Nate the Great

Nate the Great #1

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

"Sharmat has perfectly reduced Sam Spade sentences and attitudes to fit primary grade sleuths and the easy-to-read format . . . Kids will like Nate the Great. Kids will want to read more of his books."--School Library Journal, starred review.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Picture Books, Chapter Books, 2nd Grade, Kids

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat was an American children's writer. She wrote more than 130 books for children and teens and her books have been translated into several languages. They have won awards including Book of the Year by the Library of Congress or have become selections by the Literary Guild.
Perhaps Sharmat's most popular work features the child detective Nate the Great. He was inspired by and named after her father, who lived to see the first Nate book published. One story, Nate the Great Goes Undercover, was adapted as a made-for-TV movie that won the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival Award. Sharmat's husband Mitchell Sharmat expanded Nate's storyline by creating Olivia Sharp, his cousin and fellow detective. Husband and wife wrote four Olivia Sharp books published 1989 to 1991. During the 1990s, their son Craig Sharmat (then in his thirties) wrote three Nate books with his mother. In the late 2010s, their other son Andrew Sharmat co-wrote the last two Nate books written while Marjorie Weinman Sharmat was alive. With Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's passing in 2019 Andrew has continued writing the series with Nate the Great and the Earth Day Robot (2021).
In the mid-1980s Sharmat wrote three books published in 1984 and 1985 under the pseudonym Wendy Andrews.
Sharmat also wrote the Sorority Sisters series, eight short novels published in 1986 and 1987. They are romantic fiction with a sense of humor. They are set in a California public high school (day school for ages 14 to 18, approximately).

Reviews

[Matt]

Before bed, Neo was ready for a wonderful story all about Nate the Great Detective. While Nate is dining on his favourite breakfast of pancakes, he receives a call to help his friend, Annie. She has painted a picture of her dog, but it is nowhere to be found. Nate heads over and begins his sleuthing, but comes up empty. A search of the house and even a visit to see one of Annie's friends gets him nowhere, but he is able to show off his detective skills. When Nate returns to the scene of the crime, he makes an interesting discovery, locating the perp red handed. Nate uses all his skills to save the day, just in time for some more pancakes. Neo liked the story, but admits it was quite long for bedtime. Decent sleuthing and fairly easy to follow storyline, this is a great piece to show children the art of detection.

[Darla]

After meeting Marjorie Sharmat this past November, I had a renewed interest in the series. They were books I read with my boys when they were new readers and they are as good as I remembered. This series has a lovable cast of characters including pets. There are humorous exchanges and important cases are solved by Nate in each book. There are also activities included at the end of the book teaching kids about science, cooking and more. Sure to be loved by boys, girls and their adults.

[Dawn Michelle]

I bought this book for my 8 year old niece; I am not as enamored with this one as I am with the Ivy + Bean books, but it was still a cute book and I think she will love it. And it IS a mystery [gotta start them young LOL] so there is a bonus in that. It was a fun, quick read and I think she will enjoy reading it.

[Laynara]

Super cute and quick read. Makes for a quick bed time story as well. Nate love for pancakes made me laugh honestly.

[Luisa Knight]

This was a favorite of mine growing up! Mysteries are such a great way to get kids hooked into reading. They're propelled to keep going until the mystery has been solved. Highly recommend this beginner's book!

Reading Level: 2nd and 3rd grades

Cleanliness: a boy says "I would like Annie if I liked girls."

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[Elisa]

Nate the Great is about a boy detective who takes his cases and mysteries really serious even though they are funny and goofy.

I think Nate the Great is really funny and very easy for kids to enjoy because it's silly and the art is funny. Older kids will laugh, too.

I really like that Nate is always serious when funny things happen.

My favorite quote:

"It was a good breakfast. Pancake, juice, pancakes, milk, and pancakes. I like pancakes."

I plan to read the rest of the series but I doubt it will be as funny as the first.

(Dictated by Dad)

[Scott Rhee]

I loved Nate the Great as a kid, and I had nearly forgotten how wonderful these books are. They are a perfect introduction (along with the Encyclopedia Brown series) to the mystery genre for little kids. I can't recall how many of them there were in this series by Marjorie Sharmat, but I know there are many. Nate was a quiet, serious little kid who helped his friends solve mysteries. He wore a trenchcoat and a Sherlock Holmes hat and he always preferred working alone. I remember devouring these like the literary candy they were in the school library whenever I had the chance. Great series, and one that I look forward to sharing with my little girl when she's old enough.

