Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew 23 – Babysitting Bandit

Carolyn Keene's Babysitting Bandit is a Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew mystery for 8 year olds in which the thing that keeps going missing is the twins' favourite toys.

What happens

Nancy, Bess and George have a new job. Three afternoons a week they're helping Mrs Jacobs with the twins, Lily Mei and Anna Lin, who are eighteen months old. Bess even brings a babysitting kit, with her old stuffed tiger Togo inside.

It's harder than it sounds. The twins look exactly alike. They empty their mum's handbag, throw lipstick and vanish behind the sofa for games of peek-a-boo. There's a big dog who eats everything and a cat who hides things under rugs.

Then the twins' favourite silver rattle disappears from a high shelf. Next it's Squeak Squeak, their toy mouse. After that, it's the one CD that always calms them down.

Nancy's only clue at first is a smudgy green fingerprint on the bookshelf. Later there's a yellow one.

The suspect list is really good fun. There's Matt, a big boy who loves practical jokes (he's just been caught putting headphones on the toy mouse). There's Cal, the five-year-old next door who runs about in a red cape calling himself Super Sonic Man. And then there are the pets. Bess is so sure the dog did it that she tries to make him yawn so she can check his teeth for bits of CD!

There's a gentle bit of real life in it too. The twins' big sister Margaret was an only child for twelve years and she isn't at all happy about sharing. She calls the twins the little monsters (and her mum is NOT pleased).

If you've got a new baby at home, or an older child who's feeling a bit pushed out, that might strike a chord. George and Bess both have siblings of their own and they get it straight away.

Mostly, though, it's cosy. There's pizza with Hannah and a sleepover with popcorn, where the girls type up their suspect list. The mystery is small enough for your reader to work on alongside them. It's toys that go missing here, not people.

What to read next

For another River Heights case, try Princess Mix-up Mystery. The Clue Crew head down the high street to the grand opening of a princess parlour, where every girl in town wants a tiara.