I lost every case to Encyclopedia Brown.

Not once did I solve the mystery before he did.

For many people my age, our first detectives weren’t Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot.

They were Columbo.
They were Scooby-Doo.

And there was a ten-year-old boy named Leroy Brown—better known as Encyclopedia Brown.

In honor of National Reading Month, I want to salute Donald J. Sobol, the author who created the boy detective with the big brain, sharp intuition, and relentless persistence.

In elementary school, whenever my class went to the library, I headed straight for the Encyclopedia Brown shelf.

Those books were different.

Each one contained a series of short mysteries. Somewhere in the story was a small logical inconsistency the reader could use to solve the case.

The challenge was simple:

Could you solve the mystery before Encyclopedia did?

Despite my best efforts…

He always beat me.

But something else happened.

Those books made me want to read.

They made the library feel less like an assignment and more like a puzzle waiting to be solved.

And that small spark turned into a lifelong love of reading.

By middle school, I was still reaching for Encyclopedia Brown.

One day I chose one for a book report.

My teacher told me I needed to pick something at a higher reading level.

I remember feeling crushed. It felt like I had to put those books away.

Formally, I did.

But if I ever saw an Encyclopedia Brown book lying around somewhere…

I still read at least one mystery.

And of course—

He still solved the case before I did.

Looking back, it’s a reminder of something simple but powerful:

Sometimes the books that hook young readers aren’t the most advanced ones.

They’re the ones that make kids want to keep turning the page.

And once that happens, everything else tends to follow.