 |
 |
 |
 
|
Someone at Rosamond’s book club is damaging books. They’ve ripped a tuna fish pie recipe out of her cookbook and pages fifteen and sixteen from her Harvard Hedgehog book. To find the culprit, Nate the Great will have to study a photograph of the kitchen crime scene and go undercover as a member of Rosamond’s Ready Readers book club.
Taking into consideration facts such as the height of the kitchen table and the stretching ability and food preferences of the group members, Nate is able to narrow the suspects down to one small furry book club member.
But observations and clues only help Nate solve part of the damaged books mystery. To find the missing pages of the book, Nate will have to gather some background information about the Harvard Hedgehog book by talking to a knowledgeable librarian at a used book sale.
Nate the Great has an inquisitive mind. He takes his detective work seriously and speaks with confidence on the job. He dresses like a detective while working, uses a magnifying glass to study clues, and finds good hiding spots while watching suspects. A hearty pancake eater, Nate is rarely alone. His brown and white dog Sludge is a detective hero, too.
Color illustrations appear on every page of the thirteen chapters in this book, adding appeal to this mystery - as do the likable cats and dogs that are incorporated into the storyline. Short sentences are spiced up with fun words like mumbling and bumbling, clean clues, House of Fang, and ‘numbers crumbers.’
Beginner readers will start to anticipate the recurring phrase ‘I, Nate the Great’ and become familiar with repetitive vocabulary used throughout the story:
“Yesterday I left it open on my kitchen table after I made treats for the club meeting. When the meeting was over, I went to get the treats for the members. The page that was open was torn, ripped, ruined!”
Sludge and I looked at the page. I, Nate the Great, say that it was torn, ripped and ruined.
Young detective Nate does more than solve mysteries in this book; he also gives excellent advice. To prevent further kitchen mishaps, he tells Rosamond to keep her kitchen clean, and to prevent anymore trips and falls over books left on the floor, he picks up a pile of books Rosamond left on the floor and sets them on a shelf where they belong.
Young readers looking for a mystery involving animals should pick up this newest book by husband-and-wife team Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat. Book club members themselves, they live in Arizona.
Jody Wheeler divides her time between Florida and New York City. She is the illustrator of many children’s books including Nate the Great Talks Turkey and Roberto Walks Home.
|
|
| |
Tanya Boudreau/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book |
|
|
For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews,
visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)
|
|
Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club