TBD Reviews Real-Life Mysteries

The image shows the front cover of the book. It has a blue background and there is a black tab across the front that shows the titles written in a yellow and orange typeface. There are illustrations of an octopus, flying saucers, an aeroplane, an aircraft, a tower and an animal.

Are you looking for a book that will inspire a reluctant reader? 

Non-fiction kids’ books make great gifts and can really appeal to reluctant readers who are daunted by reading longer fiction. A book about a topic that really interests and inspires your child is much more likely to be well received. What can be more interesting than a series of unsolved mysteries in need of a keen detective’s eye to study the evidence?

This brilliant book was first published in 2017! It’s no surprise that it was Blue Peter’s Book Award Winner in 2018 – Best Book with Facts. Each mystery is introduced with the story of the strange event and then readers explore the CASE FILE, which presents the evidence.

The format of the CASE FILES really grabs the reader’s attention. The information is presented in manageable sections so that it can be carefully considered. Key vocabulary is defined, and post-it style notes offer extra information and explanation. 

The image shows a page spread from Real-Life Mysteries. The page has a yellow background and there are paragraphs of text on a white background and images. The text is broken into manageable sections making it ideal for reluctant readers.
The story of a strange event from the past

Reluctant Readers?

The layout of this text is ideal for reluctant readers. Information is presented in bite-size chunks and is accompanied by engaging colour illustrations to tell the story of the mystery.

The image shows a page spread from the book. The page has a brown background that is like a cork notice board. There is a selection of evidence presented in text boxes and there are images. The images help to engage a reluctant reader into the text.
The evidence of the existence of Big Foot!

Here the Case File shares a variety of information about the existence of Big Foot: witness statements, photos, maps, additional facts and figures.

Not only is this book an engaging choice, it also teaches children how to appraise information and make their own decisions about how accurate information is.

As our children live in a growing digital age where information comes from a variety of sources online, it is hard to know what to trust. Therefore it’s so important to develop critical literacy skills, so children can learn to make up their own minds about the accuracy of what they read. What better way to develop these skills than examining the evidence of real-life mysteries?

This book makes a great gift for children to explore at home. However, it’s also a fantastic resource to have in a Key Stage 2 classroom. The perfect tool when teaching the difference between primary and secondary sources of information. To support teachers, B Small have created a useful teachers’ notes sheet and and a handy Tips for Investigators sheet. 

TBD age recommendation 7 – 12 years.

Real-Life Mysteries is available to buy here at TBD bookstore.

Happy reading!

Detective Lizzie x