Encyclopedia Brown--Boy Detective. That was one of my favorite books as a kid. It's all about a super-smart 10-year-old who helps his police-chief father solve crimes. He also helps his friends solve mysteries, like "who stole my bike." Each chapter is devoted to one mystery, with the solution given in the back of the book--so you can try to solve it yourself based on the clues the author gives. Most of the time I cheated and just turned to the back. I was more interested in the character of Encyclopedia than the mysteries themselves. I identified with an intellectual boy. That's probably why I liked Will Robinson on Lost in Space, too. Anyway, I've been reading the Encyclopedia Brown books to my son while he's in the bathtub at night, as a sort of bedtime story. (There's a second book, Encyclopedia Brown Strikes Again, that's just as good.) He seems to like it, which pleases me no end.