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2[[quoteright:277:[[Manga/CaseClosed https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conan_hinata.png]]]]
3[[caption-width-right:277:Hey, wait... Those are my footprints.]]
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5
6A character type that's popular with children's mysteries and adventures that contain mystery elements.
7
8The Kid Detective is part SnoopingLittleKid, part AmateurSleuth. This kid lives to snoop, but also sometimes to ask questions of the suspicious adults or those who may have seen or heard something important, and try to piece together what happened.
9
10There are some notable differences between the Kid Detective and adult detectives, however, that make the Kid Detective a unique character. For example, while an adult can go straight to the authorities with evidence, a kid often [[NotNowKiddo has difficulty convincing adults of what they experienced]]. Hence, the kid often has to let the adults know what's going on in a roundabout way, or expose it somehow. Sometimes the kid is in fact trusted by detectives, and can go to them directly.
11
12Oftentimes the kid snoops and investigates without adults knowing. This presents many obstacles, such as finding out how to investigate not only without getting caught by the criminal, but also without getting in trouble with parents or authority figures. If the kid does get in trouble, additional restrictions are placed, meaning the kid now has to sneak outside to do any more investigating.
13
14The Kid Detective tends to be more adventure-oriented than the adult detective, meaning that there's often more emphasis on snooping and less emphasis on, say, interrogating or asking questions. Heck, kids can't interrogate suspects anyway, so asking questions to trick the suspect into revealing something is more likely. Also, due to the greater emphasis on snooping and sneaking, getting captured is a bigger threat, resulting in the kid getting BoundAndGagged and having to either break free, attract help, or be freed by a fellow Kid Detective. However, the kid detective is more often pitted against a HarmlessVillain, thus avoiding the violence and genuine life or death situations that would surely be part of the adult detective's life.
15
16This trope was a mainstay in the heyday of the SaturdayMorningCartoon like ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' and its various imitations; it allowed for dramatic conflict, but focused on characters using their intelligence rather than force to solve problems.
17
18If the Kid Detective comes from a detecting family, odds are they are a BornDetective. One who regularly wears a fedora and trenchcoat is probably trying to be a HardboiledDetective. Subtrope of ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement.
19----
20!!Examples
21[[foldercontrol]]
22[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
23* Azuki in ''Manga/AzukiChan'' has to become a detective for a single anime episode[[note]]Season 2 episode 63[[/note]] to find the whereabouts of her classmate, Ken.
24* ''Manga/CaseClosed'':
25** Conan Edogawa is a 17-year-old [[FountainOfYouth de-aged down to seven]]. Since everyone thinks he's seven, he has to find ways of cluing adults in disguised as being a nosy seven-year-old.
26** There's also Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko, the "Detective Boys" ("Shounen Tantei Dan"). As they're ''actual'' kids themselves, they aren't quite up to snuff as true Kid Detectives yet. They ''do'' try, though.
27* ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' is a variation in which three out of the FourGirlEnsemble detectives have super-powers. Toyed with in that two of the girls are actually official law enforcement personnel.
28* ''Manga/CLAMPSchoolDetectives'' tells the adventures of the Elementary School Student-board, solving cases and easing the life of all kinds of women.
29* ''Manga/DeathNote'': The kids from Wammy's House seem to have shades of this, being a group of orphan geniuses raised to find the kid that will one day become [[spoiler:L's successor]]. Near, especially, seems to fit early on, with his childish appearance and love of toys. He is, however, taken perfectly seriously by the authorities, if considered a tad unorthodox.
30* At least one episode of ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' has Nobita becoming Sherlock Nobita and using the Sherlock Holmes Kit to solve a mystery.
31* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasSecretGadgetMuseum''have Doraemon's prized collar bell being stolen by a master thief named Kaito DX, so Nobita decides to play detective with Doraemon's Sherlock Kit to huntdown the elusive thief who's going to strike at a futuristic museum next. Most of the movie revolves around Sherlock Nobita's attempts to uncover Kaito DX's true identity and backstory.
32%%* ''Manga/FutureDiary'': Aru Akise is introduced as a ''Kid Detective''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; how does he actually fit the trope beyond the title?)
33* The obscure OVA ''Girl Detective Club'' would be about this trope focusing on three private school girls, Yuriko, Shizuka, and Midori... except beyond the title [[NonIndicativeTitle no club is actually mentioned]] and the only mystery the girls solve concerns Midori's disappearance. It turns out she was abducted by the school chairman so he could steal some kind of war machine hidden in her family's mansion and then use it to take over the world. But then Yuriko and Shizuka accidentally find it, turn it on, and obliviously pave a swath of destruction through the city on their way to rescue Midori. It's a... very weird piece of animation.
34* ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'': Azusa's younger sister Makoto is in her high school's detective club and manages to solve her sister's kidnapping with uncanny speed.
35* ''Anime/HelloSandybelle'': The titular Sandybelle. When thieves steal important from items Mr. Ronwood's office, her and Oliver work together to find the culprit, and she's also an IntrepidReporter that ousts drug organizations in the country.
36* Hajime Kindaichi and Miyuki Nanase from ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'' are 17-year-old amateur sleuths, with Hajime solving crimes [[BornDetective in the name of his grandfather,]] who was a famous Japanese detective.
37* ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII'' has Baranco, a one-episode character who's the son of the famous Series/{{Columbo}}. The entire police force is willing to follow his plans.
38* ''Manga/MajinTanteiNougamiNeuro'' is a subversion. Although [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Yako]] is supposed to be the leader of the detective agency (and she is billed as such), Neuro is the one doing all the detective work and is using her as a front. Later on, it ''is'' hinted that Yako is actually a semi-competent detective on her own, though.
39%%* ''Manga/MythicalDetectiveLokiRagnarok'' has Loki from mythology as an apparent kid detective, though he's ReallySevenHundredYearsOld. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what sort of detective work does he do?)
40%%* Fuyuki from ''Manga/SgtFrog'' ends up acting in this capacity in a few episodes of the anime. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
41* Narutaki from ''Manga/SteamDetectives'', son of Steam City's greatest detective and a child genius.
