The world’s first choose-your-own-path mystery โ where your child is the hero, cracking the case at their own school.
๐ Ben Franklin Award๐ Literary Classics Interactive Award
$16.95One child ยท one one-of-a-kind adventure
โฑ 10:00Order in the next 10 minutes and your child also gets to test-drive their next adventure โ free.
โก Instant access on any tablet, phone, computer, or reader โ anything that opens a URL.
How it works
Their adventure in 3 simple steps
1
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Make them the hero
Add their name, their real school, teacher & principal.
2
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They dive in
They become the detective solving the case at their own school.
3
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They can’t stop
Every choice changes the story โ so they keep reading.
The choose-your-own-path magic
At key moments, your child decides what happens next
The case opens
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Your child picks a pathโฆ
or
โฆfollows a different lead
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They chase down the clues
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They crack the case ๐
A handful of real turning points let your child steer the investigation โ so reading feels less like a chore and more like a game they’re driving. (Same satisfying mystery; one ending, their own path to it.)
From the classroom
When author Jeff Nathan introduced this mystery, two schools measured the jump in kids’ desire to read
โฒ desire to read
0%
jump at Northwest Elementary ยท Leominster, MA
โฒ desire to read
0%
jump at Dr. Crisp Elementary ยท Nashua, NH
Measured by each school among 4th- and 5th-graders, before and immediately after author Jeff Nathan visited and introduced the Sherlock & Me mystery. Figures reflect students’ self-reported desire to read. School reports available on request.
Real kids, real reactions
Watch a kid realize they’re in the book
Unscripted, low-fi, kitchen-table real. No actors, no AI.
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Sophie
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Journee
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Rose
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Avery
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Jaedyn
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Breona
Reads anywhere
It’s interactive โ not a flat PDF
A living, choose-your-own-path book that travels with you. Hand it over in the car, at grandma’s, or on a rainy Sunday.
โ Tabletโ Phoneโ Computer
๐2 versionsJunior 5โ7 ยท Standard 8โ12
โ๏ธMade for themName ยท school ยท teacher
๐งฉInteractiveHidden-picture puzzles
๐ Multi-award-winningIncl. Ben Franklin Award for innovation in children’s literature
โ๏ธBy Jeff NathanChildren’s author
Sound familiar?
Made for the kid you’re actually raising
Instant & easy
Start the adventure in minutes
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Instant access
Get your unique book URL โ your child starts reading right away.
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Phone, tablet & computer
Read on the family iPad, a phone, or any computer.
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Starring your child
They’re the hero of the whole mystery โ not a name stamped into someone else’s story.
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Secure checkout
Trusted Stripe & PayPal.
Reading shouldn’t be a fight
When reading feels like homework, screens win.
Hand them a mystery where they’re the hero making the calls, and the whole thing flips โ they’re not told to read, they’re racing to find out what happens to them.
From teachers, parents & kids
They love reading about themselves
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“Nothing has gotten my students more excited about reading than the Sherlock & Me personalized mystery. They beg for the chance to read about themselves.”
Kathleen Marchetti
GR5 Teacher ยท Witchcraft Heights Elementary, Salem MA
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“My 5th-grade son LOVED this book. As he made incorrect choices, he wasn’t disappointed โ he was excited to figure out the right one.”
Rebecca Belleau
GR3 Teacher ยท Longley Elementary, Lewiston ME
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“My 4th-grader does not always enjoy sitting and readingโฆ He was absolutely HOOKED on your book. He totally ditched the TV show he had been watching!!”
Lisa Palmer
Teacher ยท Leeder School, Mississauga ON
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“A powerful invitation to engage reluctant and struggling readers. I’d recommend this to any elementary teacher of reading.”
Curt Dudley-Marling
Professor Emeritus ยท Boston College
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“They love reading about themselves! The choose-your-own-path aspect got them interested in seeing what would happen.”
Kathleen Marchetti
GR5 Teacher ยท Witchcraft Heights Elementary, Salem MA
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“This book has many ingredients to help get kids excited about reading and I recommend it highly.”
Rebecca Belleau
GR3 Teacher ยท Longley Elementary, Lewiston ME
Trusted by schools nationwide
Educators can’t stop talking about Jeff Nathan
Before the books, Jeff spent years visiting schools across the U.S. Here’s what teachers, principals & reading specialists said about his author programs.
โ โ โ โ โ Consistently glowing feedback from teachers, principals, superintendents & reading specialists at schools across the country.
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Dr. Marc Kerble
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“The best presentations I’ve seen in our school system”
Asst. Superintendent ยท Winchester Public Schools, MA Educator ยท school visit
“Funny, informative, inspiring โ and the kids LOVED them. I’m anxious to bring these programs to the rest of the district.”
K
Kellie Ruggles
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“Worth every penny โ kids dragged their parents in”
Reading Specialist ยท Ruggles Lane Elementary, Barre MA Educator ยท school visit
“Anyone who can hold a couple hundred 5โ7 year-olds for 45 minutes is worth every penny. The students went home and dragged their parents to the night program โ just like you said they would.”
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Mary Hill
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“Students begged to write poems”
Principal ยท Grinnell Elementary, Derry NH Educator ยท school visit
“Our students went back to class and begged their teachers to let them write poems.”
A
Ann L. Freitag
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“Mr. Rogers, the Three Stooges & Shakespeare”
Principal ยท Hinsdale Elementary, Hinsdale NH Educator ยท school visit
“A blend of the genuine innocence of Mr. Rogers, the slapstick comedy of the Three Stooges, and the intellectual drama of Shakespeare.”
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Kristine O. Murray
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“Sensational โ the students were captivated”
Media Enrichment Specialist ยท Richard Maghakian Memorial, Brookline NH Educator ยท school visit
“Truly captivated the students. As one of them put it best: ‘You Rock!’ Jeff, you were sensational.”
C
Connie Brown
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“The most purposeful programs we’ve had”
Principal ยท Randolph Howell Elementary, Columbia TN Educator ยท school visit
“The most productive, effective, purposeful set of programs we have had.”
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Vicki Blazejowski
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“More educational than I expected”
Editor ยท PTO Ideas Educator review
“Your program was fantastic โ much more educational than I expected, and very creative. I can absolutely recommend you first-hand.”
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Kathy Overington
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“A waiting list of kids lining up to read”
PTSA President ยท Germantown Central School, NY Educator ยท school visit
“The students thoroughly enjoyed his poetry. We even ordered extra copies for the school and town libraries to handle the waiting list of students in line to check them out.”
๐โจ
See them light up when they realize they’re the hero
Make them the hero in seconds โ and watch reading turn into the part of the day they actually ask for.
Instant access ยท Phone, tablet or computer ยท Made for them at checkout