Early Chapter Book Mysteries | Ocean County Library

The Whiting Reading Center will be closing at 2:30pm today, June 5th, due to a power outage.

The current Stafford Branch will be closed as of May 1st, in anticipation of the new Stafford branch opening in the summer.

The Truth About the Tooth Fairy

By Leah Cypess (J Cype)

Miriam, a young Orthodox Jew, uses her detective skills to investigate and debunk the Tooth Fairy's existence, but her investigation takes an unexpected turn that leads her to question whether the Tooth Fairy might be real after all.
Detective Duck

By Henry Winkler (JM Wink)

Willow Feathers McBeaver, aka Detective Duck, and her pond animal pals investigate puzzling mysteries caused by human disruptions to their habitat.
The Case of the Missing Tarts

By Christee Curran-Bauer (JM Curr)

When someone slips into the precinct and steals Mama Pigeon's tarts, pigeon detectives Martin P. Sweets, Felix Danish, and Ralph Custard follow the clues to find out who stole the delicious treats.
The Weird Sisters: A Note, a Goat, and a Casserole

By Mark David Smith (JM Smit)

One spring evening, the town of Covenly gains three new residents, whose strangeness makes some of the other citizens uneasy. Hildegurp, Yuckmina, and Glubbifer set up shop, hoping for a fresh start and a new business: a pet store. Their first customer is nine-year-old Jessica Nibley, who has lost her pet goat and hopes the sisters can help track it down. But as they exit the shop, they discover a mangled note with missing pieces that suggests the sisters aren't welcome in Covenly. Now they have two mysteries to solve: a mysterious note and a missing goat.
Catastrophe

By Sherri Winston (JM Wins)

Wednesday and her service dog, Woof, are the best detectives in the whole world--or at least their neighborhood. But can they find Mrs. Winters's missing cat before her big trip? Or will the case of the cat-napped kitty be their first unsolved mystery?
The Case of the Nibbled Pizza

By Tadgh Bentley (JM Bent)

When brother and sister duo, Dino Detective and Awesome Possum, discover Grandma Thunderclaps's pizza is missing all its pepperoni, they jump into action to find out who is to blame.
The Big Race Lace Case

By Paul DuBois Jacobs (JM Jaco)

Mack Rhino, a private detective, is on the case when a big race is in town and all the runners are missing the laces to their sneakers.
The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure

By Doreen Cronin (JM Cron)

Dirt, Sweetie, Poppy, and Sugar might be chicks, but they sure aren't chicken. They're the Chicken Squad, and it's up to them to figure out what Tail, the not-so-brave squirrel, is so afraid of. When he describes it as BIG and Scary, that doesn't give much insight as to what is lurking beyond the coop. Can our fecklees, fluffy heroes defeat something that could very well be -- gulp -- from out of this world?
Inspector Flytrap

By Tom Angleberger (JM Angl)

Hoping to become the greatest detective that ever grew, Inspector Flytrap, a Venus Flytrap, and his assistant, Nina the Goat, investigate "big deal" mysteries at an art museum, a cookie shop, and a garden.
The Fenway Foul-up

By David A. Kelly (JM Kell)

Cousins Mike and Kate are at Boston's Fenway Park when the Red Sox's star hitter discovers that his lucky baseball bat has been stolen.
The Missing Baseball

By Mike Lupica (JM Lupi)

Eight-year-old twins Zach and Zoe follow clues to find Zach's missing baseball, signed by his favorite major league player, while competing in Spirit Week events at school.
Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth

By Jane O’Connor (JM Ocon)

In her chapter book debut, Nancy Clancy must find the culprit when a prized possession goes missing at school.
Bee & Flea and the Compost Caper

By Anna Humphrey (JM Hump)

Bee is buzzing along--busy, but bored--when Flea rides in on a dog's back and changes her life forever. Flea is the one and only agent of the Fenced-in-area Law Enforcement Agency (the F.L.E.A. for short) and she's heard about trouble in the compost heap: word is, it has erupted into a wild frenzy, and she needs to investigate. Enlisting Bee in the investigation, the pair flies off to the scene of the crime, where they discover compost critters dancing, slime surfing, and playing games of dodge-poo. But is there more to this compost chaos than meets the eye?
The Beach Bandit

By Tennant Redbank (JM Redb)

It's perfect weather for a day at the beach! Barbie's friend Raquelle arrives dressed to impress with a diamond necklace, gold bracelet, and ruby ring. But when she takes her jewels off to go swimming. Raquelle returns to find them missing! Can Barbie and her sisters discover the true identity of the beach bandit?
The Haunted Library

By Dori Hillestad Butler (JM Butl)

When ghost boy Kaz's haunt is torn down and he is separated from his ghost family, he meets a real girl named Claire, who lives above the town library with her parents and her grandmother. Claire has a special ability to see ghosts when other humans cannot and she and Kaz quickly form a friendship.