Best Critical Thinking Series for Kids: Nate the Great
I love connecting passionate homeschool mamas with great children’s books and this series is no exception. Join the world’s greatest detective, the cast of main characters and Nate’s long list of suspects as he tackles each latest case in this long-running chapter book series. The colorful illustrations on every page keep the attention of even the youngest readers as they develop their detective skills.
The beloved Nate the Great series does more than entertain—it gently introduces children to logic, reasoning, and critical thinking through engaging, story-based mysteries. Belonging to the mystery genre, Nate’s adventures in these delightful detective books can help develop lifelong thinking skills in children, making them a perfect addition to a literature-rich education.
Observational and logical thinking skills are something that can easily be taught from a young age. These great books are mostly recommended for age 6+ but I have found they can be used and enjoyed by children as young as 4 years of age up to about age 10.
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat has done such a great job of keeping each new case in these beginning chapter books, simple but engaging. She promotes logic and critical thinking skills in a gentle, story-based way that is perfect for young learners, even before they become young readers. They are also a good choice for new readers. The short sentences are great also for children with reading challenges.
One of my favourite things about these books are the activities included in the back matter. In the first book in the series, Nate the Great, Nate helps his friend Annie. He heads over to Annie’s house, hot on the trail of the missing picture of her dog. Nate follows clues and interviews suspects and in the course of the investigation, he discusses paint mixing and colors. The back matter goes into more detail about the colors of the rainbow and primary and secondary colors. It discusses why trees change color with the seasons and also color changes in chameleons.
Because of the themes covered in the activities section, this would be a great book to read alongside Genesis 1-9 as you read about God’s creation. God’s gift to us of the animals, the plants and the rainbow after the flood, all point toward Him.
Next, you will find instructions for melting and remaking crayons into animal shapes as well as a recipe for Nate’s favourite food, pancakes, that are featured in the story. You will find similar extension information and activities in each book in the rest of the series.
Skills Learned
Observation and attention to detail.
Nate listens carefully, notices what others miss and asks the right questions. This models how children can slow down and pay attention to what’s around them.
Gathering and Evaluating Clues
Each story involves a mystery that Nate solves by collecting clues. He doesn’t jump to conclusions—he evaluates what he finds to see what really fits.
Asking Logical Questions
Nate often asks questions like “Who had the opportunity?” or “What was different today?” He uses a process of elimination and clear reasoning.
Learning From Mistakes
Nate doesn’t always get it right the first time, but he adjusts his approach. This teaches kids that mistakes are part of the learning process, not failures.
Gentle Introduction to the Scientific Method
Though it’s not formal science, Nate the Great models hypothesising (guessing), testing (asking questions or checking facts) and coming to conclusions based on evidence.
Builds Comprehension and Inferencing
Kids must read between the lines to follow the case. Clues aren’t always obvious, which challenges them to connect the dots and draw conclusions.
All 26 Books in the Collection + Discussion Questions
- Nate the Great
- What clues did Nate find that helped him solve the mystery of the missing picture?
- How did talking to his friends help Nate figure out what happened?
- Nate the Great Goes Undercover
- Why was Nate suspicious about the trash can being tipped over?
- What did Nate learn by investigating at night?
- Nate the Great and the Lost List
- Why was the lost grocery list important?
- How did Nate retrace Claude’s steps to solve the mystery?
- Nate the Great and the Phony Clue
- What made the clue ‘phony’ or fake?
- How did Nate figure out who wrote the note?
- Nate the Great and the Sticky Case
- What made the stamp case ‘sticky’?
- Why did Nate have to think carefully about the clues on the envelope?
- Nate the Great and the Missing Key
- How did Nate help Annie find her key?
- What clues helped Nate solve the mystery?
- Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail
- Why was the snow both helpful and tricky for solving the mystery?
- How did Nate use footprints to find the missing present?
- Nate the Great and the Fishy Prize
- Why did the missing prize matter to Nate’s friend?
- How did Nate figure out who took it?
- Nate the Great Stalks Stupidweed
- What was strange about the ‘stupidweed’?
- Why was it important for Nate to identify the plant?
- Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag
- What was actually inside the beach bag?
- How did Nate figure out where the bag had gone?
- Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt
- How did Nate’s costume help or hinder his detective work?
- What made this Halloween case special?
- Nate the Great Goes Down in the Dumps
- Why did Nate search through the dump?
- What did this case teach Nate about being a detective?
- Nate the Great and the Musical Note
- What clues were hidden in the musical note?
- How did music help Nate solve the case?
- Nate the Great and the Stolen Base
- Why was the missing base important?
- How did Nate figure out where it had gone?
- Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine
- Why did Nate not want to talk about Valentine’s Day?
- What helped him discover who sent the valentine?
- Nate the Great and the Pillowcase
- Why did the missing pillowcase matter?
- What steps did Nate take to solve the case?
- Nate the Great and the Tardy Tortoise
- How did Nate know the tortoise didn’t belong in his yard?
- What clues helped him find its owner?
- Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas
- What crunchy thing was missing?
- How did Nate solve the mystery during the holidays?
- Nate the Great Saves the King of Sweden
- Why was the cat called the King of Sweden?
- What clues led Nate to the missing cat?
- Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang
- How did you feel solving the mystery with Nate?
- What clues did you figure out before the end?
- Nate the Great and the Monster Mess
- What made the mess seem like a monster had been there?
- How did Nate uncover the real explanation?
- Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective
- What was different about solving a mystery in San Francisco?
- How did Nate and his cousin work together?
- Nate the Great and the Big Sniff
- Why was this case personal for Nate?
- What clues helped Nate find Sludge?
- Nate the Great on the Owl Express
- What made solving a mystery on a train unique?
- What clues led Nate to find the owl?
- Nate the Great Talks Turkey
- What made the turkey case different from Nate’s other mysteries?
- How did working with Olivia Sharp help Nate solve it
- Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club
- What went missing at the book club?
- How did Nate figure out who took the snacks?
