Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club Read online

  READ ALL THE

  NATE THE GREAT DETECTIVE STORIES!

  NATE THE GREAT

  NATE THE GREAT GOES UNDERCOVER

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE LOST LIST

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE PHONY CLUE

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE STICKY CASE

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE MISSING KEY

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE SNOWY TRAIL

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE FISHY PRIZE

  NATE THE GREAT STALKS STUPIDWEED

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE BORING BEACH BAG

  NATE THE GREAT GOES DOWN IN THE DUMPS

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE HALLOWEEN HUNT

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE MUSICAL NOTE

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE STOLEN BASE

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE PILLOWCASE

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE MUSHY VALENTINE

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE TARDY TORTOISE

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE CRUNCHY CHRISTMAS

  NATE THE GREAT SAVES THE KING OF SWEDEN

  NATE THE GREAT AND ME: THE CASE OF THE FLEEING FANG

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE MONSTER MESS

  NATE THE GREAT, SAN FRANCISCO DETECTIVE

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE BIG SNIFF

  NATE THE GREAT ON THE OWL EXPRESS

  NATE THE GREAT TALKS TURKEY

  NATE THE GREAT AND THE HUNGRY BOOK CLUB

  AND CONTINUE THE DETECTIVE FUN WITH

  OLIVIA SHARP

  by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat illustrated by Denise Brunkus

  OLIVIA SHARP: THE PIZZA MONSTER

  OLIVIA SHARP: THE PRINCESS OF THE FILLMORE STREET SCHOOL

  OLIVIA SHARP: THE SLY SPY

  OLIVIA SHARP: THE GREEN TOENAILS GANG

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2009 by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat

  Cover art copyright © 2009 by Jody Wheeler

  New illustrations of Nate the Great, Sludge, Rosamond, Annie, Oliver, Pip, Finley, Claude, Esmeralda, Harry, Fang, and the Hexes by Jody Wheeler based upon the original drawings by Marc Simont. All other images copyright © 2009 by Jody Wheeler

  Extra Fun Activities copyright © 2011 by Emily Costello

  Extra Fun Activities illustrations copyright © 2011 by Jody Wheeler

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Delacorte Press is a registered trademark and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  Visit us on the Web! randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this work as follows:

  Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman.

  Nate the Great and the hungry book club / by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat; illustrated by Jody Wheeler in the style of Marc Simont.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Nate and his dog Sludge help Rosamond discover who has been tearing pages out of her books.

  ISBN 978-0-385-73695-4 (trade hc : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-385-90637-1 (glb : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-385-37674-7 (ebook)

  [1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Books and reading—Fiction.] I. Sharmat, Mitchell. II. Wheeler, Jody, ill. III. Title.

  PZ7.S5299 Natp 2009

  [Fic]—dc22

  2009030319

  eBook ISBN 978-0-385-37674-7

  Trade paperback ISBN 978-0-375-84548-2

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  Remembering

  my father, Nathan Weinman NATE

  my mother, Anna Weinman ANNIE

  my sister, Rosalind Weinman ROSAMOND

  my uncle, Harry Weinman HARRY

  my dog, Fritz Melvin Sharmat SLUDGE

  and you know them all

  —M.W.S.

  For Trombone Bruce Glasberg

  —J.W.

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One: Torn, Ripped, Ruined

  Chapter Two: The Crime Scene

  Chapter Three: A Book Case

  Chapter Four: The Hungry Book Club

  Chapter Five: Meet Harvard Hedgehog

  Chapter Six: Double Trouble

  Chapter Seven: The Evil Page Monster

  Chapter Eight: Sniffs

  Chapter Nine: Not So Fast

  Chapter Ten: Stretchy Fang

  Chapter Eleven: School Clues

  Chapter Twelve: The Hedgehog Picture

  Chapter Thirteen: Reading Together

  Extra Fun Activities!

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  My name is Nate the Great.

  I am a detective.

  My dog, Sludge, is a detective too.

  “Ouch!”

  Right now I am a mumbling, bumbling,

  tripping detective.

  I have just tripped over

  a big pile of books

  that Rosamond left in my house.

  Sludge is sniffing them.

  He has been sniffing them

  since Rosamond knocked on my door

  this morning.

  She was carrying a bunch of books.

  Three more were piled on her head.

