Penguin Books is set to publish the first Encyclopedia Brown mystery in 25 years. Phew! I hope it's worth the wait. I loved EB, his sidekick Sally, (who took care of minor details like Encyclopedia's security,) and even bad boy Bugs Meany who always had a great, old fashioned zinger such as "make like a drum and beat it" to toss out when he'd just been made to look the fool. The stories were wonderfully dispensable, and I never remembered the solution, so I could reread them over and over again. Which I did. I recommend Encyclopedia Brown books on almost a daily basis. The format is perfect for readers hanging on to The A to Z Mysteries (Roy, Ron) but who should really have moved on to more challenging books long ago. I can't wait!
