Donald J. Sobol (1924–2012)

First, my main problem with this book: The specific knowledge you are required to have in order to "get" the answer. I love these type of books, these short-story mystery collections, but most of the ones I'm used to reading can be solved with logic and common sense, and details that can be found *in the story*. Not so with many of the mysteries in this book. There are stories in here that require specific knowledge of athlete's bodies, the stereotypical cab rider, a seagull's flight show more pattern, what foods are poisonous to mice... Who the heck knows that stuff? It's frustrating when you can't figure out a mystery, not because you just didn't spot the clue or whatever, but because the answer requires very specific knowledge in a very specific field.

However! Overall, I love this book. I really do. It's not the greatest, because of what I've mentioned above, but it has so *many* mysteries that it's easy to find some to get excited about. When I was reading this I would try to limit myself to 3-4 mysteries at a time, because otherwise I would've just sat there for hours reading the entire book. This is definitely a keeper. show less

This book never should have been reprinted in the 21st century, especially not for children. One of the questions is about phone systems in the "older part of town", systems that were obsolete when this book was written in the 1970s. More generally, I started playing spot the error or bad assumption towards the end of this book; the answers were frequently based on stuff that's generally but not necessarily true (mules can get pregnant, Americans can use English spelling) or careful readings show more of conversation that simply doesn't support that close a reading. And there's quite a bit of overlap with the Encyclopedia Brown stories, to boot. Go ahead and read Encyclopedia Brown, if you're looking for this; at least there's story to go along with the puzzle. show less

Not one of the strongest. A few relied on esoteric outside knowledge, and in a few the logic had loopholes. However I will continue to read all of these I can find at my libraries.

Much of the information should be checked; this is an old book. Also, not much of it is likely to be of use to solve the kind of mysteries that are in most Encyclopedia Brown mystery collections.

The sports section is boring; mostly a list of "umpteen - zero" games and how they happened.

The animals and human body sections are interesting, but there especially I would help my child learn research skills by fact-checking any of the claims that seem the least bit questionable, or that need to be show more updated. For example, an entry rightly points out that people who feed birds are messing up the birds' migratory patterns, and if they don't follow through all winter, stranded birds will starve. An update is needed for the examples of Illinois' mockingbirds and Carolina wrens... are they still in trouble? Also, decide for yourself after doing good research... is it a good idea to feed birds, and if so, which and when?
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There are also good opportunities to teach your kids the difference between correlation and causation. What does it actually signify to say that "kids who spell poorly are more likely to become criminals than kids who spell well?"

And then, consider ramifications and nuances and related correlations: "Students academically below average are more likely to become victims of school crime." Tease out the factors contributing to those two correlative effects and you might be able to propose some changes likely to be effective... but address either alone as if there's a cause & effect relationship, and you'll likely fail. After all, if school reform were as easy as focusing on spelling, we'd have better schools and fewer criminals already.

And think of a child reading this book without adult guidance. Is he going to look at his struggling classmates and subconsciously assume that they're all either criminals or victims?
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The chapter "Aspirin Alley" is akin to what is perhaps nowadays more well-known as "Darwin awards." My ex-husband is a fan of those... he may very well have read this book when he was a kid. And, yeah, the correlation of why he's my *ex* is almost causal, there.... Anyway, I don't know the value of that chapter for kids; on the one hand, the stories could be seen as cautionary, on the other, they may well encourage cynicism. I strongly believe in preserving children's innocence as best as we reasonably can, because innocence -> idealism -> the capability to work for a brighter future for themselves and for our small world.
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Overall, I do recommend this, for families studying together. Not for trivia buffs of any age, though. show less