Nate the Great and the Stolen Base (Nate the Great Series) by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Marc Simont (Illustrator)

Product Details

Synopsis

Rosamund's baseball team has a very unusual second base—Oliver’s gloopy purple plastic octopus. But one morning . . . it’s gone! “Somebody stole second base,” Rosamond tells teammate Nate the Great. With the help of his dog, Sludge, the young detective trails the missing octopus, picking up clues along the way. It’s not easy to track down a stolen base, and Nate’s hunt leads him to some strange places before he finds himself up at bat once more.

Annotation

Nate the Great investigates the mysterious disappearance of the purple plastic octopus that his baseball team uses for second base.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-- Nate is back with another perplexing problem. In this case, second base (a gloopy purple octopus belonging to teammate Oliver) is missing, All that can be found are two purple plastic arms in the dirt. At first, suspicions fall on teammate Annie's dog Fang, known to be capable of eating nearly anything, and although he is in possession of another of the octopus's arms, he is proven innocent. By following clues and using reasoning, Nate the Great solves the mystery. As usual, Sharmat does not condescend to her audience, and readers are provided with enough information to find the answer themselves. Subtle humor sparkles through the young detective's narration and his interactions with his friends, who more than adequately represent ethnic diversity and avoid gender stereotypes. Budding mystery fans will line up for this one. --Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA