Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Mystery books for 2 year old

As the title suggests, I'm hoping to poll my favourite minds for recommendations on good quality mystery books for DS2.25. He has a long attention span and an eye for detail in stories, and he's really starting to enjoy books with plot twists and discussing characters' motivations. We play games guessing what will happen next when we borrow new books from the library, and a favourite game is extrapolating a new story arc from contextual clues, but I think he'd really enjoy more of a challenge plot-wise!

Favourite authors are William Steig, Leo Lionni, and Robert Munsch. DS loves word play, riddles, and puzzles, so any picture books with these elements would also be a big hit in addition to mystery plots.

Thank you so much!

aquinas, I tried to get DD into a few mystery series but the only one she took to was Nate the Great. If you are experiencing a very snowy winter, this one might be a good place to start:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Snowy-M...ap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1393060286&sr=8-2

As for word play picture book, DD enjoyed this one around that age:

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Putneys-Qu...&qid=1393060078&sr=8-5&keywords=jon+agee

She also loved David Wiesner's books when she was 2. She would stare and stare then would narrate the book for me. Mr. Wuffles! was an instant classic at our household.

Thanks Mana. Those look perfect!

You'll find a list of mystery books on pages 29-30 of this resource book which you can download for free.

Thanks ohmathmom!

Mana, I just had a chance to look through the Mr. Putney book on amazon and it's exactly right.

In case anyone else is looking for similar material, we have a book by a Canadian author, Wallace Edwards, called "Mixed Beasts" which combines puns with animals and its a HUGE hit.

I wonder if he would enjoy those 'choose your own adventure' books to read with you and discuss how the final outcomes change based on different choices he makes.

We have a picture book called "Bub or The Very Best Thing" by Natalie Babbitt that is really charming. It is about a very small prince and his parents searching for what is best for him.

I hope your DS wouldn't mind Jon Agee's rather peculiarly odd tone. I remember not being able to correctly guess a single name but I won't be surprised if your DS could.

I remember the choose your own adventure books being really fun! 'Haven't seen them in years.