42* In the ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}! Yume Kira Dream'' episode "[[Recap/TamagotchiYKDEpisode25 Happy Birthday! What Gift Should We Get!?]]", the Dream School students Yumemitchi and Kiraritchi are briefly transformed into detectives by the [[TransformationTrinket Yume Kira bags]] and use their detective skills to help Mametchi and his other friends repair a broken coffee machine. The detective girls find a lightbulb logo in the broken pieces of the machine and trace it to Righttchi's father, Paparighttchi.
43* The aptly named "Sleuth Brigade" from ''Manga/TheVoynichHotel'' try to be this, but fail frequently, as they are constantly bogged down by their own issues and the usual weirdness doesn't make any attempt to conceal itself.
44* Inaho aka [[DubNameChange Hailey Anne]] from ''Anime/YokaiWatch'' is an eleven-year-old Yo-kai Watch holder. She runs a {{youkai}}-centric detective agency alongside her SignatureMon Usapyon.
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Asian Animation]]
48* In the ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' season ''The Little Detective'', goat kid Weslie becomes a detective and solves mysteries.
49* Samosa, the boy hero of ''Animation/SimpleSamosa'', briefly takes on the job of a detective in the episode "[[Recap/SimpleSamosaEpisode7TuttiFrutti Tutti Frutti]]" to search for Tutti Frutti. He even wears a detective hat and carries a magnifying glass at first.
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Comic Books]]
53* Darkly deconstructed in Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Albion}}'', which hints at what happens to your typical kid detective, especially those with adult arch-enemies. Ian Eagleton, the warden of Albion, was once known as "Eagle-Eye, Junior Spy" (a popular British comic strip from the 50's), and far from the light-hearted adventures this trope usually follows, his experiences traumatized him, especially the monstrous Grimly Fiendish. As a result, as an adult, Eagleton turned traitor and helped the British government imprison all superhuman or otherwise extraordinary people, villains or not, to keep them from upsetting the status quo of post-war Britain.
54%%* ''The Dead Boy Detectives'' are ''permanent'' kid detectives for, you know, obvious reasons. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what sort of detective work do they do?)
55* The lead characters of ''ComicBook/GothamAcademy'' are a small group of high school freshmen and sophomores who go around investigating mysteries and form a Detective Club.
56* Cat Curio in ''ComicBook/HackSlash'' is a deconstruction when she's first introduced, showing what it would really be like for a preteen to stick her nose in murder cases. She's extremely observant and ingenuous, but the police find her anything but helpful, she seems to have no concept of danger, and her snooping almost gets her killed. Instead of dying, she gets put in a coma for 13 years. When she awakes, she returns to her work as a detective and starts her own agency, but obviously she still has the mind of a 12-year-old autistic girl.
57* ''ComicBook/KidSherlock'': The titular child detective is Sherlock Holmes, who investigates strange goings-on at Baker Elementary School.
58* Tubby from ''ComicStrip/LittleLulu'' occasionally acts as one, whenever Lulu needs his help with a problem at her house.
59* In ''ComicBook/{{Revolutionaries}}'', Mike Power, the Atomic Man of the G.I. Joe Adventure Team, is revealed to have worked as kid detective Mighty Mikey Power with his dog Smarts. In fact, one of his cases was the inciting incident that led to the creation of his atomic limbs.
60* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Tim Drake was a detective at an early age, sneaking around Gotham with a camera and using subtle clues to put together big secrets like ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s identity. His training for becoming Robin leads to him becoming an even more effective one.
61* Parodied with Young Jack Black in ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'', who is an extreme-right-wing {{Jerkass}} who often inflicts DisproportionateRetribution on people who, in some cases, weren't even doing anything legally or morally wrong.
62* ''Creator/EdBrubaker'' and Marcos Martin's "Friday" takes place in a world modeled on the "kid detective mystery solving" genre, but has a more supernatural spin to its suspense, and follows the kid detective's more atheletic sidekick as a protagonist, rather than the detective himself.
63* "Mizz Marble" in ''Comicbook/WhizzerAndChips'' is a young girl who believes herself to be a brilliant detective and sometimes turns out to be right. Her competency level is extremely DependingOnTheWriter, but in general, if there ''is'' a mystery she'll solve it; her CluelessDetective traits mostly come out when her determination to solve mysteries means she invents ones that aren't there.
64[[/folder]]
65
66[[folder:Comic Strips]]
67* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': In one arc, Jason and Marcus become kid detectives, using the name "Encyclopedias Brown and White". As with most of their schemes, this one goes off the rails.
68* ''ComicStrip/MaxFinderMystery'': Max and Alison are seventh graders who solve mysteries.
69* In ''ComicStrip/ThisModernWorld'', the RecurringCharacter "Conservative Jones, Internet Detective" is an ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown'' parody who constantly takes right-wing memes and claims at face value, no matter how false or absurd they are. His BeleagueredAssistant Moonbat tries to [[OnlySaneMan talk some sense]] into his boss, who [[BadBoss dismisses him with contemptuous condescension]].
70[[/folder]]
71
72
73[[folder:Fan Works]]
74* The ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'' features Mike Harris, a boy at Elm Street Middle School who likes to snoop on things [[spoiler:and may be on the road to learning Danielle's secret]].
75%%* In the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' fic ''Fanfic/HomeIsWhereTheHauntIs'', Mr. Mason is quick to make fun of Dipper for trying to be one. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; how is he trying to be one?)
76* ''Fanfic/TheSimpsonsTeamLASH'': Simon Skinner-Chalmers. He wants to be a detective when he grows up, and seems to have a natural affinity for solving mysteries, as seen in "The Heiress Diaries".
77* ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'':
78** [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Apple Bloom]] tags along Twilight in her investigation at one point. She doesn't do much proper investigation, but she does make Twilight stumble upon several pieces of evidence, and has a moment of useful {{Genre Savvy}}ness.
79** Scootaloo ''tries'' to do this, but she just picks up some random junk as her "evidence", and doesn't show up until after the Judge has handed down his final verdict anyway.
80[[/folder]]
81
82[[folder:Film]]
83* ''Clubhouse Detectives'', about a group of kids who work together to solve the murder of an opera writer's wife.
84* ''Film/EnolaHolmes'' and its [[Film/EnolaHolmes2 sequel]] adapt the eponymous books and follow Sherlock Holmes' 16 year old sister Enola as she investigates the disappearance of their mother Eudoria and a political conspiracy.
