Photo via ebay.com

A young girl with a photographic memory solves everyday mysteries by mentally snapping “photos” of clues. A fun, accessible intro to detective stories for early readers.

Author: David A. Adler

The Baby-Sitters Club (1986)

A group of friends start a babysitting business while navigating friendship, family, school and real-life challenges. It was the OG slice-of-life series for tweens.

Author: Ann M. Martin

Pee Wee Scouts (1988)

This lighthearted series follows a group of elementary school kids in a scouting troop, learning life lessons through silly, chaotic adventures.

Author: Judy Delton

The Bailey School Kids (1990)

A group of curious kids investigate whether their teachers and townspeople are secretly monsters. Light mystery, big imagination and tons of fun.

Authors: Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton Jones

Goosebumps (1992)

An iconic horror anthology series that introduced kids to haunted masks, cursed cameras and twist endings.

Author: R.L. Stine

Magic Tree House (1992)

Siblings Jack and Annie travel through time via a magical treehouse to explore history, solve problems and complete missions.

Author: Mary Pope Osborne

Animorphs (1996)

A group of teens secretly fight off an alien invasion by morphing into animals. A surprisingly dark and emotional sci-fi series with action and heart.

Author: K.A. Applegate

A to Z Mysteries (1997)

Kid detectives Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose solve a mystery for every letter of the alphabet. It perfect for early chapter book readers who love clues and twists.

Author: Ron Roy

Captain Underpants (1997)

Two prank-loving kids hypnotize their principal into becoming an underwear-wearing superhero. Wacky, chaotic and packed with flip-o-ramas.

Author: Dav Pilkey

—Photos via Scholastic.ca and Google images, and cover photo via reddit.com by user u/frawleyg /