Three must read mystery books for kids

From Sherlock Holmes to Inspector Morse, everyone loves a mystery. And when it comes to a good mystery, you are never too young to enjoy a tale that keeps you guessing from start to finish. For younger readers in Grades 3 to 8 there are a plethora of fantastic mystery reads out there, but we’ve narrowed it down to our five favorite yarns that are guaranteed to delight.

1. The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton

There is nothing better than classic mystery and adventure rolled into one and the Famous Five series is one of the best examples of this. George (Georgina). Julian, Dick, Anne and Timmy the dog cannot help but stumble across mysteries that must be solved with danger and adventure at every turn.

2. The Diamond Brothers Detective Agency series by Anthony Horowitz

This series of mysteries is a wonderful retelling of some of the great adult mysteries such as the Maltese Falcon and North by Northwest, for children. With an older brother that is constantly bungling his way through cases and the sharp, quick-witted younger brother that is the real case solver, these are wonderfully engaging books.

3. The Black Stallion Mystery by Walter Farley

Part of the classic series about the Black Stallion, The Black Stallion Mystery is a story about Alec and the black stallion journeying around the world in search of the horse that sired the black stallion. Convinced that the horse is still alive, Alec goes to Spain and then Arabia risking his life with action, suspense, an unknown enemy and a ghostly horse.

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Researching your family tree: Some useful tips

Researching your family tree can be a daunting, yet ultimately rewarding process. Digging into your families past can unearth some fascinating stories but how do you go about it? Here are a few tips to get your start in your genealogical quest.

Start with the here and now

It may sound pretty obvious, but take the present day as your starting point and work backward from there. Use what you do know to find out what you do. As you go back a generation, you will gradually find the holes in your research that need to be filled.

Talk to ask many family members as you can

Some people may not be able to remember exact times and dates, but they may be able to help point you in the right direction. Find out if people were known by other names if there was something noteworthy about them which may lead on to something else. Even amusing stories or memories which seem pretty superficial or unimportant can contain valuable nuggets of information and can place a person at a certain time and place.

Write it all down

It’s important to make a note of everything you find out as you don’t know when some piece of information is going to come in handy. Trying to recall some detail from memory alone will be almost impossible so it’s much better to write everything down.

Check out official documents

Finding out about relatives from 100 years may seem daunting, but there is a good chance their name might crop up in official documents somewhere. Check census records, military records or if they were a member of a professional organization or trade Union.

Dig deep into some fictional and real-life mysteries with the books from www.medialaze.com.