85* ''Film/KidDetective2020'' is, as the title suggests, about a kid detective who grew into an adult PrivateDetective. Abe is a close approximation of ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown'', who gained fame for minor crimes but was unable to do anything significant as an adult.
86* ''Film/MysteryTeam'' is a {{Parody}} of this character type. The main characters solved minor mysteries around the neighborhood as kids, and even became locally famous after solving a few real mysteries. Now 18-year-olds on the verge of graduating high school, they're immature {{Man Child}}ren still stuck in their past as kid detectives. In order to prove that they can be real detectives they take on a little girl's case to solve the double homicide of her parents.
87* ''Film/YoungSherlockHolmes'' speculates on what might have happened if Holmes and Watson had first encountered each other as schoolboys; namely, that they solve a mystery together at their boarding school.
88[[/folder]]
89
90[[folder:Literature]]
91* ''Literature/TwentySixSixtySix'': Lalo Cura spends so much time studying old procedural handbooks that he points out flaws in the officers' investigation of a crime scene.
92* ''Literature/AdventuresOnTrains'' has Hal, whose powers of observation and drawing skills cause his friend Mason to dub him "Sherlock Da Vinci", much to his embarrassment. He's eleven in the first book.
93* Parodied with Malicia in Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'', who likes to think of herself as one of these, but is really just an obnoxious know-it-all who's not quite GenreSavvy enough.
94* Walter "Ramses" Emerson from the ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' series, the son of Egyptologists and incidental detectives Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson, is an example (a master of disguise among other things) until, over the course of the series, he grows up. He eventually gets married and produces his own frighteningly precocious children. His mother feels it serves him right. Note that in the following passage, rescuing his parents, Ramses is about eight or nine:
95-->"Now, Mama, Papa, and sir," said Ramses, "please withdraw to the farthest corner and crouch down with your backs turned. It is as I feared: we will never break through by this method. The walls are eight feet thick. Fortunately I brought along a little nitroglycerine--"\
96"Oh, good Gad," shrieked Inspector Cuff.
97* ''Literature/AngiesFirstCase'': Angie Zane is a twelve-year-old Floridan who (aided by her friend Jess) is looking around town for clues about a local group of burglars so that her police officer sister Kit can be the one to arrest them. In the process, she learns that there is more than one mystery in her hometown, though, and that some of them involve some very clever and/or menacing people.
98* Alan Coren's ''Literature/ArthurTheBoyDetective'', who lives at 221A Baker Street and constantly shows up his [[Literature/SherlockHolmes downstairs neighbour]].
99%%* Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose in the ''Literature/AToZMysteries'' series. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
100%%* There was an entire spinoff ''Mystery'' series of ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' based on this trope. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
101* ''The Baker Street Irregulars'' by Creator/TerranceDicks is about a Literature/SherlockHolmes fan who ([[YouMeddlingKids with the help of his school friends]]) solve crimes. The first mystery he only takes on after the school bully dares him to, but he finds that he's actually quite good at it.
102%%* ''Literature/TheBoxcarChildren'': The titular siblings, Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
103%%* The title character in Joe Meno's book ''Literature/TheBoyDetectiveFails'' is a deconstruction of what this trope might become when they enter adulthood. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what does he become?)
104* Brains Benton and Jimmy Carson from the ''Literature/BrainsBentonMysteries'' series from the late 50s and early 60s solve six cases (preserved by Whitman Publishing) in their hometown of Crestwood, [[FlyoverCountry somewhere in Middle America]]. Brains himself is a strong SherlockHomage, and possibly (for his age) even a better scientific detective. Jimmy is his Watson both as a sidekick and, unusually for these types of stories, as the POV chronicler of the cases.
105%%* ''Literature/CalendarMysteries''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
106* ''Literature/CamJansen'' is an elementary schooler who uses her PhotographicMemory to remember exact details and use them to solve crimes.
107%%** The same author has a boy character named Literature/JefferyBones with his own series. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
108%%* ''Literature/CapitolMysteries''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
109* Some of the ''Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure'' books feature kid detectives and their adventures, e.g., ''Mystery of Ura Senke'' features an American pre-teen who has solved cases in the past; they move to Japan with their family and is contacted by their best friend Kenichi, whose brother is a student in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urasenke Ura Senke tea ceremony school]], to find [[MacGuffin the school's most valuable tea bowl]], which has been stolen ''and'' is worth millions of yen.
110* Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Literature/CrookedHouse'': Twelve-year-old Josephine investigates the murder of her grandfather, using her naturally snoopy nature to provide clues that the outsiders to the family never manage to find. [[spoiler:However, it then turns out that she's the ''murderer'', having decided to kill her grandfather over [[DisproportionateRetribution his not getting her ballet lessons]]. She had decided to investigate the murder to get further attention from her family and the police. The subversion naturally comes from the fact that readers had been led to believe she was a genuine Kid Detective, before we find out what was really going on.]]
111* A group of four young carnival freaks, [[GoodWithNumbers Thomas]] the {{contortionist}}, [[DefrostingIceQueen Max]] the [[ImprobableAimingSkills knife thrower]], [[GentleGiant Sam]] the [[SuperStrength world's strongest boy]], and [[OracularUrchin Pippa]] the [[{{Telepathy}} mentalist]], solving the occasional murder mystery is the basis of the ''Literature/CuriosityHouse'' series. Even if the PoliceAreUseless, the kids will try to let the authorities do their job unless a friend or the tourist trap where they live and work hangs in the balance.
112%%* ''Literature/TheDanaGirls''.
113%%* Nick Diamond, brother of the [[LordErrorProne incompetent]] Tim Diamond in the ''Literature/DiamondBrothers'' series by Creator/AnthonyHorowitz. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
114* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': Greg's neighbor Pervis Gentry solves neighborhood crimes (most of which are committed by the same delinquent) from his treehouse.
115* Creator/KimNewman's ''Literature/DiogenesClub'' stories:
116** Richard Riddle, Boy Detective, who features in "Literature/TheGypsiesInTheWood" and "The Case of the French Spy", is along the Enid Blyton model, starting out by solving mysteries for the neighbours and then levelling up to foiling kidnappers and murderers with his chums on their summer holidays. A surprisingly non-deconstructed example by Newman's standards, apart from the inevitable discovery that he's in a CosmicHorrorStory, and his sudden realisation that he's not sure what smugglers are actually ''smuggling''.