[Jeremy]

Okay so I was totally sleeping on this 50+ year old mystery series--it's kind of hilarious, and the simple, clipped sentences meant for early readers, also happens to work perfectly for the voice of a 6 year old hardboiled detective:

"Let me tell you about my last case:

I had just eaten breakfast.

It was a good breakfast.

Pancakes, juice, pancakes, milk, and pancakes.

I liked pancakes."

[Karen]

Ellie really likes the audio of this book. The audio is actually of several Nate the Great stories.

[Emma]

Wolfie loved this one. Should I make his own Goodreads account now that he's reading? But then I have to log in and out... Meh.

[Ardyth]

Hard boiled early reader. 😍

[Emily]

This was a cute intro to the mystery genre. We read this at bedtime over the last few nights and both my kids loved it and asked for me to get more from the series at the library. They have also requested Nate’s pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. 🥞

[Dan]

Bad day today, so I read this to cheer myself up because I remember it being cute. It is.

[Ellie Mae]

Really good but a little short

[Rachel]

Vivian’s first chapter book! Her review: more like Nate the hate 😂

[Kaethe]

This is Nate the Great: he has a dog named Sludge, plenty of free time to wander around the neighborhood, he loves pancakes and mysteries, he has a friend, Annie, with a big dog, Fang, and another friend, Rosamunde, with three cats, all named Hex.

Library copy.

[Amy Ingalls]

I used to love Nate the Great. Recently, my 5-year-old granddaughter developed a love of mysteries, and so I ordered a copy. She loved it-- she was literally cracking up. She was able to catch a lot of the sly humor in the book, and was happy with the resolution of the mystery.

[Heather]

I loved this book! Ha ha! Humorous and smart.

Re-read in 2018. Many lol moments for me. The humor is so dry; I love it!

[Reader]

I, Mommy the Mediocre, love Nate the Great. It had been years since I read it and so I forgot how Great it is. Now I remember. It's great. Really great. You should read it.

And eat pancakes.

[NiteReader]

Cool book!

[Camilla]

Great teaching opportunities in this book and the series. I love a mystery. Great way to start children on solving life's mysteries!

[Molly Fitzsimons]

Nate the Great is about a boy detective. He takes his cases as seriously and doesn't let anything get in his way (except for maybe a break to eat pancakes). In this story, he takes on the case of a missing painting for his friend, Annie. The only people to see the painting were her dog, her friend, and her little brother. Annie takes Nate to visit all three and Nate looks for clues. He even solves another mystery in the process. Sometimes the truth can be hidden in plain sight, you just have to have pay attention to the details.

This book could be used in 1st-3rd or 4th grade. It can students thinking as they try to solve the case right along with Nate. You can also have the students study the pictures to look for clues instead of just listening to the words. Mysteries have always been my favorite and this is an excellent book to introduce students to the genre.

[Becky]

First sentence: My name is Nate the Great. I am a detective. I work alone. Let me tell you about my last case: I had just eaten breakfast. It was a good breakfast. Pancakes, juice, pancakes, milk, and pancakes. I like pancakes. The telephone rang.

Premise/plot: Nate the Great is on the case. Annie, the girl down the street, has hired him to find a lost picture. The picture is in yellow and it is of her dog, Fang. Can Nate find clues and piece together what happened to the picture?

My thoughts: I loved it! I wish I'd met Nate decades ago. I loved most his narrative voice.

"Now show me your room." We went to Annie's room. It was big. It had yellow walls, a yellow bed, a yellow chair, and a yellow desk. I, Nate the Great, was sure of one thing. Annie liked yellow.

I also loved the way the clues are revealed. There are plenty of details, but the book also doesn't waste words either.

[tim]

The deadpan tone is charming and funny. Some legit good chuckles in these books. Art is great- thoughtful, stylish, simple. Nate is neurodivergent. Rosamund is a cool goth girl. The cast is multiracial. His dog’s name is SLUDGE. What’s not to like? These books hit.

Maybe I haven’t found one with an impressive mystery yet tho.

[Villain E]

The dry, straightforward early reader format and the dry, straightfirward private detective format go well together. And there's an actual mystery, with clues and everything! Nate goes to his friend's house, where a painting is missing.

[Maria Justice]

I want to read it now

[Erin Martin]

Very cute! We will be reading more of these!

[Angie Schmidt]

Read Aloud to the kids and then a Pancake Dinner!

[Lauren R. Santoro]

I love Nate the Great! Certainly, has the makings of a great detective. And the “mystery” was very clever. Loved the other characters well. Will read more in the series.

[Molly]

CUTE! The kids loved solving the mystery!