Nate the Great and the Pillowcase

Nate the Great #24

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

It's two o'clock in the morning when the telephone rings and Nate the Great learns that Rosamond's pillowcase is missing. She needs it now because her cat, Big Hex, likes to sleep on it.Outside it is damp, dark, and dreary, but a good (yawning) sleuth knows that the hunt must go on. Can Nate the Great find the missing piece of laundry before the sun comes up, and before his bedroom slippers wear out?

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Chapter Books, Picture Books, 1st Grade, Fiction, Adventure

Library Binding

First published January 1, 1993

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

[Clinton Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Nate was sleeping then the telphone rang. Then he woke-up answered
the phone it was Rosamond.She asked if him could he come over. Then Nate and his
dog went to Rosamond's house. Then Rosamond told him what the problem was she said
that Big Hex's pillowcase was missing.Then they went to Annie's house to try an find
the pillowcase so when they got there they started to investagatethey didn't find
anything . Then they went to eat some pancakes for breakfast the man at the counter
had something just like the pillowcase , but it was a rag. then he relized that
Annie used it as the landry bag. Then he went to go get it from Annie then gave
it back to Rosamond so the mytery was solved.

[Jane Maple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosamond calls Nate in the middle of the night to let him know Big Hex's pillowcase is missing. Nate reluctantly goes over to Rosamond's house. Rosamond explains that she washed all of her cats things and had separate laundry bags for each cat and that Annie came over and they washed Fang's clothes. Rosamond said she noticed that both a nightshirt and pillowcase were missing. She called Annie who said she had the nightshirt but denied having the pillowcase. Annie explained that Fang growled at Rosamond when she tried to put the clean clothes on him. So Annie put the clothes in a laundry bag and accidently grabbed the nightshirt but said she didn't have the pillowcase. Annie also mentioned that she stopped by Uncle Ned's Day and Night Diner to get some bones for Fang on her way home. Nate is able to get some pancakes on credit at the diner. Nate notices the owner of the diner cleaning with a cloth, he wonders if it is the pillowcase. He carefully pulls it from the man's pocket when his back is turned, but it doesn't open it is just a cloth. He puts it back in the man's pocket. He realizes when sludge eats his bone through the doggy bag that Annie does have the pillowcase it was the laundry bag she took home. Nate brings it to Rosamond who had been asleep since he left.

Extras: Fun Ways Animals Sleep (it says that bugs don't sleep at all they just rest); People who work at Night; How to Make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich; sleeping and bed jokes; How to make oatmeal cookies; and a list of more snoozy snacks; how to make fuzzy slippers

[Marco den Ouden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nate the Great early readers by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat are excellent and intriguing books for the early reader. In this adventure Nate and his trusty companion, his dog Sludge, goes looking for his friend Rosamond's missing pillowcase. Actually, it is her cat Big Hex's pillowcase. He sleeps on the pillowcase. It should be easy to find because it is torn and tattered.

This book is longer than some of the other Nate the Great books because it has a bonus section. This section includes notes on how animals sleep, notes on people who work at night, recipes for a grilled cheese sandwich and other goodies, and a collection of riddles.

Great book for an early reader.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I like mysteries. I did not like this book because I don't like pillowcases that are bitten. I also enjoyed this book because I liked the part when Nate the Great found the missing pillowcase.

[Mr.Zhou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The smart little detective solved a puzzled case again. By analysing two different words from two different people, he came to the conclusion that how is everything about the case. That’s really brilliant!

[nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably the worst one yet. Rosamand needs to get a grip and help herself. This could’ve easily been solved if she just phoned Annie. If she wants to admit her feelings to Nate, she should just do it already!!! Enough books and time have passed for assured admittance. Girl get a grip!!!

[Mr. Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are so much fun.

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute. I didn't even figure this one out! This book didn't have any extra bonus materials in the back like some other's that I've read. I missed that.

[Erin]

B read with N. July 2019
(No place on app for personal notes besides the review section)

[Audrey Widjaja · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I thought whose pillowcase it is... hahahha.... I laughed so hard knowing it's Rosamond's cats', very cute!

[CE]

My five-year-old's favorite part is when Nate gets pancakes.

[asiya | アセヤ (free palestine) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read this book a really long time ago, but I still remember how much I love it.

[WinterBat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the snark in this book. Seemed especially high; fitting, since he was woken up to take this case

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little pun

[Michael Guillot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rosamond is truly the Aunt Gayle of the Nate the Great series

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nate the Great is a little boy in the neighborhood that other kids call on to solve mysteries when they have them. He and his dog love to solve mysteries. And in these books they are a good way to introduce your child to chapter books and mysteries. Often time the words are repeatative so if you have a merging into harder books then these books would help your child's self esteem as once they got the words from the first few pages then they'll be able to read them later on in the book. It is an actual storybook so although some of the things are repeatative it still flows as a good book to read. I read them outloud to my special needs teenage son and we love to try and figure out who we thing "did it" some of the stories we can figure it out and others we have to wait until Nate figures it out.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general, I like how the writer uses simple writing style that suits the reader’s age, and at the same time provides a simple mystery.

