Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner

Ten-year-old Emil is excited to be taking the train to Berlin on his own for the first time - but he doesn't like the look of his fellow passenger, the man in the bowler hat. Then he falls asleep, and when he wakes up, the man in the bowler hat is gone - and so is the money from Emil's pocket! Teaming up with a gang of young detectives, he embarks on a thrilling chase across Berlin to catch the thief.

First published in 1929 (and in English in 1931), Emil and the Detectives is now regarded as a children's classic - and today's young readers will be as charmed as ever by Emil's entertaining adventures.