The 10 Best Kid Detectives Of All Time

From Harriet the Spy to Nancy Drew, these super sleuths don't let age stand in the way of their superior crime fighting.

1. Harriet M. Welsch, from Harriet the Spy.

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Not only is she an aspiring writer, but Harriet also offers sage wisdom for an eleven year old. Our favorite piece of advice:

“Don't mess with anybody on a Monday. It's a bad, bad day.” ― Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy

2. Oskar Schell, from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

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A precocious amateur physicist turned sleuth, Oskar tries to uncover clues left by his father, who died on September 11th.

3. Nancy Drew, from the Nancy Drew series.

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Never bothered at the thought of leaving Ned home on a Friday night, Nancy solved intricate cases with a Sherlock-like focus. We’re still hoping for our own baby blue convertible, but until then, we’re perfectly content to re-read The Hidden Staircase.

4. Leroy Brown, from the Encyclopedia Brown series.

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Idaville is in fine hands with Encyclopedia Brown on the case. The thought of Bugs Meany, however, still gets our blood boiling.

5. Nate, from the Nate the Great series.

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Nate, and his furry partner in mystery-solving, Sludge, share a love of pancakes. Enough said.

6. Frank and Joe Hardy, from the Hardy Boys series.

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We can only imagine how hard it would be to keep things professional in a sibling crime-fighting duo. Props to the pair, who have kept it together since 1927.

7. Cam Jansen, from the Cam Jansen Mystery series.

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Fifth grade would have been so much cooler if we could have solved mysteries by Cam’s side. Or had a photographic memory—at least until middle school. There are some things one doesn’t need to remember.

8. Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, from The Boxcar Children Mystery series.

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We’re not really sure what as children we found so appealing about living in a boxcar and scavenging treasure from a dump—but boy, oh boy, did we want to run away and join the Aldens.

9. Claudia and Jamie Kincaid, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

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We’ve definitely dreamed about spending the night at Metropolitan Museum of Art. Claudia had the right idea—why not live there? And solve a mystery about an angel statue that could have been sculpted by Michelangelo himself? Heavenly.

10. Miles Adler-Hart, from Casebook.

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Middle-schooler Miles just wants to know what his mother has in mind for his life, but when he starts eavesdropping and discovers his parents are separating, his investigation intensifies.

"I was a snoop, but a peculiar kind. I only discovered what I most didn't want to know."

–Miles Adler-Hart

Written by Mona Simpson, author of Anywhere But Here. Published by Knopf.

(Like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Casebook is a novel for adults.)