Editorial Content for Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme

Get back to the classic mysteries with ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN AND THE CASE OF THE SOCCER SCHEME by Donald J. Sobol. The author successfully bridges common sense with investigative know-how to create challenging mysteries. You have to pay close attention to detail to crack these cases. Don’t skim over or read to fast. You’ll need your wits about you to crack the case. You're encouraged to follow along and look for the clues, and then you can look up the answer and how Encyclopedia came to his conclusion. The author writes smart stories and doesn’t try to make it too easy.

"I always liked the idea of kids fighting for justice. It’s always cool that a kid can interview suspects in a crime scene and outsmart villains to crack cases."

The book is filled with ten new mysteries and it stars a ten-year-old sleuth named Leroy, but no one calls him that; everyone refers to him as Encyclopedia. He got his nickname because he is like an encyclopedia --- filled with knowledge and facts. He reads tons of books and remembers everything he reads. He is such a good detective that his dad, Chief Brown, has Encyclopedia help him crack some of the more tricky police cases. Solving mysteries is the young boy’s passion, so much so that he opens his own detective agency based out of his garage.

While Encyclopedia is the brains of the operation, he needs someone with some muscle to keep the bullies at bay. That’s why he hires his friend, Sally Kimball. She is tough as nails and isn’t afraid of anyone. The team makes a great pair at solving Idaville’s most challenging mysteries.

One chapter, called “Case of the Jelly-Bean Holdup,” is about a jelly bean contest at a toy store. While they are there, a boy nicknamed Pistol Pete reveals that another boy Butch asks him to pull a holdup during the contest. This puts Encyclopedia and Sally on red alert. What is Butch up to? Not surprisingly, Butch guesses the correct number of jellybeans in the jar. Did he get a tip? Was the guessing game rigged? Encyclopedia listens to all the evidence behind the case. Then he pieces the information together to solve the case.

In another chapter, “Case of the April Fool’s Plot,” Encyclopedia is hired by a boy who was fired from his newspaper route for supposedly not delivering the morning paper but claims that he did. Encyclopedia goes to the house where the paper allegedly never made it. He interviews the girl who lives at the house. During the conversation, Encyclopedia listens carefully to Lily’s story. He uses deduction to find the answer.

I remember reading Encyclopedia Brown books when I was young. It was really nostalgic for me to read a new book from the series. I always liked the idea of kids fighting for justice. It’s always cool that a kid can interview suspects in a crime scene and outsmart villains to crack cases. The mysteries are cases that could really happen. Some chapters deal with someone trying to swindle money from a girl, another chapter is about a mystery behind a burnt book and another chapter is about a cheater in a pet show. There are ten top-notch cases to crack.