Summer Learning: Mysteries & Camping

Get Campy with Summer Learning

Alright folks, we have just over a month left of Summer Learning! There’s still plenty of time to sign up, log your reading, and win prizes. I can't think of a better way to spend my summer than delving into a mystery or a summer camp story. Pre-Readers, Readers, and Pre-Teens should check out our Summer Camp Stories list for fun (and a few creepy!) titles. Readers of all ages will enjoy our intergenerational Mysteries booklist, and Pre-Teens can check out the Young Detectives list, where they can explore sleuths, disappearances, and whodunits. Here are a few staff favorites...

Summer Camp Fun

Gather Round by David Covell. For Pre-Readers. Enjoy this beautiful picture book about the simple act of building a campfire that transforms into a tale of community.
Camp Famous by Jennifer Blecher. For Readers/Pre-Teens. Abby is excited for summer camp, but when she learns she will be attending camp famous- the camp of the stars, she is not sure what to expect.
Welcome to Camp Killer by Cynthia Murphy. For Teens. A twist on the classic creepy summer camp tale. Teens will love this short, fast paced camp tale that straddles the thriller and horror genres.

Find more recommended reads on the Summer Camp Fun booklist.

Mysteries

Hornswoggled! by Josh Crute. For Pre-Readers. When Deer wakes up to find one of his antlers is missing and a tennis racket in their place, his friends uncover silly mystery after mystery. This fun and silly book is bursting with new and wacky words that kids and adults will enjoy.
The Sherlock Society by James Ponti. For Readers and Pre-Teens. "Twelve-year-old Alex Sherlock, his thirteen-year-old sister Zoe, and their friends Lina and Yadi decide to spend their summer in Miami investigating the many "cold cases" their grandfather accumulated during his years as a reporter--first up, Al Capone and a buried treasure."
The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso. For Teens. "Paige Redmond has always felt lucky to spend her summers in Clearwater Ridge, sunning at the waterfalls and partying at the mansions of the rich vacationers there. One night, Audrey didn't come home. Though Audrey wasn't the first girl to disappear in Clearwater Ridge, she left behind more lies than clues. Now, one summer later, her case has gone cold, and nobody, least of all Paige, can make sense of what happened."

Find more great mysteries on the Mystery booklist.

Young Detectives

Welcome to the Dweeb Club by Betsy Uhrig. For Pre-Teens. Jason Sloane and his seventh-grade friends are the first to sign up for a strange new club that monitors school security footage, but when the new computers show the club members themselves as unlikable high school seniors five years in the future they scramble to solve the mystery.
Drew Leclair Crushs the Case by Katryn Bury. For Pre-Teens. When a thief breaks into the P.E. lockers, leaving behind cryptic ransom notes, Drew Leclair, who is determined to stay out of trouble, investigates while dealing with her friends' obsession with the upcoming Wonderland dance.
Julieta and the Diamond Enigma by Luisana Duarte Armendáriz. For Pre-Teens. When a diamond goes missing from the Louvre, it is up to nine-year-old Julieta to identify the thief, exonerate her father, and return home to Boston before her baby brother is born. Includes glossary of French and Spanish words and notes about the Regent Diamond, Athena, and works of art mentioned in the book.

If you've read any of these titles, we'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts on Beanstack (the site to log your summer reading) by writing a review. You can check out some reviews from earlier this summer here!

(Information Updated: May 2025)