HOW TO MAKE YOUR HAMBURGERS:
1. Add the milk to the sauté pan. Warm over low heat. Remove from heat. Tear the bread into small pieces and put them in the milk. Allow to cool.
2. Transfer the milk-bread mixture to the mixing bowl. Add the egg, salt, pepper, and ground beef, plus a pinch of any other seasonings you’re trying.
3. Mix everything together with your fingers. Form the mixture into four equal-sized patties.
4. Place the frying pan over medium-high heat. After a few minutes, add the patties.
5. Cook the patties for five minutes; then flip them. Cook them for five minutes on the other side.
6. Place each burger on a bun. Add toppings of your choice. Eat!
What do you call a great dog detective?
Sherlock Bones!
Where should you never take a dog?
A flea market.
Why did the dalmatian go to the eye doctor?
He kept seeing spots.
What did the dog do at the library?
He boned up on his favorite subject.
How does a dog stop a VCR?
He hits the “paws” button.
What do you call a sick dog?
A germy shepherd!
Ice cream is Rosamond’s second-favorite food. Hasn’t she heard of pancakes? In case you like ice cream too, here’s a recipe.
Makes about a pint.
GET TOGETHER:
• 1 egg
• a fork
• 2 cups of cream
• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• a large spoon
• a small storage container with a tight-fitting lid.* All the ingredients above should fit inside with a little extra room.
*Tupperware or Lock & Lock works well. You can also use a Ziploc bag.
• masking tape
• a big plastic storage container with a lid. The small container should easily fit inside. Round is best.
• 6 cups of ice
• 1 cup of rock salt (from the grocery or hardware store)
• a towel
• add-ins (if you want them): chocolate chips, nuts, sprinkles, chopped peppermints, chopped candy bars, or whatever you like
MAKE YOUR ICE CREAM:
1. Crack the egg into the small container. Beat well with the fork.
2. Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well with the spoon.
3. Put the lid on the small container. Tape around the lid to make sure salt doesn’t get inside. Place in the large container.
4. Pack 2 cups of the ice and ⅓ cup of the rock salt around the small container. If there is room in your container, add another 2 cups of ice and ⅓ cup of salt. Repeat with the rest of the ice and salt if there is room. Don’t worry if all the ice and salt won’t fit.
5. Put the lid on the large container.
6. Roll the large container back and forth on the towel for about fifteen minutes. Or repeatedly flip a bag or square container.
7. Open the large container and remove the smaller one. Wipe it clean.
8. Open the small container and stir in any add-ins.
9. Close the small container. Return it to the large container. Roll or flip for another ten minutes.
10. Open the large container. Dump the ice and salt.
11. Wipe the small container and open it. Eat!
Why did the dog jump into the river?
He was chasing a catfish!
What do you say to a dog before he eats?
Bone appétit!
What kind of dog can jump higher than a building?
Any dog! Buildings can’t jump.
What do you call a dog that gets mail?
A golden receiver!
What kind of dog is the quietest?
A hush puppy!
Where does a dog go if it loses its tail?
To a retail store.
Nate met a skunk and needed a good long soak. Try these tricks and maybe your next bath won’t seem so long.
1. Add a drop or two of food coloring to the water. Turn your bath as blue as a lagoon. Or as red as clay. Try mixing different colors to create a new hue.*
2. Fill four cups with white shaving cream. Stir in a few drops of food coloring. Use the “paint” to decorate the bath or yourself. Pink knees, anyone?*
3. Freeze small toys in ice-cube trays and add the cubes to your bathwater. Pretend to be an archaeologist discovering ancient artifacts.
4. If you are itchy or sunburned, add two cups of apple cider vinegar to the water. The vinegar will soothe your skin.
5. Add a big scoop of salt and an equal amount of baking soda to your bathwater. Pretend you’re in a hot mineral spring.
*Ask an adult first. Make sure the dye won’t stain your tub or tile.
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 cru
nchy 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. Marc Simont lives in West Cornwall, Connecticut.
Nate the Great Goes Undercover Page 2