I've been getting back to my Sherlock Holmes since the new movie came out (loved loved loved loved it!) and noticed that some of the techniques Mr. Holmes employs were oddly familiar.
Now I know my Holmes fascination is a newer one so where had I seen this before? Then it came to me Encyclopedia Brown! I used to devour these when I was a kid. It follows the same premise as Sherlock Holmes, a super observant guy solves cases both large and small by paying attention to often overlooked details. The books take this and sets it in Idaville USA, and instead of a coke snorting, melancholy, manic depressive, the hero is a ten-year old boy Leroy Brown aka Encyclopedia Brown. My favorite thing about these books growing up was they gave you a chance to solve the mystery before turning to the solution. I used to spend forever trying to puzzle it out without cheating :-) I remember once I actually did solve the case before reading the solution and was over the moon happy. These are really amazing books, the stories/cases are pretty short so even non-readers can get through them fairly easily. There are several cases per book so it stays pretty interesting. Now I can't wait until my nephews are a little older so I can start getting these for them. 
Also on the Holmsian side of things is the show Psych, which I am in love with. It once again stars an extremely observant guy who passes himself off as a psychic, along with his pharmaceutical rep (instead of a doctor) sidekick. Psych follows a more modern approach being set in present day with the Santa Barbra police department, but the premise is still very similar to that of Sherlock Holmes stories.
What do you think, does Encyclopedia Brown count as Sherlock Holmes Jr.? Am I reaching really far on the Psych/Holmes comparison 'cause I just really love the show? What other things have been based on the same premise?
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