Emil and the Detectives
Author: Erich Kästner
Illustrator: Walter Trier
Publisher: Vintage Children's Classics
Translator: Eileen Hall
Emil is robbed on the train on his way to Berlin to visit his grandmother. He joins up with a gang of children and they work together to apprehend the thief. First published in the 1930s, this book in which quick-witted children foil the grown-ups has influenced many detective stories since.