Nate the Great and the Sticky Case Read online

  “Smile, Fang,” Annie said.

  Fang smiled.

  The shoe fell to the ground.

  I picked it up.

  I, Nate the Great,

  peeled off the stamp.

  The case was solved.

  We took the stegosaurus stamp

  to Claude’s house.

  The stamp was dirty, sticky,

  icky, and ugly.

  But Claude was happy to get it.

  Sludge and I walked home.

  We were careful

  not to step

  in any puddles.

  Nate’s Notes: Dinosaurs

  Nate’s Notes: Stamps

  Ten Fun Things to Look at with a Magnifying Glass

  A Map of a Stamp

  Four Serious Stamps

  Dinosaur Egg Recipe

  How to Make Yard-Sale Dinosaur Lollipops

  1. The design:

  Some stamps honor famous people. Others celebrate important events.

  2. The holes:

  Tiny holes make it easier to tear apart a sheet or roll of stamps.

  3. The cancellation:

  This shows that the stamp has been used and stops anyone from using it again. The cancellation may consist of wavy lines, straight lines, or other marks.

  4. The face value:

  This is how much you pay for the stamp at the post office. An old stamp can be much more—or much less—valuable than a new one.

  5. The country’s name:

  More than 260 countries around the world print stamps. Almost every country prints its name on the stamp. Great Britain is the only country that doesn’t. Why is it different? Great Britain was the first country to print stamps. It puts a picture of the queen’s face on each one.

  Make these eggs. Get together with some friends who love dinosaurs. Give out the eggs. Have a good time. (Just don’t eat the eggs!)

  GET TOGETHER:

  • a mixing bowl

  • 2½ cups flour

  • 2½ cups used coffee grounds

  • 1½ cups salt

  • 1 cup sand

  • water

  • small plastic dinosaurs*

  *You can find these at toy stores.

  MAKE YOUR DINO EGGS:

  1. In the bowl, mix together the flour, coffee grounds, salt, and sand.

  2. Slowly add water. Stir. Keep adding water until the mixture holds together.

  3. Cover a plastic dinosaur with the mixture. Form the mixture into an egg shape.

  4. Let dry at least 24 hours. Longer is better.

  5. You may need to help your dinosaur “hatch” with a rock or a hammer.

  Rosamond sells cat hairs at her yard sale. Next time you have a yard sale, sell these dinosaur pops. They’ll be much more popular.

  Get an adult to help you with this recipe.

  GET TOGETHER:

  • dinosaur lollipop molds*

  • cooking spray

  • enough chocolate to fill your molds (usually two chocolate bars is enough to make four lollipops)

  • a microwave oven and a bowl, or a stovetop and a double boiler

  • oven mitts

  • lollipop sticks*

  • sandwich bags

  • curling ribbon

  • scissors

  *You can find these at craft stores. Or buy them online.

  MAKE YOUR DINO POPS:

  1. Spray the molds with cooking spray. Set aside.

  2. Break the chocolate into small pieces.

  3. IF USING A STOVETOP:

  Fill the bottom part of a double boiler halfway with water. Place the chocolate pieces in the top part. Warm over medium heat until the chocolate melts.

  IF USING A MICROWAVE:

  Place the chocolate pieces in the bowl. Heat at half power for one minute. Stir. The chocolate will still be lumpy. Heat for another minute. Stir. Continue heating and stirring until all the lumps melt.

  4. Carefully pour the chocolate into the molds. Use the oven mitts! The chocolate will be hot.

  5. Put the sticks into the molds.

  6. Chill the molds in the refrigerator for three hours.

  7. Remove the dinosaurs from the molds by tugging gently on the sticks.

  8. Put each lollipop in a sandwich bag. Tie the bag closed with a piece of ribbon. Curl the ribbon with scissors.

  Have you helped solve all

  Nate the Great’s mysteries?

  Nate the Great Goes Undercover: Who—or what—is raiding Oliver’s trash every night? Nate bravely hides out in his friend’s garbage can to catch the smelly crook.

  Nate the Great and the Lost List: Nate loves pancakes, but who ever heard of cats eating them? Is a strange recipe at the heart of this mystery?

