Nate the Great Series by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Nate is a boy detective who will solve any mystery his friends bring to him! This early reader series has almost 30 titles.

Reading Level: Ages 5-7
Read Aloud: All Ages

While all of my children are past early readers, we never ventured into Nate the Great. When I grabbed them to review, I was rather surprised at what I found. The tone of these books can be a little snarky in an attempt to be funny. Nate can be a little rude. The mysteries themselves are fun because your child can try to solve them along with Nate, but I would advise prereading titles.

I did not read the entire current 29 book set, but of the many titles I did read, some were cute and some were odd. There was the occasional inclusion of the word “hate” or “stupid.” This wasn’t with a broad brush, but titles here and there. There is an odd child character, Rosamond, who does things like read the future with her crystal ball and name her cats different versions of the “Hex.” While this isn’t a series I’d feel comfortable giving my full stamp of approval on, there are some fun titles to be found.

Also, do be aware that this series spans many decades and many illustrators.

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