Encyclopedia Brown

Created by Donald J. Sobol
(1924-2012)

Probably the most famous child detective of them all, ranking right up there in popularity with teenage sleuths The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN first appeared in Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective in 1963 by Donald J. Sobol, and the series hasn’t been out of print since.

That first book, bashed out in just two weeks, according to legend, set the pattern for the twenty-odd that have followed. Each chapter — there are usually ten — is a short mystery with the solution conveniently included in the back of the book. The clues are pretty fair and quite numerous, and well-distributed through each story.

As well, Sobol turns out to be a deft storyteller. Each story is a little gem, rich in atmosphere, with plots that are often quite inventive, full of jokes and metaphors. Although perhaps a little dated now, the details of kids’ life and activities still ring true. They’ve proven extremely popular with young readers, and have been translated into over a dozen languages around the world.

Perennially ten years old, Encyclopedia lives in Idaville, Florida, often referred to as a typical American town. He’s aided in his investigations by his best friend, Sally Kimball, who plays Watson to his Holmes. Or is it Hawk to his Spenser? Because, occasionally, she supplies a little “muscle.” Meanwhile, the perennial villian in many of the stories is Bugs Meany.

And the best part? Encyclopedia is an actual private eye! Okay, he’s not licensed or anything, but he does charge a fee (25 cents!) for his services and he does take on clients.

Although born in New York City, Sobol and his wife, Rose, also an author, settled in Florida and had three grown children. Sobol started writing the syndicated series Two-Minute Mysteries in 1959, starring criminologist Dr. Haledjian. It proved very popular and ran for more than ten years, and through the years wrote several other acclaimed children’s books, including Secret Agents Four, Angie’s First Case and The Amazing Power of Ashur Fine.

UNDER OATH

• “Smarter than the Hardy Boys and wittier than Nancy Drew…”
  — Craig Pittman,Tampa Bay Times

COLLECTIONS

•  Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (1963) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Secret Pitch | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Finds The Clues | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man (1967) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All (1968) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Keeps The Peace | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Saves The Day | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Tracks Them Down | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Shows The Way | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Case (1973) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Lends A Hand (1974, aka ” The Case of the Exploding Plumbing”) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Dead Eagles | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Midnight Visitor (1977) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Carries On (1980)
• Encyclopedia Brown Sets The Pace | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown Takes The Cake (1982) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Mysterious Handprints (1985) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Treasure Hunt (1988) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers (1990) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Two Spies (1995) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of Pablo’s Nose (1996) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog (1998) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Slippery Salamander (2000) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Jumping Frogs (2005) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case (2007) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown, Super Sleuth (2009) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Encyclopedia Brown And The Case Of The Secret UFOs (2010) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Encyclopedia Brown and the Carnival Crime (2011) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme (2012) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• ALSO
• Encyclopedia Brown’s Book of Wacky Sports Vol .1 (1984) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown’s Book of Strange but True Crimes (1992) | Buy this book
• Encyclopedia Brown and His Best Cases Ever (2013) | Buy this book

TELEVISION

• ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN-THE BOY DETECTIVE
  (1989, HBO)
  Director: Savage Steve Holland
  Producer: Howard Deutch
  Starring Scott Bremner as ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN
  Also starring Sally Bridge

RELATED LINKS

• Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Author
  Craig Pittman’s fascinating investigation of the man behind Encyclopedia Brown  (CrimeReads, May 2019)
• Guide to Classic Mystery and Detection
  Under the “Contemporary Mystery Fiction” heading, there’s a brief write-up and analysis by Michael E. Grost of Donald J. Sobol’s work, including his Encyclopedia Brown stories.
• Kiddie Pulp
  Get ’em While They’re Young

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Thanks to Derek Gilbert for his help with this one.