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Nate the Great #1
Nate the Great
Shortly after a breakfast generously supplied with pancakes, Natethe Great got an urgent call from Annie.
"I lost a picture," said Annie. "Can you help me find it?"
"Of course," said Nate. "I have found lost balloons, books, slippers, chickens. Even a lost goldfish. Now I, Nate the Great, will find a lost picture."
"Oh, good," Annie said.
Nate, with the cool detachment of a Sam Spade, immediately plunges into his new and baffling case. Getting all the facts, asking the right questions, narrowing down the suspects. Nate, the boy detective who "likes to work alone," solves the mystery and tracks down the culprit. In the process he also discovers the whereabouts of Super Hex, the missing cat.
"I lost a picture," said Annie. "Can you help me find it?"
"Of course," said Nate. "I have found lost balloons, books, slippers, chickens. Even a lost goldfish. Now I, Nate the Great, will find a lost picture."
"Oh, good," Annie said.
Nate, with the cool detachment of a Sam Spade, immediately plunges into his new and baffling case. Getting all the facts, asking the right questions, narrowing down the suspects. Nate, the boy detective who "likes to work alone," solves the mystery and tracks down the culprit. In the process he also discovers the whereabouts of Super Hex, the missing cat.
68 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1972
647 people are currently reading
4865 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
250 books116 followersMarjorie 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 518 reviews
March 26, 2019
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.
January 3, 2019
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.
July 10, 2017
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.
October 12, 2025
Super cute and quick read. Makes for a quick bed time story as well. Nate love for pancakes made me laugh honestly.
April 24, 2022
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."
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!
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Reading Level: 2nd and 3rd grades
Cleanliness: a boy says "I would like Annie if I liked girls."
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!
Visit my website!
April 18, 2021
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.
May 31, 2015
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)
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)
March 4, 2015
Ellie really likes the audio of this book. The audio is actually of several Nate the Great stories.
October 15, 2018
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.
December 8, 2018
Hard boiled early reader. 😍
September 13, 2024
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. 🥞
June 26, 2022
Bad day today, so I read this to cheer myself up because I remember it being cute. It is.
February 1, 2024
Really good but a little short
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February 18, 2023Vivian’s first chapter book! Her review: more like Nate the hate 😂
July 14, 2014
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.
Library copy.
June 28, 2020
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.
March 15, 2018
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!
Re-read in 2018. Many lol moments for me. The humor is so dry; I love it!
February 7, 2021
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.
And eat pancakes.
August 12, 2016
Cool book!
March 6, 2016
Great teaching opportunities in this book and the series. I love a mystery. Great way to start children on solving life's mysteries!
April 21, 2017
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.
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.
March 30, 2017
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.
I also loved the way the clues are revealed. There are plenty of details, but the book also doesn't waste words either.
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.
March 4, 2023
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.
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January 15, 2018I want to read it now
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2018
Very cute! We will be reading more of these!
April 20, 2020
Read Aloud to the kids and then a Pancake Dinner!
January 2, 2020
Fun and funny -- my seven-year-old really enjoyed reading this book and I'm looking forward to finding more of this series.
November 13, 2024
My kids kinda-sorta enjoyed this series when they were young, but they outgrew them pretty quickly. Now I read this one for a Reading Rainbow discussion. I might request the sequels.
This time around I just noticed the subtle, dry humor. With lines like "I would like Annie if I liked girls." And Rosamund with all her cats named Hex. And everyone has plenty of pancakes. And many bits that are too subtle to sum here. But, rubbers? When did kids last wear rubber overshoes?
This time around I just noticed the subtle, dry humor. With lines like "I would like Annie if I liked girls." And Rosamund with all her cats named Hex. And everyone has plenty of pancakes. And many bits that are too subtle to sum here. But, rubbers? When did kids last wear rubber overshoes?
October 24, 2025
It was a pretty good kids book. Nate the Great solved the mystery.
April 27, 2021
This series is a hit with my little reader. The humor works for both of us, the mysteries are compelling to him, and the illustrations are perfect. I imagine we will be reading more of them and fortunately there are a lot of these available.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 518 reviews