Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang

Nate the Great #21

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Shortly after a breakfast generously supplied with pancakes, Natethe Great got an urgent call from Annie.

"I lost a picture," said Annie. "Can you help me find it?"

"Of course," said Nate. "I have found lost balloons, books, slippers, chickens. Even a lost goldfish. Now I, Nate the Great, will find a lost picture."

"Oh, good," Annie said.

Nate, with the cool detachment of a Sam Spade, immediately plunges into his new and baffling case. Getting all the facts, asking the right questions, narrowing down the suspects. Nate, the boy detective who "likes to work alone," solves the mystery and tracks down the culprit. In the process he also discovers the whereabouts of Super Hex, the missing cat.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Chapter Books, Kids, Dogs

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

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 3 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!

[nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first time in which Nate invites the reader into the mystery, asks for help, makes us part of the case. He dips in, asks for our thoughts, and it’s the first time in which the story is split into chapters.

We become part of Nate’s wonderful world, and it’s heartwarming to know that kids alike are bound to become little detectives in this big big world.

[Jolly Per · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for kids who want mystery and funny stories.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when the book included ME. I did not like this book because I do not like fangs. Nate the Great went to the park and found Fang napping on a bench next to a man.

[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.

[Jane Maple · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Nate's friends come over and wish him a Happy Detective Day. Everyone is happy. Rosamond has ice cream and tuna fish pancakes for her cats. The only unhappy person is Annie since Fang ran away. Nate then offers instructions through out the story on how the reader could be a detective and solve the case. Annie feather dusted Fang before they left and she was teaching him rhymes that result in tricks. So for instance "Do a trick - Lick, Lick, Lick" and "Stop and Wait - Go to the Gate" and "Go to the Park and..." Annie is interrupted by Rosamond on this last one as Rosamond says her cats know all sorts of tricks. Annie explains that Fang gets the tricks mixed up so she has to say the second part first and he will do the first part. On the way to Nate's house two poodles barked at Fang. Annie barked back at the poodles and Fang ran away. Pip mentions that he saw Fang following a woman in a green hat. Nate gets more information on the woman in the green hat but mentions that she might be a red herring then explains what that means. Finally Nate realizes that Fang went to the park (due to the mixed up rhymes) and Nate says that he was really glad to see Fang which he never thought he would say (which is very cute). At the end of the book, Nate congratulates the reader on being a detective and invites you to sit down and eat Latkes pancakes.

Extras: There is also a Detective certificate at the end of the book; tips on being a detective; a detective secret code; spotting a disguise; using invisible ink; Nate's pancake recipe and a potato Pancake recipe; finally a strawberry Milk Shake Surprise

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little boy made the pancake recipe (that was included) right after reading this. He and his little coterie were quite pleased with the results.

[Mr.Zhou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one has instructions for readers to follow the book to solve the case. That's a lot of fun!

[WinterBat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read-along mystery

[Chris Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mystery to solve along with Nate.

[Villain E · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Author tries a new format where Nate interacts directly with the reader: Have you figured out the clues? It's really annoying.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another entertaining story in the Nate the Great series by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Marc Simont. We've read most of these stories and our youngest really likes them. They are always fun, and always strange.

This story has an interesting format, with Nate speaking directly to the reader and including us into the detective work. It's a good mystery and our girls were excited because we figured it out. There are some fun pages at the end of the book, with detective tips, a puzzle and yummy recipes for pancakes, latkes and a milk shake. We may have to have some pancakes tomorrow...

Pancakes

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups of milk
1 egg
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Mix the milk, egg, and oil in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones.
4. Beat with a whisk until the mixture is smooth.
5. Lightly oil a pan and heat it.
6. Pour a small ladleful of batter into the hot pan.
7. Cook about 3 minutes on each side.
8. Repeat until you have a nice stack of pancakes.

Makes about 12 pancakes



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Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 large potatoes, peeled and shredded
3 tablespoons butter

Directions
1. Combine the eggs, flour, onion, and pepper in a bowl.
2. Rinse the shredded potatoes and blot dry with a paper towel. Stir into the egg mixture.
3. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter in a pan. Use medium heat.
4. Spoon 1/3 cup of the mixture into the pan. Spread into a circle
5. Cook 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Makes 12 pancakes.
Serve with applesauce and/or sour cream.

Recipes on pages 61-62

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of the regular Nate the Great books, but this series apparently puts a little spin on the originals and makes the reader into Nate’s sidekick. He addresses the reader directly and asks leading questions meant to point him/her to the evidence needed to solve the case. I didn’t go for that kind of thing when I was a kid, and I don’t like it much as an adult either, it seems. But Nate’s voice is as strong and unique as always, which has always been the main strength of those books in my opinion.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nate the Great, Junior Detective, takes the reader along on the case of the Fleeing Fang, providing tips on how to become a great detective. It all begins when his friends give him a detective party for solving cases for them, but it turns into a mystery when Annie's dog Fang comes-up missing. Along with the tips Nate provides for solving cases, he also shares two of his pancake recipes, and his strawberry milk shake surprise.

[Clinton Brown]

This book is about Nate speicl day when people celbrate good things about Nate the great.Then all of his friends were there absep one Annie's dog named fang. Then all of his friends started to seraching for fang so Nate went home and left his mother a note. Then so nate went to started to look for fang to so that he fount him sleeping beside this man.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of my all time favorite Nate the Great books. Here you get a chance to solve the case before Nate and his friends do. Lots of clues, lots of clever twists and turns, and I STILL didn't figure it out before the end of the book. A really fun read!

[Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the activities in that book.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to love these books in grade school :D

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to the class in two sittings. Liked the color pictures. I think this must be a few chapters from one of the larger Nate the Great books. The story was familiar to me.

[Giggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm just rating this one for all of them.

[Gage · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish...Boooooooooooooooooooooo!

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Other Nate the Great books have made us laugh out loud. This one not so much, but it has a code and a pancake recipe in the back...

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter book, includes a few activities.

[Youngin Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best Nate the Great book, but I like this series. Such a cute series for first and second graders. =D

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

the case is that Fang was lost. Fang was at the park. Sludge helped him by licking because there were doggie poems and one of them was Bark Bark Bark go to the park.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The solution upon which the mystery hinges is a stretch. My students did love the mention of tuna fish pancakes though- they cracked up!

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14608044