Highsmith/UpstartBooks is now
the publisher
and distributor of the
Anyone's Guess Mystery Kits.
Check their website and the Upstart and Upstart Books catalogs to order kits
ANYONE'S GUESS 
Mystery Program Kits
to assist adults serving teenagers (Young Adults)
Designed as a library program for 20-25* teenagers
in grades 6-9, Anyone's Guess mysteries encourage players to
learn about suspects and examine evidence together, then each player attempts to solve the mystery.
Included in each kit:
Reproducible suspect, interrogation and answer
sheets for the players.
Evidence such as letters and legal documents.
Complete instructions for planning and setting
up the mystery program and for
guiding players through the mystery.
Helps for program promotion.
*Note: This program has been run with as few as
7 and as many as 50 players. For large groups, divide into teams
and perhaps add other activities. See Sharing:
Tips and Comments .
The program can be run
on your choice of several levels:
You read from the sheets provided and describe
scenes while handing around the evidence.
Players discover the evidence you've "enhanced"
at several mini-scenes you've created with props you provide. (How-to tips
included.)
Actors are used to develop a more theatrical production.
A script as such is not included. Players
are investigators, not suspects, and need not prepare in advance in order
to play. The
focus of most of the graphics and instructions is interactive play at the
second level. Adult guidance is needed
for the mystery to run smoothly.
Much is done for you, but there is plenty
of opportunity for you to adapt the program to your needs and to add your
own creative touches. Youth advisory groups and other volunteers can participate
in the planning and in the program itself. You decide how much time/effort/funds
to invest beyond the basic level.
For examples of the type of evidence graphics
provided in the kit, see the sampler
page.
All Kits are now available!
Order
from Highsmith/UpstartBooks 
http://www.highsmith.com
or call 1-800-448-4887
"Death Gets a Red Card"
Who would want the popular varsity
soccer player .... dead? (Murder mystery)
Evidence includes a threatening
note and a letter from a private school.
"The Disappearance of Angela Day:"
Is she a runaway, or the victim of a crime? (Possible
kidnapping)
Evidence includes a list of stolen cars and a snake tattoo.
"Rock 'n' Roll Over DEAD" (Murder
mystery)
The music librarian is found
dead. Can the Battle of the Bands go on without her?
Evidence includes music lyrics
and an order for a pesticide company.
"The Pharaoh's Curse" (Possible
attempted murder)
She was her prom's Queen
of the Nile until the accident...or was it attempted murder?
Evidence includes a note in
hieroglyphics and a summons to appear before the Student Court.
"Murderous Melodrama" (Prank gone wrong or murder)
She was her prom's Queen
of the Nile until the accident...or was it attempted murder?
Evidence includes a note in
hieroglyphics and a summons to appear before the Student Court.
"Heavy Metal Kidnapping" is a different format. It
is a research-based mystery, in which the players solve tasks and
verify the information in clues using a variety of reference sources.
For mor on this kit, see it's own page HERE.
Each kits is only $39.95. Order a kit today, and get your
teens on the case!
Copyright 1996-2007
by Janet Dickey
Last update 8/20/2007