In the Pillowcase mystery, Nate the Great asked the right questions and followed the right threads, yet he was somehow misled. His investigations excluded all the suspects, and the only way to solve it was to try and look at the facts from a different point of view. The ending was unexpected-as usual-for the pillowcase turned to be the laundry bag or that what someone thought!

What I did not like about this book is that some lines were unnecessary. They provided a reading material, but they made the events run slow. Also, no clues were given for the reader that would help them solve the mystery or expect the ending.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son very much enjoys reading these books, and they are cleverly written for emergent readers. This was the first one he actually read himself. He loves to try to figure out the mystery as he reads. (This one stumped him longer than the others.)
The premise is that Nate's friend Rosamond has lost the pillowcase for her cat Big Hex. Nate has been asked to find it. He searches everywhere with is dog and eventually finds it in the end (as always).
I thoroughly enjoy listening to my son read and get excited about the stories as they unfold, and these are good books for young readers. They are short enough for them to read independently and comprehend the story line.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another fun mystery in the Nate the Great series. He refers to himself as Nate the Great and the books in this series have a bit of the old gumshoe feel to them.

I keep waiting for Nate the Great to call one of the girls a dame. This story was a bit odd because it had Nate out solving a mystery at 2 a.m., but it is just a story, right?

Sep 2016 update: Reread this book for a paper for my MLIS classes - it is still as fun (and strange) as ever.

[Mango · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nate the Great books aren't that great. I hated them when I was a kid, yet I would always read them.The endings of the books were always the same, they figured out what or who did it. And where are Nate's parents? They just let their son walk around everywhere and question people. That is very irresponsible of them. Nate the Great books always made me fall asleep and always wasted my time. I would not recommend this book to anyone, especially little kids. If kids want real mystery, they should read Sherlock Homes.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series for kids, the illustrations and short mysteries are excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and felt silly relating to the "strange" friend Rosamond who was obsessed with her cats. It was very cute. I liked how Nate was free to get up and roam his neighbor hood at 2am, it's a freedom children don't get to enjoy but could easily think about and have fun with. I love these stories and would be nice to have in a lower elementary classroom for choice reading.

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book my 6 yr old loved, a little old for my preschoolers. A solid reading level 3 book, this reader has a good amount of advanced vocabulary words, but not so long that it discourages a new reader. Used it for his read out loud book, which was perfect. It took about 15 mins for him to read and had just enough new vocabulary words to make it challenging. Also, it was a fun and interesting story he could get into. He liked it so much, he asked for more by this author. Great reading book!

[John Hostetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great mystery series, I enjoyed the fun and relatable "everyday" story setting, kids should love seeing how it all ties together in the end, maybe even the teachers as well! This would be a good base to get students to create their own mysteries or break off into groups and everyone solves a separate Nate the Great story!

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nate is awakened at night to find a cat's pillowcase. Will he find it in time to get back to sleep? Another fun and creative mystery perfect for pre-schoolers.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

These chapter books introduce beginning readers to the detective mystery genre. Perfect for the Common Core, kids can problem-solve with Nate, using logical thinking to solve mysteries!

It's two o'clock in the morning when the telephone rings and Nate the Great learns that Rosamond's pillowcase is missing. She needs it now because her cat, Big Hex, likes to sleep on it.

[yusi]

Nate woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning because of Rosamond's call.
Rosamond said that she lost cat's pillowcase and asked him for finding it.
Nate was very sleepy but he would take the case.
This story is odd. Nate was just a kid, but he went out and looked around for cat's pillowcase at 2 a.m.

This is just a story... just a story.

[Chak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nate the Great is just that. I particularly like his strange friend Rosamond, who, while not named as such in the book, is totally goth. This book revolved around a Rosamond mystery, which was fun.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nate the Great is up all night, chasing down a pillowcase belonging to a cat. Funny and interesting. As a kid I would have loved to have wandered all over town in the middle of the night. As a parent I'd read this one with my kid and explain just why that's NOT a good idea. O.o

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a hard book for my son to read, but we did it as a team. This story is about Nate the Great finding a stupid pillowcase(David's words not mine). Rosamond waking up Nate and Annie for no reason at all. But it was a fun book.

[Shannon Bradbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Nate The Great books! There’s always a mystery to solve. And Nate and his dog and friends are on it. My only question is why is Nate answering the telephone at 2am? Nate is one dedicated detective for a kid. My boys and I really enjoyed this entire series. Highly recommended!