NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar winner Octavia Spencer is looking to make some magic in the book world.

The actress best known for ‘‘The Help’’ has a deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for a pair of detective novels for middle school students. Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that the first book, ‘‘Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective: The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit,’’ will come out next fall. Spencer said in a statement that she had been inspired by such mystery series as Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown and hoped to give kids the same ‘‘sense of magic.’’