117** A darker, deconstructed version appears in "Literature/ClublandHeroes" with Richard "Clever Dick" Cleaver; he's an off-the-scale detective genius who, unlike the more pleasant and engaging Richard Riddle (whom, ironically, his parents named him after), is also a snide, stuck-up, and humourless little snot. [[spoiler:And then when he appears in "Literature/ColdSnap" following the ignominious end of his child-detecting career, he's let bitterness warp him into a genocidal maniac.]]
118* Jill Pinkwater's ''Literature/TheDisappearanceOfSisterPerfect'' has [[MeaningfulName Sherelee Holmes]], who, after deducing that her runaway sister has joined a cult, poses as a rich teenager several years older than herself and infiltrates the organization.
119* Towards the end of ''Literature/DisgustingMcGrossface'', the boy holds up a magnifying glass and declares that he's going to look for clues. [[spoiler:Subverted, in that he was just lying.]]
120* In the late 50s and early 60s, Andy Blair and Willie Perkins appeared in several stories in ''Magazine/ElleryQueensMysteryMagazine'', later collected in the Weekly Reader Book Club volume ''Andy & Willie: Super Sleuths''. Unlike some of their contemporaries, their hometown of Wakanda is located in a specific state -- Indiana -- and, also unlike most contemporaries, their stories work both as mysteries for kids and as sly humor for adults.
121%%* ''Literature/EmilAndTheDetectives'' has about 50 kid detectives. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
122* ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown''. Notable here is the fact that his father is a police officer who knows of his son's activities, and is somewhat embarrassed that the smartest detective in town is a fifth-grader.
123* ''Literature/EnolaHolmes'': Enola is the much younger sister of Literature/SherlockHolmes. At only 14, she is able to live independently, establish a successful detective business through a lot of misdirection, and elude her brothers' best efforts to capture her until they wise up about her.
124* Played with in an ''Literature/EspMcgee'' book where the book's kid [[TheWatson Watson]] decides to personally visit the home when the kid suspect is out to get some information. As it happens, he barely manages to excuse himself when the suspect and his menacing father arrive home early. Afterward, the terrifying experience weighs so much on him that he confesses to his parents what he was up to. His alarmed parents give him a firm lecture about taking such risks, but playfully then suggest that since he's done it, he might as well contact Mcgee to give his report, which proves to crack the case.
125%%* Creator/EnidBlyton's ''Literature/TheFamousFive''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
126%%* ''Literature/FiveFindOuters''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
127* ''Literature/FlaviaDeLuce'' is a great example. Every novel is about her investigating a new case that's usually tangled up with a long, obscure past of the people involved. She's eleven, later twelve, years old in the novels. She also has some MadScientist tendencies that lead to her being an eleven-year-old expert on poisons.
128%%* Parodied in the ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' novel ''Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Secret of the Grande Chateau''. The titular club consists of two 18-year-old boys who go by the names of J.J. and Valentine "Val" Watts. These are not their real names, and it is heavily implied that the two of them aren't even related. Also, the two are implied to have been heavily involved with criminal activity in their youth. Their third recruit, an 18-year-old girl named Trudi de la Rosa, is a straighter example. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what sort of actual detective work is involved?)
129* ''Literature/TheGreatBrain'' series by J.D. Fitzgerald: The Great Brain Himself, when there's a serious crime to solve. However, when there ''isn't'', the Great Brain is more likely to be swindling other kids out of their pocket change.
130* Natalia in the ''Literature/GreyGriffins'' series carries a notebook to write down clues and figure things out. She sometimes snoops around on her own and tries to discover things, separate from her group of friends. Through most of the story, she is more of an adventurer than a snoop, though she still is often the one to piece together clues.
131* Fletcher Moon in Creator/EoinColfer's ''Literature/HalfMoonInvestigations'' is a 12-year-old detective. Somewhat strange is that Fletcher is a certified Private Eye, as in certified in the US (he took an online course), even though he lives in Ireland, where Private Eyes don't need a licence.
132* ''Literature/TheHardyBoys'', who, at 17 and 18, are two of the oldest examples of "kid" detectives out there, though they were originally 15 and 16. They solve a variety of crimes, from thefts to sabotage to missing persons and sometimes even murder, often with the assistance of their friends. They're also examples of {{Born Detective}}s, since their father, Fenton Hardy, is a pretty famous GreatDetective; sometimes, he and his sons will turn out to be WorkingTheSameCase.
133* In the earlier ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books, Harry, Ron, and Hermione fit this pretty well, and this element runs through all the books. A big part of the books' structure (and their appeal) is that most of the plots are mysteries that they can solve ([[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone "What's hidden beneath the school?"]], [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets "who is Slytherin's heir?"]], [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire "who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire?"]], etc.), which is the main reason why three underage wizards can have any impact on the story at all.
134* ''Literature/InspectorTearle'' appears in five books from the late '60s and early '70s. He and his sidekicks, his athletic sister Shirley and his best friend "Thumbs" Thorndyke, solve cases from a treehouse headquarters in East Widmarsh, [[FlyoverCountry somewhere in Middle America]].
135* Ten-year-old [[CreepyChild Esmine]] plays this role in ''Literature/InTheSnowsOfHaz''. He's only one of several characters trying to solve the murders, though, and spends decent part of the plot locked in a room or running from bad guys. He does pretty well, all considered.
136* Justin Richards's ''Literature/TheInvisibleDetective'' novels are about a group of kids who claim to be "Baker Street Irregulars" to the non-existent Brandon Lake, because no-one would take them seriously as detectives themselves.
137* Creator/AstridLindgren's ''Kalle Blomkvist'', translated into English as ''Bill Bergson''. He's thirteen to fifteen in the books and played quite realistically. He has a hyperactive imagination but enough analytical skills and knowledge of real detective procedures (like taking fingerprints, and even chemically detecting arsenic) to find real evidence against them when he's finally confronted with real criminals. Together with his friends, he's also resourceful enough, and suitably experienced in pretend warfare of sorts against their friendly rivals, to make it through sticky situations involving dangerous adults.
138* Lasse and Maja from Swedish author Martin Widmark's ''[[PunnyName Lasse-Majas]] Detektivbyrå'' stories (30+ books, two TV series, multiple movies...). They have no trouble convincing the local chief of police of their findings -- while well-meaning and competent, he is still unable to solve any crime without their help, so...
