by Donald J. Sobol
I got to learn more new things in this one: I learned what ambergris is, I learned it's possible to get birds drunk by feeding them fermented berries (hah! hilarioius chapter!) and I learned that worm fiddling is a real thing and was an actual sport-like event once upon a time. Oh, the obscure fact...
I recommend Encyclopedia Brown. I was 8 when I first encountered this series. I loved it. It was recommended by a boy that I liked. What I liked about these books is that it taught me how to think before making wild guesses. Each book had several cases which were easy to read and follow for a c...