C. Trembath 2011 Media Specialist

Whodunit?

But Mystery Stories are...

Setting may look mysterious...

Started the idea of taking his readers “inside the detective’s mind” and laid down all the ideas used in a good detective story.

He created the detective series Sherlock Holmes. He was a medical doctor and gave up his medical practice to write full time.

 The First Sherlock Holmes book was called A Study in Scarlet and was published in His tales started the sleuth and side-kick model used by many mystery writers.  Sherlock Holmes, always wore a long trench coat, hat, and curved pipe.

Famous Detectives: Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr. Watson.

The Private Eye The tough guy, private-eye story originated with Raymond Chandler and his character, Sam Spade.

Other Great Mystery Detectives: Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Phillip Marlow

Author, Ian Fleming, created another twist on the mystery genre with---the spy thriller-- --and James Bond

Sleuth Someone who investigates and solves a crime. The sleuth may be a detective on a police force, a private investigator, or an “amateur” detective.

Suspects Suspects are the people who are connected to the crime in some way and appear to have a motive (reason) for committing the crime.

Alibi- A suspect claims that he or she was not near the crime scene at the time the crime took place.

Clue Something that appears to lead the detective a step closer to solving the crime. Example: objects that are found in unusual places, missing objects, something said by a witness, and so on.

Evidence Something that helps prove who the villain is. Evidence may be a physical object, footprints, the testimony of a witness, and so on.

Witness A person who discovers a crime, or has some kind of information about the crime. The detective often begins the investigation of a crime by interviewing witnesses.

Deduction Using the facts to figure out a conclusion.

These are books about 4 siblings depending on each other to get through the day and solve one mystery after another.

These are great mystery books about 2 boys who are always in the right place at the right time to solve the mystery.

When ever there’s a crime, it’s Nancy Drew to the rescue. This detective can always solve the crime!

This series is about a girl named Cam who has a photographic memory. With the simple word of “click” she can capture anything she wants in her mind to look back at later. Which comes in very handy when crimes are being committed all around her.

Everyone knows Harry Potter. But did you know that these books were considered mysteries? Each year someone is trying to harm Harry and it’s up to him and his friends to figure out who!

As always Encyclopedia Brown is way ahead of his friends, solving everyone’s problems for the fee of 25 cents. Even his father, the Chief-of-Police calls on him every now and then to help him solve a crime. Why is every crook and bully in Idaville brought to justice? Who is the secret brains behind the town’s police force? Ten-year-old Encyclopedia Brown!

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.I. Konigsburg Nate The Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen Midnight Magic, Something Upstairs, Who Stole the Wizard of Oz by Avi

Mystery Who is the detective/mystery solver in the story? What skills do you think a detective needs?

A “red herring” is a clue that is added to throw the detective and the reader off track. It is like a fake clue. Can you name a red herring from the story? Mystery

Were you kept in suspense? How is the mystery solved? Mystery

Look at some of the following pictures from Chris Van Allsburg’s book, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. These eerie pictures with their strange captions might by used to write your own mystery story.

Could You? Create a “Wanted” poster for the villain of the mystery? Write the letters of the detective’s name vertically down one side of the paper. For each letter, start a sentence that describes him or her. OR...

Could You? Look at one of Chris Van Allsburg’s pictures and create a story? Or using one of his pictures, take two minutes to look carefully at his drawing. Then without looking, list as many things as you can remember from the picture.

Stories to Read To Students... The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg Grandpa’s Teeth by Rod Clement