139* Harriet from Creator/DonnaTartt's ''Literature/TheLittleFriend'', who plans on solving the decade-old case of her brother's murder. Deconstructed in that she has absolutely no bearing on what to do -- as nobody wants to discuss the murder as it practically destroyed the family -- and is acting like her favorite fictional heroes, getting herself and others into unrelated trouble. She goes entirely on hearsay and jumps to the utterly wrong conclusions while ending up [[spoiler:severely injuring an old woman by throwing a poisonous snake into her car (believing it to be driven by the murderer), accidentally killing one of her brother's friends (believing him to be the murderer with no evidence at all) and causing herself serious bodily harm, while "killing" said friend]]. She does accidentally stop illegal drug dealing without knowing that it's drug dealing.
140* In ''Literature/TheManyMysteriesOfTheFinkelFamily'', twelve-year-old Lara Finkel decides to become a detective. Most of her mysteries involve problems in her family.
141%%* ''Literature/MarcoFennertyJr'' had three adventures chronicled in the late 60s and early 70s. Like Encyclopedia Brown and the Hardys, Marco is the son of a police officer. Unlike those worthies, he operates not in FlyoverCountry, but in TheBigEasy and its southern Louisiana environs, the atmosphere of which is evoked quite vividly (though appropriately for the age group) in the stories. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what sort of detective work does he do, specifically?)
142* The ten-year-old members of ''Literature/TheMcGurkOrganization'', led by the clever if perhaps overly-impetuous Jack P. [=McGurk=].
143* The Blyton Hills Summer Detective Club, from ''Literature/MeddlingKids2017''. [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo They're a vaguely familiar group: One's the "good ol' boy" leader, one's the scared nerd, one's the brains of the outfit, one's the tomboy action girl, and one's their dog sidekick.]] Their last case was [[ScoobyDooHoax unmasking a crook dressed as a giant salamander menacing a lakeside mansion]]; however, the novel revolves them coming back years later and uncovering the very real supernatural monsters behind it. [[DeconReconSwitch And though things are played a lot more realistically than your typical example... they actually do a pretty good job.]]
144* ''Literature/MoonBaseAlpha'': Dashiell Gibson is the tween son of two scientists assigned to the eponymous moon base, which is about the size of a soccer field. Despite the SmallSecludedWorld nature of their home, the base hosts a murder, a disappearance, and an attempted murder, all of which Dash and his friend, newcomer Kira, must solve.
145* ''Literature/NancyDrew'': Nancy is a young but brilliant teenage girl who solves mysteries with the help of her two best friends and her understanding father.
146%%* Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's ''Literature/NateTheGreat''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
147* Partially deconstructed with Nickel of ''Literature/NickelPlated''. He's a MinorLivingAlone who has a DarkAndTroubledPast involving child pornography (and it's implied that [[spoiler:he may have killed the people responsible]]). He {{catfish|ing}}es pedophiles and sends their info to the FBI, and also grows and sells marijuana through a high-school middleman (who has never physically met him) for extra cash. The plot of the novel kicks off when a girl hires him to find her missing sister, and he uncovers a child trafficking ring.
148* ''Literature/NinaTanleven'': Nine and Chris, who are eleven years old. However, they only get involved in cases that also include ghosts.
149* Dwight of the ''Literature/OrigamiYoda'' series carries around an origami finger puppet of [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]] and [[ConsultingMisterPuppet gives people advice with it]]. Occasionally, he tries to help people without Origami Yoda, and when doing so, goes into Kid Detective mode. He imitates Literature/SherlockHolmes and speaks ''in a British accent''.
150* Flavia Gemini of ''Literature/TheRomanMysteries'' is a Kid Detective who solves mysteries and has adventures in UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire, referring to herself as a detective, or ''detectrix'' in the Latin. She is assisted by three friends and various adults.
151* ''Literature/ScarlettUndercover'': Scarlett is a fifteen-year-old PrivateDetective who solves crimes in her hometown.
152%%* ''Literature/TheSecretSeven''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
153* The ''Literature/ShirleyHolmes'' stories depict the exploits of [[Literature/SherlockHolmes a certain detective's]] sleuthing teenaged sister.
154%%* Paul-Jacques Bonzon's ''Literature/LesSixCompagnons'', the French counterparts of Enid Blyton's Kid Detective series. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; describe the series on its own terms)
155* ''Literature/{{Slacker}}'': Felicia Hochuli once engaged in a HeroOfAnotherStory rule-bending antics to prove that Jordan was innocent of writing graffiti on the bulletin board.
156* The title characters of Creator/ZilphaKeatleySnyder's loose series of books about ''Literature/TheStanleyFamily''. The concept is partly {{deconstruct|ion}}ed with ''Janie's Private Eyes'', where 8-year-old Janie ends up causing nothing but headache and trouble with her investigations.
157* ''Literature/AStudyInCharlotte'':
158** When he was little, Jamie Watson fantasized about solving mysteries with Charlotte Holmes and outwitting all the adults together, but his dream didn't come true until he was legally an adult.
159** Charlotte deconstructs this trope. She was trained from birth in the arts of deduction and solved mysteries when she was as young as 12, but she missed out on all the typical kid things, like candy, and friends, and learning what to do when someone's bullying you. Since she was homeschooled by her parents, college was her first time at regular school. She not only didn't really know how to interact with people or make friends, she also had no idea what to do when a boy started sexually harassing her and making violent threats. Jamie points out that her childhood ''sounds'' awesome, but was actually pretty lonely.
160* ''Literature/SugarCreekGang'': These evangelical Christian-themed books feature kid detectives solving mysteries and having wilderness adventures. And a lot of preaching.
161* The Detective Team KZ in ''Literature/TanteiTeamKZJikenNote'' is a group of seventh-grade {{Amateur Sleuth}}s.
162%%* The ''Literature/ThreeCousinsDetectiveClub'' series is one of these with [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin three cousins]]. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
163%%* Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Literature/TheThreeInvestigators'' are Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews, stars of a long-running multinational book series. Unusual in that it features a real-life individual, Mr. Hitchcock himself, as an introductory narrator for the first thirty books. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what sort of detective work do they do?)
164* ''Literature/{{TKKG}}'' falls into this category, combining it with a FiveManBand. Also the problem with the authorities is not that big since the father of one of the kids is with the police. And since in later books they also have a reputation for solving crime.
