Nate the Great Goes Down in the Dumps

Nate the Great #12

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Marc Simont (Illustrator)

Nate the Great and his trusty dog, Sludge, have a tricky case to solve. Nate’s friend Rosamond has started a fortune-telling business, but her money box is missing. Sludge and Nate visit Claude, who helped Rosamond set up her business, and Finley, who collects boxes for his rat. They can’t seem to help! It looks like the only way to clean up this case is to get down and dirty in the dumps!

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

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

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

[J9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book my 6 yr old loved, a little old for my preschoolers. A solid reading level 2 book, this reader has a good amount of advanced vocabulary words, but not so long that it discourages a new reader. Used it for his read out loud book, which was perfect. It took about 15 mins for him to read and had just enough new vocabulary words to make it challenging. Also, it was a fun and interesting story he could get into. He liked it so much, he asked for more by this author. Great reading book!

[Chance Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story with a pretend-psychic, a trip to the grocery, and the dump my favorite places. I picked this book as a 2nd-grade read-aloud and I'm curious if they'll know right away that the box is under the crate dumbass or if the mystery will keep them engaged.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when Nate the Great found Rosemund's box to hold money in when people pay 2 or 3 cents for Rosemund to see their future. It was under the crate. I did not like this book because I really really really do not like dumps.

[Jane Maple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosamond offers to read Nate's future for two cents. Rosamond says that Nate will have to solve a case about a missing money box that has no money in it, her money box. She then explains that Claude helped her set up her fortune telling business by brining out a table, a sign, the money box and four cans of tuna fish for her cats. Rosamond went in to get her crystal ball. Claude went into to get a crate for her to sit on and when she came back the money box was gone. She explains that it was a white box with the word Rosamond on it and big enough to hold 100 pennies. Rosamond goes to deliver Nate's letter to his mom about being on a case. Nate looks around the table doesn't see the box. Runs off when he sees Annie with Fang and goes to see Claude. Claude explains it was hard to move the crate that Rosamond used as a seat and that he could barely see over it and that once he put it down he ran away because he didn't want to move anything else for Rosamond. Nate goes to see Finley who has a rat that chews up the boxes that Finley uses to keep the animal in, but that box says Rat House on the outside. Finley suggests going to the supermarket for good boxes for the dump for bad ones. Nate checks both out. At the dump they climb a mountain of junk after a box that is showing an "R" but it turns out to be a Rat House Finley threw away not Rosamond's box. The junk mountain is very high and Sludge is afraid. Nate tells him to not look down and then realizes that is the clue to the case and he and Sludge slide down the mountain on a mattress. He goes to Rosamond's house and shows the money box is underneath the box she is using as a seat. Rosamond is very appreciative, she tells Nate she will read his future for free. He says he can read his own future as he looks at the crystal ball and says that he and Sludge will run far away, which they do.

Extras: What Items go to the Dump (at the time 41% paper and only 7% plastic - I wonder what that would be now); Pet Facts (most people have fish (by the numbered owned not the number of households), followed by cats, then dogs, birds, small mammals, reptiles and finally spiders and insects); Facts on pennies; Making Your Own Money Box; Jokes about Fortune Tellers; How to Make Puzzle Cupcakes

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cleanliness: Rosamund has a crystal ball and is trying to make money giving people their fortune - throughout book.

Reading Level: 2nd and 3rd

**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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[Sophie Klockow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Another book in the Nate the great series. I love series books! In this one, Nate and his dog sludge help solve the case of their friend Rosamond's fortune-telling business, because her money box went missing. Sludge and Nate visit Claude, who helped Rosamond set up her business, and Finley, who collects boxes for his rat until they get into the dump, down and dirty to find the clues to solve this mystery.
Connections: Realizing it is hard work to get the answer you want
How you would use it: As an option in my classroom library

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review: We are always up for a Nate the Great adventure and I happened to find a copy of this at a local used bookstore. This was another fun case and Munchkin and I like discussing about halfway through where he might find it. The illustrations are always good for getting clues along with Nate the Great. Munchkin loves these books, they are easy to read for young readers and also help promote problem solving for the kids as well. These books are also timeless, unlike some of the other older books, these are still relatable for young readers.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second Nate the Great book I have read to my youngest daughter. It is no where near the beginning of the series. I looked it up after reading it to her and it's volume 12 of 30! But it was a fun time and she really enjoyed it. The smiles and the fact that we are reading a detective story together is great! This case involves Nate trying to find a missing money box which belongs to Rosamond. Fun times and a great adventure worth the time reading.

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read some kid detective stories for #marchmysterymadness and one of the librarians suggested Nate the Great. This was my second one and I thought it was really good. Nate has good common sense. I also love all of the extra learning opportunities presented at the end of the story.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rosamond engages Nate to find a missing box. His quest takes him to the local dump among other places.

Same early reader, simple sentences. I figured out the mystery immediately. One of my kids got close.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with 1st graders. They liked it.

[Charles Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

T, like//

[Jenna Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to my class for a virtual read aloud.

[Evan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of these books were great honestly

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 5yo has been obsessed with all of the Nate the Great books and reads them in about half an hour, giggling the whole way through. I find them pretty great, too - I like the dry humor.

[WinterBat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute mystery adventure with some dry humor

[nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one is down in the dumps! Pays tribute to Rosamond, but definitely feels like a filler episode within the series.

[Kezia · Rating 2 out of 5]

CONTENT talk of fortune telling

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the few remaining books in the Nate the Great series by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Marc Simont that we hadn't yet read (until now, of course.) This story was a simple tale of finding a lost money box and our girls were excited to have figured it out before we read the ending.

We have enjoyed this series (especially our youngest) and we really liked the books that have the extra fun activities at the end. The activities at the end of this book have a lot of good information about composting and recycling as well as about pennies and different pets. And as always, our girls loved the jokes, too.

[Centennial 3rd · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book Nate the great goes down in the dumps Nate goes on a mission to find Rosamonds money box.When he went to the dump he saw a box that had an R on it but it said rat house.The characters are Nate,Rosmond,Annie,Fang and Claud.All of these characters are outside while it is hot and sunny.Nate the great wanted to find Rosamonds box because it means so much to her.The problem is that where ever Nate the great looks he cant find Rosamonds box. What do you think is going to happen next.I recomend this book to people who like mysteries.

































umps nate goes on a

[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.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully fun detective story for children.
Rosamund has set up a fortune-telling service. She tells Nate's fortune as her first customer of the day, and it turns up a new case for him. Rosamund's box, which is big enough to hold $100 in pennies, has disappeared, even though it was empty, before she ever got her business started. Now Nate has to figure out what could have happened to the box!

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny. I don't remember reading this book. But I have the notes from class. So, I must have.

Review: "large type. more lines per paged. Simple illustrations."

[Jemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little bit boring.

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know, most dumps aren't like this. Ah, well, nostalgic charm.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are wonderful little books for early readers!

[Schmobes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Level 4.