Detective Riddles: 25 Mini Mysteries for Kids with Answers

The team’s soccer trophy vanished from the clubhouse shelf. Coach was at a meeting across town all morning. Jake says, “Wasn’t me! I just got back from swimming practice.” His hair is perfectly dry, and so is the towel over his shoulder. Who is the prime suspect?

Someone used up all of Zara’s gold glitter. Ben was building a train track, Ava was drawing with pencils, and Leo says he was “just washing his hands.” When Zara looks closer, the sleeve of Leo’s sweater is sparkling. Who took the glitter?

Someone kicked over Noah’s sandcastle at the beach. A line of footprints runs from the ruined castle straight into the sea. Mia is reading under an umbrella, Omar is asleep on his towel, and Kira is just walking out of the waves, dripping wet. Who knocked the castle over?

Purple crayon scribbles have appeared on the living room wall, but only down low, no higher than a grown-up’s knee. Big sister Emma is 12, Grandpa is visiting, and baby Theo just learned to walk. Who is the artist?

A trail of red yarn runs from Grandma’s knitting basket, across the rug and under the bed, where it ends in a giant tangle. The suspects are Bubbles the goldfish, Kiwi the parrot, who was locked in her cage all day, and Pickle the kitten. Who made the mess?

The power was out all evening, and in the morning the last slice of pie is gone. Nina says, “I was reading by flashlight in my room.” Pete says, “I was asleep by seven.” Sam says, “I watched TV all evening.” Who is fibbing?

It snowed all night, and by breakfast a snowman has appeared in the front yard. There is just one set of footprints: small boots with a star pattern, going from the front door to the snowman and back. Dad wears big work boots, Lucy has star-patterned rain boots, and the neighbor never came over. Who built the snowman?

Someone took a bite out of the cheese in the fridge. The bite mark has a gap in the middle, right where a front tooth should be. This week Tia lost a front tooth, Jack got braces, and Dad hasn’t lost a tooth since he was little. Who had a sneaky snack?

Grandpa is sure someone has hidden his glasses. He has searched every room, and now he sits down to read the tiny print in the newspaper to calm down, and he reads it with no trouble at all. Where are his glasses?

Dad hid a birthday cake in a closed box on top of the fridge. Later he finds a fingerprint in the frosting. When he asks the kids, Lucas says, “Don’t look at me, I don’t even like blue frosting!” Why does Dad look straight at Lucas?

During the night, someone crept into the backyard and picked every ripe strawberry. Rex the dog barks at every stranger, but the family slept soundly: not a single woof. The suspects are a jogger passing by, a new neighbor Rex has never met, and cousin Ben, who is staying with the family. Who picked the strawberries?

Mom hears a video game playing long after bedtime. When she gets upstairs, the screen is off. Ollie is snoring loudly. Ivy calls out, “I’ve been fast asleep for hours, Mom!” Who was playing?

On a scorching day at the beach, someone took a chocolate bar from the cooler. Three kids are eating chocolate bars. Pia’s is soft and gooey, and so is Kai’s. Hugo says he bought his at the shop an hour ago and kept it in his pocket, but his bar is cold and rock-hard. Who raided the cooler?

Someone knocked over the fishbowl, and wet paw prints lead away from the puddle. Every print shows little claw marks at the tips of the toes. The suspects are Mittens the cat and Rufus the dog. Who did it?

Mrs. Kay’s kite was stolen at the park. Wes says, “I saw the thief at exactly noon. I know it was noon because his shadow was the longest I’ve ever seen, stretching right across the field.” Why doesn’t the detective believe Wes?

Lily’s lemonade money went missing. Ray says, “I remember exactly when I last saw it: the evening of June 31st.” Why is Lily suspicious?

On a freezing morning, the potted plant in the school hallway is knocked over and damp soil is spilled everywhere. Finn arrives with mud splashed on his trousers and says, “I splashed through puddles on the way to school.” But every puddle on the street has been frozen solid since last night. Who is the prime suspect?

The goldfish is round as a ball, and the fish food says “one pinch a day.” Mom says, “I fed him at breakfast.” Dad says, “I fed him at lunch.” Kit says, “I fed him after school.” Nobody is lying. What happened?

Someone tore the page with the treasure map out of the library book. The map was printed on page 17. Eli says, “I did tear out a page, but only page 18, the one after the map!” Why is the librarian sure Eli has the map?

One of Amy, Noel and Cal ate the last cupcake. The cupcake thief is lying, and the other two are telling the truth. Amy says, “Noel did it.” Noel says, “I didn’t do it.” Cal says, “Amy didn’t do it.” Who ate the cupcake?

One of Dan, Eva and Gus broke the vase, and only one of the three is telling the truth. Dan says, “Eva did it.” Eva says, “Dan is lying.” Gus says, “I didn’t do it.” Who broke the vase?

Mr. Plum calls the police: “A burglar smashed my shed window to get in and stole my new bike!” The detective finds the window broken, but all the broken glass is lying on the grass outside the shed. Why does she think Mr. Plum isn’t telling the whole story?

Snow fell from 8 pm until 10 pm. In the morning, the snowman’s carrot nose is gone. Rob says, “I went out at 9 pm to check on the snowman, and the carrot was already missing.” The only footprints around the snowman are Rob’s, and they are crisp and sharp, with no fresh snow inside them. Why is Rob’s story wrong?

Uncle Ted says he couldn’t have eaten Grandma’s fruitcake last Christmas because “I spent Christmas Day in Sydney, Australia, building a snowman on the beach.” Why doesn’t Grandma believe him?

Someone wrote “Ms. Reed loves broccoli ice cream” on the class whiteboard. Every word is smudged the way writing gets when a hand slides across it while it’s still fresh. Ravi writes with his left hand, and Sue and Tom write with their right. Who wrote the message?