165* ''Literature/TrixieBelden'' (and the rest of the Bobwhites) are teen detectives in the Hudson Valley. Thanks to Trixie's rich best friend Honey Wheeler, they frequently go on trips and conveniently solve mysteries wherever they go.
166* The premise of the ''Literature/UlyssesMoore'' adventure series. Jason, Julia, and Rick solve mysteries of the seaside village Kilmore Cove, with an occasional TimeTravel to various historical epochs and places and solving mysteries ''there''.
167* PK Pinkerton in the ''Literature/TheWesternMysteries'' is a twelve-year-old who aspires to become a detective. [[spoiler:At the end of the first book, he sets up his own private detective business.]]
168* ''Literature/WestMeadowsDetectives'' is about two third-graders, an autistic boy and a hyperactive girl, solving mysteries at their school.
169* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': A number of students at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] are either aspiring detectives (most notably Reach and Spade in Gen 1, and Osmic Ace, Deduce, and Trace of the "Card Sharps Detective Agency" training team in Gen 2) or spend their time snooping into unusual events for their own reasons (such as the [[Characters/WhateleyUniverseSchoolClubsAndCliques Lit Chix]]). A number of students also end up in situations which call for them to do some investigating, either with or without adult assistance. Indeed, it seems that would-be detectives -- and other students such as Hardsell who simply want to join the police force after they graduate -- are common enough that the school has multiple classes in criminology, though students looking to be superheroes -- or supervillains -- make good use of them as well.
170* ''Literature/TheWollstonecraftDetectiveAgency'' series is set in an AlternateHistory where [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace Ada Lovelace]] and Creator/MaryShelley become friends as tweens and form the titular agency. It is [[ChildProdigy Ada]]'s idea, because she compares solving crimes to solving fun puzzles.
171* Dalton Rev, the teen HardboiledDetective in ''Literature/YouKilledWesleyPayne''.
172* The ''Literature/YoungSherlockHolmes'' books feature a teenaged Holmes who is still developing his deductive genius while getting involved in adventures that are a lot more action-oriented than his later ones will be.
173%%* ''Literature/ZiggyAndTheBlackDinosaurs'' is a series where the kids are African-American. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
174[[/folder]]
175
176[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
177* The Bloodhound Gang on ''Series/ThreeTwoOneContact'' are a whole detective agency of kids.
178* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfShirleyHolmes'', starring Sherlock's teenaged great grand-niece, who solves crimes in the fictional town of Redington.
179* ''The Baker Street Boys'': A gang of street urchins living in Victorian London assist Sherlock Holmes in solving crimes and find themselves tackling cases of their own.
180* ''Series/ColdCase'': Jack Chao Lu from "Chinatown" is a 17-year-old boy who wants to solve or avenge the murder of his girlfriend by gang members and makes diligent but realistically amateurish efforts to do so. First he threatens a gangbanger at knifepoint. Then he helps cops who don’t speak Mandarin translate wiretaps. Then he wears a (poorly concealed) wire to a random drop and steals some evidence his police employer (who, while seeming to view Jack as a genuine MoralityPet, has been hiding evidence against TheDon due to being TheCorruptible and feeling the next boss would be worse anyway) suppressed.
181* ''Series/ControlZ'': Sofia is basically a female, teen Sherlock Holmes. After a hacker discloses many people's secrets in her school, causing them great harm, she sets out to track them down.
182* ''Eugénie Sandler P.I.'' is an Australian TV series about a teenage girl whose father is private investigator. When he disappears, she is forced to turn detective in order to find him.
183* Creator/{{PBS}}'s ''Series/{{Ghostwriter}}'' involves kids and a ghost who solve mysteries. The ghost communicates only by typing, as it cannot speak.
184* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' casts a younger Bruce Wayne as this, investigating a possible conspiracy involving corruption in his parents' company following their death.
185* Subverted in ''Series/TheHardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries'', in which the Boys are allowed to grow up in the final season and become professional detectives for the US Department of Justice.
186* Ted Mosby of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' claims to have been one in his youth, teaming with his sister as "The Mosby Boys". His friends don't think much of his detective skills, but they are portrayed inconsistently throughout the series and there are cases where he's quite insightful in putting clues together, such as in "[[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS6E10Blitzgiving Blitzgiving]]".
187* ''Series/TheInBESTigators'' is an Creator/ABCMe series distributed by Creator/{{Netflix}} featuring four elementary school classmates who form a detective agency.
188%%* The title character in ''Letty'', a popular UK children's series during the 1980s. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
189%%* Flavia Gemini and friends in ''Series/TheRomanMysteries'', the Creator/{{CBBC}} live-action adaptation of ''Literature/TheRomanMysteries'' books. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
190* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' has an investigative journalist and three teens investigate and fight aliens.
191* ''Stick with Me, Kid'' is a British series where the kid detective gets around his age by using an out-of-work actor to pose as a detective while the kid does all the actual detective work.
192* Just like the example in Anime & Manga, both Hajime and Miyuki are this in ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'', even more so in the 1995 version where the characters are both 15, instead of 17 like they are in the manga.
193** Kindaichi's sibling show, ''The Files of Silver Wolf'', has Kousuke Fuwa, his stepsister Kaeko, and their entire friend group as amateur sleuths for their high school's newspaper club. [[AdaptationDeviation Which is interesting, because the manga it was based on was an adventure manga with no crimes and mysteries in sight.]]
194[[/folder]]
195
196[[folder:Podcasts]]
197* Ten-year-old Angus Mcdonald of ''Podcast/TheAdventureZone'' is this to a tee. In Angus's introduction, Merle cites this trope almost by name.
198-->'''Angus:''' My name's Angus Mcdonald, that part you already know. I am, and I'm not being braggy, 'cause my grandpa says not to do that, but I am the world's greatest detective!\
199'''Travis:''' ''[narrating for Magnus]'' I roll my eyes.\
200'''Angus:''' Okay. I mean, I did detective good enough to see through your horseshit, so I can't be too bad.\
201'''Merle:''' Are you saying you're a boy detective?\
202'''Angus:''' If you want to be reductive.