  Nate the Great and the Phony Clue: Against ferocious cats, hostile adversaries, and a sly phony clue, Nate struggles to prove that he’s still the world’s greatest detective.

  Nate the Great and the Sticky Case: Nate is stuck with his stickiest case yet as he hunts for his friend Claude’s valuable stegosaurus stamp.

  Nate the Great and the Missing Key: Nate isn’t afraid to look anywhere—even under the nose of his friend’s ferocious dog, Fang—to solve the case of the missing key.

  Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail: Nate has his work cut out for him when his friend Rosamond loses the birthday present she was going to give him. How can he find the present when Rosamond won’t even tell him what it is?

  Nate the Great and the Fishy Prize: The trophy for the Smartest Pet Contest has disappeared! Will Sludge, Nate’s clue-sniffing dog, help solve the case and prove he’s worthy of the prize?

  Nate the Great Stalks Stupidweed: When his friend Oliver loses his special plant, Nate searches high and low. Who knew a little weed could be so tricky?

  Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag: It’s no relaxing day at the beach for Nate and his trusty dog, Sludge, as they search through sand and surf for signs of a missing beach bag.

  Nate the Great Goes Down in the Dumps: Nate discovers that the only way to clean up this case is to visit the town dump. Detective work can sure get dirty!

  Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt: It’s Halloween, but Nate isn’t trick-or-treating for candy. Can any of the witches, pirates, and robots he meets help him find a missing cat?

  Nate the Great and the Musical Note: Nate is used to looking for clues, not listening for them! When he gets caught in the middle of a musical riddle, can he hear his way out?

  Nate the Great and the Stolen Base: It’s not easy to track down a stolen base, and Nate’s hunt leads him to some strange places before he finds himself at bat once more.

  Nate the Great and the Pillowcase: When a pillowcase goes missing, Nate must venture into the dead of night to search for clues. Everyone sleeps easier knowing Nate the Great is on the case!

  Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine: Nate hates mushy stuff. But when someone leaves a big heart taped to Sludge’s doghouse, Nate must help his favorite pooch discover his secret admirer.

  Nate the Great and the Tardy Tortoise: Where did the mysterious green tortoise in Nate’s yard come from? Nate needs all his patience to follow this slow … slow … clue.

  Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas: It’s Christmas, and Fang, Annie’s scary dog, is not feeling jolly. Can Nate find Fang’s crunchy Christmas mail before Fang crunches on him?

  Nate the Great Saves the King of Sweden: Can Nate solve his first-ever international case without leaving his own neighborhood?

  Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang: A surprise Happy Detective Day party is great fun for Nate until his friend’s dog disappears! Help Nate track down the missing pooch, and learn all the tricks of the trade in a special fun section for aspiring detectives.

  Nate the Great and the Monster Mess: Nate loves his mother’s deliciously spooky Monster Cookies, but the recipe has vanished! This is one case Nate and his growling stomach can’t afford to lose.

  Nate the Great,
San Francisco Detective: Nate visits his cousin Olivia Sharp in the big city, but it’s no vacation. Can he find a lost joke book in time to save the world?

  Nate the Great and the Big Sniff: Nate depends on his dog, Sludge, to help him solve all his cases. But Nate is on his own this time, because Sludge has disappeared! Can Nate solve the case and recover his canine buddy?

  Nate the Great on the Owl Express: Nate boards a train to guard Hoot, his cousin Olivia Sharp’s pet owl. Then Hoot vanishes! Can Nate find out whooo took the feathered creature?

  Nate the Great Talks Turkey: There’s a turkey on the loose, with Nate, his cousin Olivia Sharp, Sludge, and Claude in hot pursuit. Who will find the runaway bird first?

  Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club: Rosamond has started a book club. Nate and his dog, Sludge, attend a meeting as undercover detectives. The case: find out what “monster” has an appetite for ripping book pages and making others go missing.

  MARJORIE WEINMAN SHARMAT was born and grew up in Portland, Maine. She has been writing since age eight and is the author of more than 130 books, which have been translated into nineteen languages. She is probably best known as the creator of the series about the world-famous sleuth Nate the Great.

  MARC SIMONT won the Caldecott Medal for his artwork in A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry, as well as a Caldecott Honor for his own book, The Stray Dog. He illustrated the first twenty books in the Nate the Great series.