Nate the Great and the Wandering Word - OPTIONAL

Sharmat, Andrew and Marjorie Weinman Sharmat Nate the Great and the Wandering Word, illustrated by Jody Wheeler, 64 pages. Delacorte Press (Random House), 2018. $13. 9781524765446. Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL(K-3) - OPTIONAL

KID APPEAL: MEDIUM

Nate the Great, the kid detective, is at it again with another mystery to solve. When local smart girl, Esmeralda, loses a word she wrote down--she can't remember it and can't find the paper she wrote it on!--Nate the Great is called on to solve the case. Following the usual format, Nate brings along his dog, Sludge, goes after a few dead ends, and eventually solves the case.

I was a fan of Nate the Great when I was younger, so its nice the publisher has continued to publish new stories for this generation. This is a fine easy chapter book choice for beginning readers and kids will probably enjoy trying to solve the mystery along with Nate. I found the story in this particular mystery to be a little dull and the vast majority of the story was told in conversation which bothered me somehow. Overall its not my favorite Nate the Great, but still a solid series.

Reviewer: TC