By Maureen Tai, 31 July 2021

Each slim book in the classic Nate the Great series of early readers (ages 6+) packs a punch. Nate is a detective. He loves pancakes, as does Sludge, the stray dog he adopted. Nate makes pancakes when he is in the middle of solving cases. Like when Annie lost the key to her house and couldn’t get in to throw a birthday party for her ferocious-looking pet dog, appropriately named Fang. Or when that pesky Oliver lost the weed that he had acquired from the cat-loving and slightly strange Rosamond. Nate writes notes – in shaky cursive – to his mother when he is out doing field work (ahhh, those pre-Internet days!). The sparse prose, delightful pictures and activity pages at the end add to the appeal of these charming and clever books, perfect for emerging readers who are looking for an interesting and fun “bridge” into the wondrous new realm of chapter books. The best part? There are around 30 books in the series, enough for a whole lot of rainy days and lazy afternoons.