  Rosamond looked very strange.

  Rosamond looks strange all the time.

  “I have great news,” she said.

  “I have started a book club.

  I am calling it Rosamond’s Ready Readers.

  But there is trouble in the club.

  One of the members is trying

  to wreck my cookbook. Look!”

  Rosamond took a book off her head.

  The other two books fell off.

  “Why are you carrying books on top

  of your head?” I asked.

  “Because I’m president of a club now.

  These books help me hold my head high

  and look like a president.”

  I, Nate the Great, knew that I was

  looking at a very strange president.

  “This is my new cookbook,” she said.

  “Yesterday I left it open on my

  kitchen table after I made treats

  for the club meeting.

  When the meeting was over,

  I went to get the treats

  for the members.

  The page that was open

  was torn, ripped, ruined!”

  Sludge and I looked at the page.

  I, Nate the Great, say that

  it was torn, ripped, ruined.

  Chapter Two

  Rosamond pulled something out of

  her pocket.

  “Here is a photo of the crime scene,”

  she said.

  I looked at the photo. “Your kitchen

  was a crime scene?”

  “Of course. Keep this photo and study it.

  You can see that my cookbook

  is in the middle of my huge, high table.

  The torn page had a recipe for tuna fish pie.

  The bits of pie that fell

  on the page are gone too.

  I want you to find the evil monster

  who did this!”

  “Mons
ter?”

  “Yes. The Evil Page Monster,”

  Rosamond said.

  “Now, here is my plan. The next meeting

  will be at my house this afternoon.

  You and Sludge can come undercover.

  Just pretend you are new members.

  I’ll be using this cookbook again.

  Meanwhile, I’ll leave these other

  books here, where they’ll be safe.

  I left one book at home.

  The members will be reading it

  at today’s meeting.”

  Rosamond piled her books on my floor.

  “You are so lucky to have this case!”

  I, Nate the Great, did not agree.

  “Perhaps this is a case for a bookworm,”

  I said.

  “Enjoy being a bookworm,” Rosamond said.

  I looked at Sludge.

  We both knew that if I didn’t take the case,

  Rosamond would come back.

  And back. And back.

  And back.

  Chapter Three

  I wrote a note to my mother.

  Chapter Four

  It was afternoon.

  Sludge and I went to Rosamond’s house.

  She answered the door.

  She had only one book on her head.

  I peered inside her house.

  I saw Oliver, Pip, Finley, Claude,

  Esmeralda, Annie, and Annie’s little

  brother, Harry, sitting in a circle.

  Also sitting in the circle were Annie’s

  dog, Fang, and Rosamond’s four cats,

  Plain Hex, Little Hex, Big Hex,

  and Super Hex.

  I stepped back. “The Hexes and Fang

  belong to your book club?”

  “Sure,” Rosamond said.

  “Everybody loves stories.

  And treats. I serve tuna fish pie to the

  cats and meat patties to Fang.

  Everybody else gets cookies.

  This is a very hungry book club.

  Come in.”

  “I, Nate the Great, am not in the mood

  for cookies or circles,” I said.

  “Sludge and I will sit in a corner.”

  Chapter Five

  Rosamond sat down in a big chair.

  She took the book off her head.

  She held it up.

  “This is our book for today,”

  she announced.

  “Harvard Hedgehog.

  We will take turns reading it out loud.

  Then we will talk about the book.

  I will start.

  ‘Harvard Hedgehog was always late.

  He arrived at parties just in time

  to bump into everyone leaving.

  He nibbled leftover cake crumbs

  and lapped melted ice cream.

  Then he sat in a corner

  and exclaimed, “Wonderful party!”

  to the empty room.’ ”

  I, Nate the Great, was sitting in a corner

  like Harvard Hedgehog.

  I pretended to go to sleep.

  But I was watching, watching.

  The book went from member to member.

  Nobody was tearing pages.

  It was Esmeralda’s turn to read.

  “ ‘When Harvard went to the movies,

  he always got there

  when the movie was over.

  As everyone was going out,

  Harvard was going in.

  He would sit down on stale popcorn

  and look up at the big, empty screen.

  “Great show!” he exclaimed to no one.

  Harvard meant to be on time,

  but he never was.…’ ”

  Suddenly Esmeralda stopped reading.

  She looked puzzled.

  “A page is missing,” she said.

