Did you know that when your kids read, and read for fun, they actually improve their literary scores?
But what child today would want to read for fun? With screens and tablets, it seems our children are more inclined to choose electronic entertainment.
Mystery books, however, could solve this problem! Mystery books for kids are fantastic and offer many benefits for literary proficiency.
Here are a few reasons why you should hand your child a mystery book...
1. Mysteries Hold Kids Attention & Build Confidence
The key here is intrigue. Who has read a mystery novel and not been somewhat intrigued by the story? Who did what, why, and so forth? Mysteries are great page-turners!
Kids are naturally curious, so they'll stay intrigued and hooked to find out what happens in the end. This keeps them entertained for hours while you tend to other things!
Mysteries are also super interactive, as kids put themselves in the shoes of the detective and try to follow along and solve the mystery themselves.
Because mysteries move quickly from one point to the next, your child could likely become so engrossed and intrigued by the story that they finish quickly. This is great because it builds their confidence! If a child who has little to no confidence finishes a book, they will boost their reading self-esteem and most likely continue reading.
Similarly, when a child succeeds in solving a mystery, the feeling of accomplishment can boost their self-confidence and encourage their independence.
2. Mysteries Encourage Kids to Pay Attention to Detail
Mysteries cause you to pay attention to even the smallest detail-- a word that was said, evidence left out, and so forth.
Why? Because hidden in each detail could be the solution to the mystery.
In a mystery book, the story can seem all jumbled together until everything is revealed at the end. This often means the plotline is more elaborate. This should cause children to read carefully if they want to stay on top of the story.
Attention to detail is a learned skill that's needed for living in the real world. And it can be one of the most difficult to teach kids because of their short attention span. Mystery books can make it much easier and even fun for them to develop.
And, have you ever loved a book so much that you can't wait to pick it up again and read it?
When children learn to pick up on details, they're more likely to reread a mystery book to discover how the mystery was solved in the first place!
Not many books are great at this, but mysteries can be.
3. Mysteries Teach Kids How To Think
By giving them detective books and mysteries to solve, you give kids an advantage. Persistence, curiosity, critical thinking, communication, empathy, and independence are all 21st century skills.
The who, what, and why of a mystery not only keeps kids engaged through curiosity.
Asking these types of questions while reading is an excellent exercise in critical thinking and cause and effect. This problem solving approach is important because it makes way for deeper thinking and how ideas connect.
When kids puzzle over suspects and motives, they learn to be empathetic and to consider other perspectives. When they practice interrogating suspects or persons of interest, they develop their communication skills.
As a child follows along with a detective character that pursues clue after clue, and suspect after suspect, they learn persistence. The goal is to solve the mystery, and a detective won't give up until they achieve their goal.
4. Mysteries Introduce Kids to New Vocabulary
You may be thinking, don't all books teach kids new vocabulary?
This is true, but mysteries do it in a sneaky fun way, where kids don't even know they're learning new words.
Because of the complex plotlines of mystery books, there are a lot of vocabulary words your children may not be familiar with. These words may center around finding clues, terms about the justice system, law, and so forth. Exposing your children to an abundance of words increases their vocabulary.
When kids have an expanded vocabulary, they can achieve more in school and can make connections and form ideas.
And, as a child reads more, they improve and build their vocabulary, are better focused, and generally evolve into better readers over time.
5. Mysteries Teach Kids About Justice
Ultimately, in a mystery, someone has done something wrong, and the main character is trying to work it out. Mysteries are a great introduction to morality, as the characters try and work together to solve the mystery.
Even more so, mysteries will often have a good guy (detective) and a bad guy. This allows children to see the cause and effect of making right and wrong choices and how justice can be served. It's a good feeling when everything comes together in the end.
Overall, most mysteries are very exciting, especially children's stories. There are twists and turns, and sometimes the story will not play out as you expected!
Ready for a Mystery?
Are you ready for mystery books for your kids? We've got you covered!
Once you find a type of mystery they love, you'll enjoy watching them figure it out and pick up the book once more to reread.
But how do you choose the mysteries that are right for your kids?
There are many factors to consider when choosing a book, but here are a few big ones:
- Age range
- Reading Level
- Sub genre
To make your search super easy... If you have a child age 7-10 and/or reading at 2nd through 4th grade reading level that loves supernatural worlds, check out our Scaredy Bat mystery series!
These mystery books for kids will get their brains working and have them excited about reading!