203[[/folder]]
204
205[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
206* ''Series/ThePuzzlePlace'': In the episode ''The Mystery of the Fabulous Hat'', Leon emulates Literature/SherlockHolmes to search for Jody's missing hat, with Ben as his [[TheWatson Watson]]. At first this doesn't work out because Leon wants to solve the mystery all by himself and won't let Ben help him, but when they finally do work together, they find the hat thieves: [[spoiler: Nuzzle and Sizzle]].
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Video Games]]
210* Walnut Cookie from ''VideoGame/CookieRun''. She is shown to be worthy enough to solve mysteries and crimes. Even her skill has portraits where you have to select who's guilty based on the evidence you collected earlier.
211* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'':
212** Kyoko Kirigiri of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' may be the most extreme application of this trope: as the Ultimate Detective, she's essentially the best in the world for her age-group, and as a requirement of that title, is a professional in her daily life (which can be seen in her [[Literature/DanganronpaKirigiri prequel novels]] where she's taking on cases while still in junior high). She also comes from an entire family of lifelong detectives, with her father being the black sheep of the family simply for leaving the business to be Headmaster of Hope's Peak, the school at the center of the franchise. How competent he was at his job is... debatable. [[spoiler:With the world outside the academy [[ApocalypseHow/Class0 gone to hell with so few people left alive]], she may actually be the best in general by default, although that depends on if her grandfather was killed [[VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls in Towa City]], which is never resolved.]]
213** Shuichi Saihara from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' is also an Ultimate Detective, and in his case received it for solving a murder before the police department could. He is however far more insecure about his skills than her. And unlike Kyoko, who stays as a sidekick, [[spoiler:he eventually becomes the protagonist in his own right. But the end of the game suggests that he [[AmbiguousSituation might not have been a detective at all]].]]
214%%* Jake and Jennifer Eagle in the 1993-94 ''VideoGame/EagleEyeMysteries'' PC game series. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
215* The protagonist and Ayumi Tachibana in ''VisualNovel/FamicomDetectiveClub'' are both 15-17 years old and are out investigating murder cases outside of school. More than a few people are a bit bewildered at how young the characters are, but nonetheless let it slide.
216* ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' has Sarya, a young female apprentice of [[GreatDetective Barawa]]. But when it comes to some DetectiveDrama events, she can prove that she's a better one then her employer, as she focuses on clues and facts, while Barawa relies on his physical strength and determination to chase the culprit for most of the time.
217%%* ''VideoGame/GuiltyParty'': (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; more details on ''how'' they represent the trope without referring to other works)
218%%** As each of the characters is based on a classic detective archetype, Rudy (AKA Kid Riddles) represents this particular trope.
219%%** Rudy's cousin Ling-Ling is one too, but she's a teenager and skews more towards being a ''Franchise/NancyDrew''-alike.
220* Lily from ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten|2017}}'' becomes this in ''VideoGame/Kindergarten2''. While she does do some snooping in the first game, it's for personal reasons, namely to find her missing brother Billy. In the second game though, despite not having any personal stakes anymore, she more actively stakes out her new school for secrets along with [[spoiler:the now-rescued Billy]]. They find out that [[spoiler:the kids that were "rezoned" to make room for the first game's cast in the new school were actually kidnapped by the principal to be turned into mutant monsters for use in her evil plans]]. To really drive home the point, her [[AndYourRewardIsClothes unlockable outfit]] is called the "Sleuth's Dress".
221* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora takes on a detective role in Timeless River to figure out who has been attacking Disney Castle, using the windows as clues. It was obviously Pete, but [[spoiler:there are two versions of him here]]. In the Japanese version, the cutscene where Pete reappears to [[spoiler:steal the Cornerstone of Light]] is even called "Detective Sora".
222* ''VideoGame/LostJudgment'' has Kyoko Amasawa, a teen girl and an aspiring detective who runs the Mystery Research Club at Seiryo High School. She and Yagami frequently work together to solve a series of mysteries revolving around the mysterious "Professor", and she even gets her chance to solve her own case in a side mission.
223* ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'': When Kate loses her toy, she becomes a detective like her mother, Amelia, and investigates where it is. She also makes Amelia's dog her sidekick.
224* Pip Whipple of ''VideoGame/MaxGentlemenSexyBusiness'' was one in her youth, though in her twenties she still shows great enthusiasm and excitement at the prospect of solving another "whodunnit". It should be noted that she's more an AffectionateParody, showing just how stressful and dangerous this job can be.
225* True to her literary counterpart, ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' is one in the series of games, being a high-school age girl who travels around the US and the world solving mysteries and apprehending parties responsible for various crimes. Most frequently the culprit is committing illegal activities in order to get his or her hands on some kind of valuable treasure, but they also engage in various types of conspiracy, sabotage, and even a couple instances of murder.
226* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
227** Naoto Shirogane of ''VideoGame/Persona4'', who's known all across Japan as the "Detective Prince". Dissected, as well: The police force ''hates'' having to call Naoto in on the serial murder case, and [[spoiler:she's passed herself off as a boy for years because of how male-dominated the police are. Her Shadow taunts her over how mature she tries to act to get past the "young detective" bit -- it's worth noting that her Shadow flip-flops between overly mature dialog and crying like a baby.]] It's also debated how intentional it is that Naoto's detective skills come off as an InformedAbility - Naoto never uncovers any information that the party doesn't already know (aside from [[spoiler:Mitsuo not being the real killer]]), and if the player can't solve the mystery themselves, the game comes to a premature end even ''with'' Naoto on the team.
228** Goro Akechi from ''VideoGame/Persona5'' appears to be a Naoto-like Kid Detective, to the point where he's known as "The Second Coming of the Detective Prince", but since the heroes are on the [[PhantomThief other side of the law]], he has a [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist more antagonistic]] relationship to them at first. [[spoiler:It turns out that he's a [[FakeUltimateHero fraud]] who's the true culprit behind all of the cases he "solved".]]
229* Johnny in ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsFromTheNewWorld'' runs a detective agency despite looking like he might be at most 14-16 years old. [[spoiler:He's actually much older than he looks.]]
230%%* ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'' has a Kid Detective named, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin wait for it]], Kidd. His look also seems to be heavily inspired by Conan Edogawa from ''Manga/CaseClosed''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; looks aside, how is he a detective?)
231* Mackenzie from ''VideoGame/TouchDetective'' is a BornDetective in the Kid Detective phase of her life. She becomes officially accepted into the Great Detective Society by the first game.
