Chillers, Thrillers, Maybe a Killer!

Mystery novels are one of the most popular genres for adults to read.  There are many mystery novels that are appropriate for young teens and tweens to read as well.  If kids have never read a mystery novel before, they are in for a treat. 

A well-written mystery book should be a fun puzzle as well as an interesting story.  A big part of the fun is trying to figure out the solution to the mystery or crime before the end of the book.  Students become great fans of mystery if they just read their first one.

At Beyond Words Learning, we have a great introduction to mysteries, and we also have an introduction and quiz for the classic mystery The Name of the Game Was Murder.

The introduction, called Mystery Novels – Introduction for Middle Schoolers explains what a classic mystery story is and provides kid-friendly explanations of terms such as suspect, clue, alibi, and red herring.

It also gives a brief history of the genre, focusing on the original Sherlock Holmes stories and the great British author Agatha Christie It finishes with suggestions of authors that middle schoolers might seek out if they want more mystery stories.

The Name of the Game was Murder, by Joan Lowery Nixon, is a student-appropriate classic mystery story.  We offer an introduction to this novel and a quiz to check on reading and reinforce learning.