  Rosamond looked straight at me.

  “A ripped page in one book

  and now a missing page from another.

  When I bought this book,

  there were no pages missing.

  I know because I read the entire book

  before I bought it!”

  I, Nate the Great, looked at Sludge.

  I now knew we had a real case.

  Chapter Six

  Rosamond raised her arms.

  “As president of Rosamond’s Ready

  Readers, I will not let this stop

  our book club meeting.

  Members, who would like to tell me

  what you think of the book so far?”

  Esmeralda raised her hand. “At first I

  thought that Harvard needed a watch,

  but now I know he needs a page.”

  Claude raised his hand.

  Claude was always losing things.

  “I don’t like the book

  because Harvard doesn’t lose anything,”

  he said. “If you never lose anything,

  you never have a chance to find

  what you didn’t lose.”

  “Excellent thought,” Rosamond said.

  Oliver spoke up. “I follow people.

  Everyone knows I do.

  Harvard doesn’t

  follow anybody. Harvard is

  a very boring hedgehog.”

  “Thank you for sharing that with us,”

  Rosamond said.

  “Me, me, me!” Harry was jumping up and down.

  “I like the book.

  I like the picture of

  Harvard smiling in front of

  the big clock the best.”

  Rosamond smiled.

  “Well, we have a nice happy Harvard,

  and a happy Harry,” she said.

  “I am proud of all my members.

  Except whoever ripped a page

  and took a page.”

  I, Nate the Great, was thinking.

  Who would rip

  a page of the cookbook and

  take a page of Harvard Hedgehog?

  Someone who liked the books,

  or someone who disliked the books?

  Or someone who couldn’t decide?

  And where was the missing page?

  “I would like to see the book,” I said.

  Rosamond handed it to me.

  “I see that the missing page

  would have been numbered 15 on one side

  and 16 on the other,” I said.

  “Numbers, crumbers,” Rosamond said.

  “You have a double mystery.

  Just solve it!”

  Chapter Seven

  Rosamond stood up.

  “Now it’s time for treats,” she said.

  “The animals are getting restless.”

  Sludge and I followed Rosamond

  to the kitchen.

  It was a mess.

  But Sludge sniffed and sniffed.

  He liked this case

  because it smelled good.

  I saw a cookbook on the table.

  This time the book was open

  to a recipe for meat patties.

  There were bits of meat on the page.

  Rosamond must have been using the

  cookbook today to make her treats.

  This page had no rips.

  Hmmm.

  Fang and the Hexes walked in.

  Fang sniffed the table.

  He started to jump up

  and reach for the cookbook.

  “Stop!” Rosamond yelled.

  “You, Fang, are the Evil Page Monster!

  I, President Rosamond,

  have solved this case.

  Fang must have sneaked in

  during yesterday’s meeting,

  eaten the bits of food,

  and ripped the page.

  And now I’ve stopped him

  from doing it again.”

  Rosamond folded her arms

  and looked at me.

  “Time to find the missing page,” she said.

&nbs
p; I, Nate the Great, had two choices.

  I could search for the missing page

  or I could go home and eat pancakes

  and think.

  Chapter Eight

  I ate my pancakes

  while Sludge ate a bone.

  Then Sludge walked around the room.

  He was looking for something.

  And he found it.

  It was the photo Rosamond had left here.

  He sniffed it and sniffed it and sniffed it.

  Was he trying to tell me something?

  Was the ripped-page case really solved?

  Did Fang really do it?

  I looked at the photo again.

  The page in the cookbook

  had no food on it.

  The page I had seen at Rosamond’s house

  had tiny bits of meat on it.

  The recipe in the photo was for

  tuna fish pie.

  The recipe at her house was for

  meat patties.

  One recipe for cats, one recipe for dogs.

  “Good work, Sludge,” I said.

  Chapter Nine

  I called Rosamond.

  “I am coming back to your house,” I said.

  “And I need Annie and Fang to be there.”

  I put the photo of the tuna fish pie page

  in my pocket.

  Sludge and I rushed to Rosamond’s house.

  Rosamond was waiting for us at the door.

  “Your ripped-page case is not solved,”

  I said.

  “That fangy Fang did it!” Rosamond said.

  “And here he comes down the street

  with Annie.”

  “We must all go into the kitchen,” I said.