealistic. Not the best ending to a collection.
Kidnapped Dog - Obviously, something is up with the note. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it was a satisfying solution.
Fireflies - Fairly straightforward, I thought. I must say that I don't love the idea of killing fireflies to earn pennies.
Duck Derby - Another Bugs Meany revenge tale. He's had better efforts than this, though. Can't the police ever see through his lies on their own?
Sand Castle - A strange sequence of events, seemingly onto to build up the possibility of a story. Why was the judging the next morning? Was hoping for a bit more of a challenge, but Encyclopedia's questioning was a bit direct and pointed right to the clue.
Telephone Call - Wow. The people in this story lack a basic understanding of a very simple concept. Impossible to suspend disbelief enough for this story to work.
Stolen Wallet - The case was straightforward enough, but I feel like the telling of it was unnecessarily complicated somehow. Once you wade through the description, it's not too hard.
Manhole Cover - The solution is correct, but the book stops short of explaining it clearly.
Two Spies - I love the idea of investigators being sneaky by renting every single room on the floor where suspected spies are living. The solution shouldn't have taken a 10-year-old boy to point out.
Violinist's Chair - The story is fine. It relies on people knowing a possibly obscure fact, but I guess quite a few of them do.
Stolen Coin - The solution seems unnecessarily complicated and unrealistic. Not the best ending to a collection.
May 13, 2020
My dad and I enjoy reading these sets of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, having read a significant number of the collections. We quickly read this group of stories, filled with some unique mysteries we can process in a few minutes, connecting with one another as we guess the all but obvious solutions. The kid detective still works his magic in Idaville, USA, keeping the town crime-free and collecting his coins from those who can pay. Encyclopedia helps return a set of fireflies to their owner, cracks the code used by two communicating spies, and exposes a lie surrounding a popular chair in town. These wonderful five-minute mysteries seek to entertain and exercise the brain of both child and adult, but require some keen sleuthing. We have used them as a before bedtime activity (or over lunch sometimes) and we are getting much better at piecing the clues together in a timely manner. Young sleuths in the making may want to sharpen their skills with the massive collection of stories.
I like the stories that keep him thinking. My dad had these stories read to him as a child, helping to pass along the tradition. I like listening to the stories and making an effort to uncover the clues that will help solve the cases. These are perfect stories for parent-child reading, but would be great for a good reader when they have time or are on a road trip. A note to parents: the stories are dated (even as they author writes in the 1990s) and some of the words might not be as correct as you would like your young reader to use on a daily basis.
I like the stories that keep him thinking. My dad had these stories read to him as a child, helping to pass along the tradition. I like listening to the stories and making an effort to uncover the clues that will help solve the cases. These are perfect stories for parent-child reading, but would be great for a good reader when they have time or are on a road trip. A note to parents: the stories are dated (even as they author writes in the 1990s) and some of the words might not be as correct as you would like your young reader to use on a daily basis.
June 30, 2019
Very dated- and un-PC: making fun of a girl for being heavy ("a walrus")
October 7, 2021
Ridiculous as always.
(I re-read these as a joke with my dad, so I mainly log them to know which ones we've read.)
(I re-read these as a joke with my dad, so I mainly log them to know which ones we've read.)
October 18, 2022
Fun puzzle book for an easy read. Definitely looking forward to reading more of these short stories to try and keep my brain firing on all cylinders!
August 1, 2024
I'll always love Encyclopedia Brown, even though some of these cases hinge on the tiniest details that I'm not sure a current fifth-grader would be able to know. But they are fun stories!
November 5, 2023
My favorite case in this book was the Case of the Two Spies. (I know, I know, it's the title, but it was also really cool.)
February 14, 2017
i liked it
June 27, 2013
Good, but not great, like all other E. Brown books. Encyclopedia's adventures are still drab and dull as usual, and the only enjoyable part about this book was during that one case where one dude very descriptively got beaten up. (SPOILER ALERT!) Pretty old-fashioned book, so it deserves nothing better than a "meh."
August 13, 2012
I remember loving these as a kid. Reading them as an adult, I find them very old-fashioned in an aw shucks kind of way. I can't really imagine a kid today would have much interest in them.
Best part of the book was when Sally beats up an older bully. Making a pretty girl the muscle? I guess that's why I liked them as a girl...
Best part of the book was when Sally beats up an older bully. Making a pretty girl the muscle? I guess that's why I liked them as a girl...
May 6, 2009
meh, pretty old fashioned.
July 29, 2011
I loved the Encyclopedia Brown series as a kid, tho' I could not get any of my kids fired up about them
March 25, 2017
I got one right. :D
February 13, 2014
Encyclopedia Brown is cool. The mystery is a surprise until the very end. I like to guess who the bad guy is going to be.
January 24, 2016
A great childrens series about a younf boy detective. He solves the mysteries that go on in his town with the help of his friends and insight from his father the police officer.
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February 1, 2017Encyclopedia is getting to find what is going on with this mysterys going on in his town.Nothing can stop him from doing what he do.Sometimes his enemy wants to stop him.Go to 4-6
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews