60 Sherlock Holmes Books with Fun Activities for Kids

If your older students love detective and mystery stories they will love reading all of the Sherlock Holmes books. Check out the full list of books as well as free worksheets and activities to add to any novel.

Who is Sherlock Holmes?

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character created by author, Arthur Conan Doyle. He is probably one of the most popular detectives ever written about. His character is well known around the world for his deductive reasoning skills and his ability to sort through very complex clues to solve a crime. He is one of the most famous private eyes!

How Many Sherlock Holmes Stories are there?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 4 novels and 56 short stories about Sherlock Holmes and all are based in London, England:

4 Sherlock Holmes Novels

• A Study In Scarlet (1887)
• The Sign of the Four (1890)
• The Hounds of Baskervilles (1902)
• The Valley of Fear (1917)

56 Sherlock Holmes Short Stories

There are five short story collections of Holmes stories put together in the following order:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)

• A Scandal in Bohemia
• The Red-Headed League
• A Case of Identity
• The Boscombe Valley Mystery
• The Five Orange Pips
• The Main with the Twisted Lip
• The Blue Carbuncle
• The Adventure of the Speckled Band
• The Engineer’s Thumb
• The Novel Bachelor
• The Beryl Coronet
• The Copper Beeches

2. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1893)

• Silver Blaze
• The Yellow Face
• The Stockbroker’s Clerk
• The “Gloria Scott”
• The Musgrave Ritual
• The Reigate Squire
• The Crooked Man
• The Resident Patient
• The Greek Interpreter
• The Naval Treaty
• The Final Problem

3. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)

• The Empty House
• The Norwood Builder
• The Dancing Men
• The Solitary Cyclist
• The Priory School
• Black Peter
• Charles Augustus Milverton
• The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
• The Three Students
• The Golden Pince-Nez
• The Abbey Grange
• The Second Stain
• The Bruce-Partington Plans

4. His Last Bow (1917)

• Wisteria Lodge
• The Cardboard Box
• The Red Circle
• The Bruce-Partington Plans (Also in The Return of Sherlock Holmes)
• The Dying Detective
• The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
• His Last Bow

5. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927)

• The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
• The Blanched Soldier
• The Marazin Stone
• The Three Gables
• The Problem of Thor Bridge
• The Creeping Man
• The Lion’s Mane
• Shoscombe Old Place
• The Retired Colourman
• The Veiled Lodger
• The Sussex Vampire
• The Three Garridebs

Where Can I Find the Sherlock Homes Stories for Free?

Doyle wrote these stories from 1887 to 1927 so all of them are available for free in the public domain. Most libraries also carry most if not all of the books to check out for free. If you would like a physical copy for your personal collection, however, you can find them all on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore.

Which Sherlock Holmes Book to Start With?

We recommend that kiddos should be at least upper elementary to middle school (ages 11-12) to start reading any of the Sherlock Holmes books.

Here are 6 of the short and more easy-to follow stories. These will introduce kids to Holmes’ deductive reasoning without violent scenes. All of them can be found in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes :

• The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle – A Christmas mystery goose and a stolen gem.
• The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb – A young man narrowly escapes a deadly jolt
• A Scandal in Bohemia – Holmes is bested while retrieving a royal photo.
• The Red-Headed League – A strange job posting hides an attempted bank robbery.
• The Adventure of the Speckled Band – A woman’s death leads to a venomous clue.
• The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet – A banker’s son is wrongly accused of stealing jewels.

We recommend waiting for the rest of the Holmes tales until the teenage years due to more difficult vocabulary as well as subject material.

Fun Sherlock Holmes Activities for Kids

To get you started with Sherlock Holmes, we’ve create some worksheets and fun activities to go with the first book on our recommended reading list:

More Sherlock Holmes Worksheets

If your children want to learn more about Sherlock Holmes or to do a unit study on detectives, I have compiled a list of resources and printables for you to use in your homeschool lessons from across the internet. Read about the history of Sherlock Holmes HERE.

• Who is Sherlock Holmes video for grades 7-12
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Comprehension Questions
• The Game is Afoot A Study of Sherlock Holmes 
• Sherlock Holmes Characterization Worksheet
• Hound of the Baskervilles Quiz
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Worksheets 
• Learn about Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Adventure of the Speckled Band Word Search Freebie
• The Red Headed League Word Search Freebie
• Sherlock Holmes Active and Passage Worksheet
• Sherlock Holmes Prose to Drama Worksheet
• Sherlock Holmes Coloring Page
• Sherlock Holmes Literature Notebooking Pages
• The Hound of the Baskervilles Worksheet
• How to Draw Sherlock Holmes
• How to Make a Sherlock Holmes Paper Hat

Websites about Sherlock Holmes

The Sherlock Holmes Museum Library has a page full of links on Sherlock Holmes where you can read about cases, do a word search, literary information, history of the Metropolitan Police, view Sherlock Holmes stamps of the world and much more!

• Discovering Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes has an author biography page and free Sherlock Holmes Adventures downloadable short stories.
  
• The Sherlock Holmes Memorabilia Company  is a website where you can view vintage Sherlock Holmes collectibles, as well as learn about the history of Sherlock Holmes.
  
• Sherlockian is devoted to everything Sherlock Holmes. There is so much information on this site. You can learn about all of the original stories, learn about Holmes and Watson, and Victorian England. You can learn about all of the different tv shows, games and merchandise. There is even a complete page devoted to Teaching Sherlock Holmes.

Final Thoughts

The Sherlock Holmes Books are a great way to introduce your older kids to mystery, intrigue, deductive reasoning, complex characters and challenging vocabulary. We hope you’ll grab a book to check them out today. It’s elementary, my dear Watson! ????