Nate the great is a boy detective who solves cases for other children, especially friends who live in the neighborhood.  He narrates his own stories, and he speaks like a hard-boiled detective.  When he’s on a case, he wears a deerstalker hat and a trench coat, sort of like a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Sam Spade.  Nate loves pancakes, which he also feeds to his dog, Sludge, although Sludge doesn’t appreciate them as much as Nate does.

One of Nate’s friends is Annie, who lives down the street.  Nate has a bit of a crush on Annie (“I would like Annie if I liked girls.”), but he’s a little afraid of her big dog, Fang.  Another friend (although that’s using the term loosely) is Rosamond.  Nate thinks that Rosamond is a little weird, and she owns a lot of cats, all of whom are named some version of “Hex” (ex. Big Hex, Little Hex, Super Hex, etc.).

There’s a lot of humor in the series, and one of the running gags is that Nate always leaves a note for his mother when he goes out to investigate a case.  The form that the note takes always depends on the case that he’s investigating. You never see any of the adults in the stories, though.  It’s always just the children.

The author of the series is Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Her husband is Mitchell Sharmat, who is also an author. Together, they have written other children’s books and series, including Olivia Sharp, Agent for Secrets.  The character Olivia Sharp is Nate the Great’s cousin, and there are some stories which feature both characters.

Books in the Series:

Nate the Great (1972)

Annie has lost a picture that she drew of her dog, Fang.  Can Nate the Great find it?

Nate the Great Goes Undercover (1974)

Oliver wants to know who or what has been getting into his trash every night, creating a messy case for Nate.

Nate the Great and the Lost List (1975)

Nate the Great and the Phony Clue (1977)

Nate finds a scrap of paper that turns out to be part of an invitation, asking him to come to someone’s house by three o’clock.  But, with the name and address of the person missing, how will Nate figure out who the invitation is from?

Nate the Great and the Sticky Case (1978)

Nate searches for a missing stegosaurus stamp.

Nate the Great and the Missing Key (1981)

Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail (1983)

Rosamond loses the present that she was planning to give to Nate.  Nate’s a detective, but how is he supposed to track down his missing present if Rosamond refuses to tell him why kind of present it is?  He’ll sure be surprised when he finds it!

Nate the Great and the Fishy Prize (1985)

Nate and his dog, Sludge, track down the missing trophy for the Smartest Pet Contest.

Nate the Great Stalks Stupidweed (1986)

Oliver loses the plant that he’s been growing and asks Nate for help.

Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag (1987)

Nate and his dog, Sludge, search for a missing beach bag at the beach.

Nate the Great Goes Down in the Dumps (1989)

Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt (1989)

Nate is spending Halloween helping to find Rosamond’s missing cat.

Nate the Great and the Musical Note (1990)

Nate the Great and the Stolen Base (1992)

Nate the Great and the Pillowcase (1993)

Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine (1994)

Nate tries to figure out who left a valentine for his dog, Sludge.

Nate the Great and the Tardy Tortoise (1995)

A tortoise appears in Nate’s yard, but who does it belong to?

Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas (1996)

Nate the Great Saves the King of Sweden (1997)

Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang (1998)

Annie’s dog, Fang, disappears.

Nate the Great and the Monster Mess (1999)

Nate’s mother’s recipe for Monster Cookies disappears!

Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective (1999)

Nate goes to visit his cousin, Olivia, and the two of them have to find a lost joke book.

Nate the Great and the Big Sniff (2001)

Nate’s dog, Sludge, vanishes!

Nate the Great on the Owl Express (2003)

Nate has to guard Olivia’s pet owl, Hoot, on a train trip, but Hoot disappears!

Nate the Great Talks Turkey (2007)

Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club (2009)

Nate the Great, Where Are You? (2015)

Nate the Great and the Missing Birthday Snake (2018)