Nate the Great and the Phony Clue Read online

  *Here’s how to tell whether the whipped cream is done.

  • Turn off the mixer.

  • Pull the beaters up out of the cream. The cream should make little peaks where the beaters come out.

  STEP TWO: Put Together Your Log.

  1. Using the knife, cover one side of a cookie with whipped cream.

  2. Stack another cookie on top. Cover the second cookie with whipped cream. Add another cookie.

  3. Keep stacking cookies and whipped cream until you have a tower of about twenty cookies. At some point the tower will become wobbly. Set it down on its side on the plate. Now it’s a log.

  4. Cover your log in a layer of whipped cream so that you can’t see any of the cookies.

  STEP THREE: Complete the Disguise.

  1. Run the fork over the whipped cream. This will make the whipped cream look more like tree bark.

  2. Sift the cocoa over the log. It’s okay if some goes on the plate.

  3. Make some phony mushrooms. Unwrap the Kisses. Put a Kiss (phony mushroom cap) on top of a mini-marshmallow (phony mushroom stem). Use a little peanut butter, Nutella, or Marshmallow Fluff to glue the pieces together and glue the mushrooms to the plate.

  STEP FOUR: Eat!

  Q: What starts with a t, ends with a t, and is full of t?

  A: A teapot!

  Q: What three-letter word starts with gas?

  A: A car!

  Q: How do you make a witch itch?

  A: Take away the w!

  Q: What does the letter A have in common with a flower?

  A: They both have bees after them!

  Q: Take away my first letter. Take away my second letter. Take away all my letters and I stay the same. What am I?

  A: A letter carrier!

  Q: What word has only three letters but is longer than Nate?

  A: Banana!

  Q: What letter is always surprised?

  A: G!

  Q: What letter is always wet?

  A: C!

  Q: What two letters are always jealous?

  A: N.V.

  Q: What did A and B get in the record store?

  A: A CD!

  Q: What has four eyes but can’t see?

  A: Mississippi!

  Q: Why is the letter G scary?

  A: Because it turns host into ghost.

  Finley and Pip aren’t the only ones who can send mysterious messages. You can, too. All you need is some invisible ink.

  Ask an adult to help you.

  GET TOGETHER:

  • 2 tablespoons of baking soda

  • 1 cup of water

  • a cup

  • a spoon

  • a paintbrush

  • white paper

  • purple grape juice

  WRITE YOUR MESSAGE:

  1. Mix the baking soda and water in the cup.

  2. Use the paintbrush to paint a message on the paper. The baking soda mixture is your ink.

  3. Let the paper dry completely. Leave it overnight if possible. Your message should be invisible on the dry paper. Dust it off if you need to.

  4. Reveal your message: Paint over the entire paper with grape juice. Be careful! Grape juice can stain.

  Do you like to get messy? Then visit your family’s recycling bin and turn some garbage into paper. It’s not easy! But it’s fun.

  Ask an adult to help you.

  GET TOGETHER:

  • an apron, smock, or old shirt

  • about a dozen pieces of scrap paper torn into small pieces (Try paper towels, construction paper, or tissue paper.)

  • 2 dish tubs (one should be big enough so that you can lay the embroidery hoop flat inside.)

  • water

  • a piece of cheesecloth

  • an embroidery hoop

  • scissors

  • a blender

  • add-ins—like flower petals, tiny bits of tinsel, thread, or glitter

  • a mixing spoon

  • a sponge

  • old towels

  MAKE YOUR PAPER:

  1. Put on your apron, smock, or old shirt. Choose a good place to work. A bathroom, kitchen, or backyard is best. You want someplace that can get wet.

  2. Put the paper scraps in one of the tubs. Cover with water. Allow the paper to soak for at least an hour. Leave overnight if possible.

  3. While the paper is soaking, make your frame. Stretch the cheesecloth tight inside the embroidery hoop. Use the scissors to trim the cheesecloth.

  4. Fill the blender halfway with warm water. Add a handful of soaked paper. Blend until all the pieces are mixed in.

  5. Pour the blended mixture into the second tub. Fill the tub halfway with warm water. Put in any add-ins you want to use. Mix thoroughly with the spoon.

  6. Slide the embroidery hoop into the tub. Hold the hoop underwater. Gently move it back and forth to collect an even layer of pulp on the cheesecloth.

  7. Lift the hoop out of the water. Hold it flat. Let it drip. Use the sponge to dry it off.

  8. Place the old towels on a flat surface. Flip the hoop over on top of the towels. Gently lift off the hoop. The wet paper pulp should now be sitting on the towel.

  9. Clean up your mess. Throw the soaked paper scraps back in the recycling bin. Scrub the blender.

  10. Allow the pulp to dry for about one day. Put it outside in the sun. Or choose a warm place inside.

  11. When the paper is dry, gently pull it off the towel.

  12. Draw on your paper. Or give it as a gift.

  Q: Why did the clock get sick?

  A: It was run down.

  Q: What’s invisible and smells like carrots?

  A: Bunny farts!

  Q: How do you communicate with a fish?

  A: Drop him a line!

  Q: Why did the boy eat his homework?

  A: Because his teacher said it was a piece of cake.

  Q: What kind of dog tells time?

  A: A watch dog.

  Have you helped solve all

  Nate the Great’s mysteries?

  ❑ Nate the Great: Meet Nate, the great detective, and join him as he uses incredible sleuthing skills to solve his first big case.

  ❑ 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.