232* The protagonists of the original ''VideoGame/TwilightSyndrome'' duology are a trio of Japanese high school girls who go around their home city investigating rumors of paranormal phenomena, which often ends with them resolving things in a way that it won't remain a danger to others in the future.
233* ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'':
234** Sonoko Sakanoue, the final rival of [[{{Prequel}} 1980s Mode]], is a former student of Akademi who made a name for herself solving a murder mystery that had stumped police, and left Akademi early to pursue a career as a detective. She returns to Akademi in the final week of 1980s mode, ostensibly to finish her schooling and graduate, but really as the Journalist's eyes and ears to find clues that prove that Ryoba Aishi murdered Sumire Saitozaki. [[spoiler:The "canon" means of eliminating her as a rival is to gain her trust by burning compromising photos of her a pervert took, which convinces her that Ryoba couldn't have killed Sumire. This, of course, was Ryoba's plan all along to get away with murder.]]
235** If School Atmosphere gets low enough, the Photography Club will start investigating the strange circumstances on their own to try to find a murderer. This makes them a difficult obstacle for the Yanderes, as if one of them catches her committing murder, they'll snap a picture for proof, forcing her to kill them before they can show someone.
236* ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch3'' introduces Hailey Anne, an elementary schooler who runs the Hapyon Detective Agency alongside her yokai friend Usapyon.
237[[/folder]]
238
239[[folder:Webcomics]]
240* The kids from ''Webcomic/BadMachinery'' regularly deal with crimes and mysteries, mostly with a supernatural spin. This trope is somewhat subverted in "The Case Of The Forked Road", where [[spoiler:after the kids consider all sorts of devious ways to fool railway men into pulling the levers to switch a train to a different track to prevent a crash, or to get the men out of the way so they can pull the levers themselves, Shauna finally takes the direct, straightforward approach as an adult investigator might, and tells the men that the track has been sabotaged and they need to flip the switch; they believe her and take immediate action.]]
241* Parodied with the Mystery Solving Teens from ''Webcomic/HarkAVagrant'' -- unlike most teenage detectives, they act like typical teenagers, meaning they rarely ''do'' anything relevant to the case.
242[[/folder]]
243
244[[folder:Web Original]]
245* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': Spoofed in the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "[[Recap/StrongBadEmailE140Highschool highschool]]", where Strong Bad claims that he, Marzipan, Homestar, and Strong Mad were "a team of super sleuths" in high school, and that they spent their time either "debating the existence of mysterious", playing in a band, or trying to get Homestar out of these "ridiculous stripéd pants" he used to wear.
246[[/folder]]
247
248[[folder:Western Animation]]
249* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan'': The youngest four fit the role perfectly, especially Flip, who jumps at the mystery call fastest among them. The others are teens though.
250* Numbuh 2 of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' occasionally acts as one, complete with noir film-esque narration.
251* Timmy Turner from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' ventures into this trope in the episode "Where's Wanda" when he wishes to become a full, typical private investigator, trench coat and all.
252* From the creators of ''Scooby-Doo'' below, ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'' is about a gang of teenagers who solve mysteries. The big twist here is that one of them is a werewolf.
253* ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'' is a cop version of this trope; the title character is [[YellowSashOfPower a hall monitor]] at his middle school.
254* Dipper and Mabel become this in the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS1E3Headhunters Headhunters]]", when they set out to solve the mystery of who beheaded a wax sculpture of their Grunkle Stan. Over the broader MythArc of the series, Dipper's efforts to crack the secret of the Journal and the weirdness of the town itself also count.
255* Penny, the niece of ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'', is well-known for her snooping, her being captured, and her ability to stop the bad guys singlehandedly [[OnceAnEpisode every single episode]].
256* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'', the title character plays this role now and then, usually with Pepito as her helper: for example, in ''Madeline and the Forty Thieves'', ''Madeline and the Lost Crown'', and ''[[WholePlotReference Madeline on the Orient Express]]''. In ''Madeline's Detective School'', she teaches child [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of Literature/HerculePoirot, [[Literature/TheMalteseFalcon Sam Spade]] and Literature/MissMarple how to solve mysteries too
257* ''WesternAnimation/MiraRoyalDetective'' follows a young girl who gets appointed as a detective.
258* Darby from ''WesternAnimation/MyFriendsTiggerAndPooh''. The series is all about six-year-old Darby leading the Super Sleuths on their sleuthing adventures. They don't investigate any actual crimes, though, focusing more on everyday "mysteries" a child might realistically encounter.
259* ''[[WesternAnimation/NoddysToylandAdventures Noddy, Toyland Detective]]'' focuses around the child character Noddy solving mysteries in Toytown.
260* ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' features a short about a child detective entitled "Peter Patrick, P.I.: What About Lunch?"
261* ''WesternAnimation/PunkyBrewster'': In the episode "Punky P.I.", Punky opens a detective office from her school locker as she and her friends try to solve an in-school mystery involving a classmate's sabotaged project.
262* Mitchell from ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' might as well be one of the prime examples of the trope. He not only looks a typical detective, but he also idolizes Sherlock Holmes and has his own noir-esque {{Leitmotif}}. Mitchell is always trying to be a detective and find proof that the Propulsions are aliens, but to no avail.
263* The entire premise of ''WesternAnimation/SallyBollywood'', whose title character is also a BornDetective.
264* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' is on the older end of this trope, since the members of Mystery Incorporated are supposed to be in their teens, but they're constantly called "[[YouMeddlingKids meddling kids]]" and variants thereof by the various villains of the week. ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' leans into this trope with [[SpinoffBabies child versions of the characters]].
265* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has done this numerous times with Bart and/or Lisa. The first such instance is when Krusty gets arrested for armed robbery in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E12KrustyGetsBusted Krusty Gets Busted]]", but some sleuthing discovers that it was actually Sideshow Bob trying to frame Krusty.
266%%** Nelson also takes it up later on, with Bart and Lisa being the suspects. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what sort of detective work does he do, specifically?)
267%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
268%%** This is what Hank and Dean, the titular brothers, ''want'' to be. (Why aren't they?)
269%%** This is what the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Giant Boy Detective]] is. (Even if it seems self-evident, please provide details beyond the name)
270[[/folder]]

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