Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie Kingsley
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Nate solves neighborhood mysteries in fun new-reader series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In the NATE THE GREAT series, young Nate takes on the most pressing mysteries in his neighborhood. From finding the paper octopus that they use for second base in their baseball game, to a lost cat on Halloween, to a missing cookie recipe, no mystery is too big or too small for Nate and his dog, Sludge, to tackle. Fueled by endless amounts of pancakes, Nate carefully reviews his clues and looks for more before solving the case. At the ends of most books is a collection of quizzes, crafts, projects, riddles, and other bonus material to keep readers interested after the case is solved.
Is It Any Good?
The mysteries Nate takes on are simple and relevant to kids, but it's the conversations among friends that really shine in this series that understands that simple reading doesn't have to be boring. The writing in the Nate the Great series fits anyone in the "new reader" stage, with short sentences, repetition, and pairing words for contextual clues ("inside/outside," "dumbest/smartest," etc.)
Nate has an ethnically diverse group of friends, all with different interests and skills, and their conversations as they try to solve the mystery are both serious and slyly funny. The notes Nate writes to his mom explaining that he is on a case are particularly charming.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what kinds of mysteries Nate the Great could solve in their lives. Has something odd happened today, or did you lose something? Let's solve the mystery!
What other mystery books do you like to read?
Would you ever leave the kind of note Nate leaves for his mom?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Marc Simont
- Genre : For Beginning Readers
- Topics : Adventures , Animals , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Delacorte Press
- Publication date : October 3, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 6 - 9
- Number of pages : 60
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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