Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag

Nate the Great #10

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Marc Simont (Illustrator)

It's gone! Oliver's boring blue beach bag is gone. Inside are his clothes, shoes, and a special seashell. All he has left is his beach ball.

This is a perfect case for Nate the Great and his trusty dog Sludge. But they don't find many clues in the sand and surf. What trail should they follow next? Follow the leader to find out!

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

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

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

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this book because I do not like boring beach bags. I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when Nate the Great found Oliver's boring beach bag.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great early reader! There's a cute little mystery, which is easily solved by Nate the Great. The text is just repetitive enough: not too boring, not too hard. I need to go back and check out the first one in this series; this one was recommended by a friend's child.

[Erin Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. Completely underwhelming. Apparently the author believes children are dumb.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with novel studies group at school.

[Jane Maple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oliver swims over to Nate to let him know he is missing his beach bag. He gives Sludge a soggy note to give to his mom. Oliver explains he lost his beach bag while buying water from Rosamond's restaurant (she is also selling sandwiches filled with sand). Oliver explains when he got back the beach bag was gone, and he knew he was in the right spot since his beach ball was there. Nate notices that the sand wasn't pressed down where the beach bag was. Nate explained he ran to Rosamond's restaurant when he saw Annie and Fang coming. Nate notices that Sludge is back and he still has the note in his month. Nate wonders if Sludge got confused and mentions that it is easy to get confused on the beach. When Nate is almost hit by a beach ball he has his solution. He runs in the opposite direction from Rosamond's restaurant and finds the bag. He realizes that Oliver just got turned around and that someone probably just kicked or tossed the beach ball down the beach.

Extras: Beach Facts; Beach Creatures; 8 fun things to do at the beach; how to have a beach treasure hunt; how to make a kite; how to make ocean ice pops; how to make starfish sandwiches;

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag (1987) is the 10th book in the Nate the Great series. This entry offers the usual fun on Majorie Weinman Sharmat's writing and the usual great illustrations by Marc Simont. This book takes place at the beach, with Oliver coming to Nate to find his beach bag, his boring beach bag. Over the course of his detection, Nate meets up with strange cat lover Rosmund (who's very odd indeed) and the pretty Annie. These are perfect beginner reading books with a mystery element that that great for kids and read-a-loud. I'm also a sucker for beach locals. My rating - 3/5

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wish the kindle version of this book would be more normal ...in that the spacing is kind of odd ...the illustrations are not really in a normal location ...not sure what that means?? or why i mean there. i am new to MWS's writing. i love this book cover. fun times. wish this version is more perfect. will read more from this series. i read it through my local library leaning program. fun illustrations fun read.

[meggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read this as an adult to show a friend the character Rosamond, who I was quite taken with as a child.

Upon this reading with an adult mind I think this is quite an exceptional book. The way it is written reminds me of what it was like to be a kid and how kids think about things/solve problems. The art is also quite wonderful. I especially like how emotive Sludge the dog is and the character designs of all of Nate's friends.

Would recommend to young readers!

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nate the Great offers fun and interesting reading to Early Fluent and young Fluent readers. While written decades ago, the stories and illustrations hold up well. The humor is clever enough for the brighter students to catch and feel smart for doing so. It can be completed in about 4 small group reading lessons if desired.

[Ardyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of early reader noir are all so much fun. The plots never fail to interest our kiddo, and the style delights me.

He is definitely past the point of these as challenge reads, but they're perfect for improving speed and fluency, whether aloud to entertain us growns-ups or as Jim Trelease type SSR. (Shhhh, don't tell him ;) )

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nate's acquaintance Oliver loses his bag on the beach. I figured this one out pretty quickly. And when we got to Nate's summary, it took way too long. The art in this one is in color on alternating pages.

[Erin Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe we read this over too long a period but I think it was a bit boring.

[christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

👍!



Great book for my 7 year old.
She loved the the fact that it was mystery solving book.
Fun fun!

[Jessica S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like these sort of beginner mysteries. With some illustrations included, it keeps my 3 and 4 year old interested to sit through the whole story.

[Erin]

Dad read with N. June 2019

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the rest

[WinterBat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty predictable, it you’ve ever been to a beach, but how Nate thought it through was clever

[nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title says it all, emphasis on boring. Charm is there, but should be your last resort if you plan to have your kid read one from the series.

[Smars · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is difficult to make a great story about a boring beach bag ill say that

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Good mystery

[Bora · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Oliver lost her beach bag.
- Nate took the case of Oliver's missing bag.

1> Oliver said he put his beach bag beside his beach ball.
2> Oliver ran to Rosamond's restaurant when he saw a scary dog.
3> Nate could see Annie and Fang runing to him. And she said she was running from the end of the beach to the other end. She said she saw his beach bag.
4> Nate found out it was not impossible for Annie to see the bag because he had not run to the place where the ball was.
5> Nate concluded that Oliver got mixed up where he put his bag. The bag acually was not there. The bag and ball were at the end of the beach and somebody kicked the ball again and again it came to the other end. And Oliver thought he had put the ball and bag there.

[Jasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag is a fiction/mystery story for lower elementary students. Nate solves mysteries using logic and critical thinking. Readers get drawn in to thinking about where that bag could be and how it got there. The story is entertaining and well written for the age group. This book is great as a transition to chapter books. It also has a bonus section in the back that provides a glossary of terms in the form of notes from Nate and activities that students can do at home or at the beach. I will definitely have Nate the Great in my classroom library. I chose to read this book because I was already familiar with some of the other fun Nate the Great stories.

[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.

[DixieJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

My non-reader (gasp) is reading! He picked this book to read for our next book club (that is about animals - and this has a dog on the cover so it must be about dogs right? I was just so excited that he picked a nearly-chapter book I didn't care that it isn't about animals really!) He is reading everyday and has a schedule to be finished by the next book club. I am proud of him.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this easy reader, Nate the Great Detective is on the case. He needs to find Oliver's missing plain old blue boring beach bag. Nate uses his deductive skills to figure out where the beach bag is. Some of the text is long so this text would not be a beginning easy reader. The story includes other minor characters such as Sludge, Rosamond, and Esmeralda.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun Nate the Great story, about finding the lost beach bag of Oliver the follower. Oliver knows he left his bag right beside his beach ball, but when he finds his beach ball on the beach again, his bag is nowhere to be found, not even a trace. With absolutely no clues to go on, can Nate the Great solve the case?

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story in the "Nate the Great" series. It's a bit predictable, but the mystery is actually not that hard to imagine and Nate shows an impressive sense of direction and common sense. Our girls like these books and they are good, short mysteries that are fairly easy to solve.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son really enjoys the Nate the Great series. We read this one before bed. He's starting to want us to read chapter books, and these are easy enough to read in just a couple nights. They are easy to follow and help with comprehension skills.

[R.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I once read this as a kid, and now I got to read pay it forward. It is a cute story, filled with some sleuthing that surely keeps some younger kids guessing until the very end. Some of the sentences were overly simplistic, but it was a good, quick read for my 5-year old to enjoy.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Nate the Great book but the 3rd graders liked it. It could be used to lead into a lesson about getting lost at the beach or in a crowed place. Also, about paying attention to where your stuff is.