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

December 1, 1998
Gr 2-3-Nate the Great looks surprisingly young considering he is celebrating his 25th anniversary, and he does so in style with this full-color, special edition. The story involves the famed detective's friends throwing a party in his honor, only to have the festivities marred by the absence of Annie's dog. Everyone leaves to search for the missing pet. Even Nate, who has always tried to avoid the toothy canine, pitches in. Through a trail of odd, often humorous starts and stops, Fang is found, and the party resumes. Sharmat's simple, witty text and Simont's equally witty illustrations are a winning combination. Fans will undoubtedly enjoy the inside humor and references to previous cases and the familiar characters. First-time readers will be able to follow along, but will appreciate the book more if they backtrack and read some of the previous titles. This book continues and celebrates the series with appropriate fun and flavor; tips for solving cases, pancake recipes, and other tricks of the trade are appended.-Pam Hopper Webb, Sandpoint Community Christian School, ID

July 1, 1998
Gr. 1^-2. Celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of this popular series, the latest Nate the Great book brings the audience up on stage. Series fans will find a puzzle to solve in the dedication for readers, an empty chair at Nate's Detective Day party (where his friends invite the reader to join them), Nate's personal tips on detection, and his recipes for pancakes. At the party, Nate has challenged his friends to solve the case of Fang, the missing dog, but in the end, the great detective steps in and solves it himself. Fresh as ever, Simont's expressive drawings with colorful washes add immensely to the book's charm. Another success for Nate, Sharmat, and Simont. ((Reviewed July 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)

January 1, 1999
Interspersed throughout Sharmat's trademark clipped prose and deadpan humor are hints and questions designed to draw budding mystery fans into Nate the Great's latest case. After Nate--and readers--have tracked down Annie's missing dog, the boy detective invites readers to a Detective Day party and shares sleuthing tips and recipes for invisible ink and latkes. Simont's humorous watercolors enhance the chapter-book mystery.

(Copyright 1999 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)