Nate the Great interrupts his backyard vacation to find his friend's lost grocery list--before lunch.

This book is about the detective, Nate the Great, solving the mystery created by his friend Claude. Claude lost his grocery list on the way to the grocery store. Because of this, he asked Nate the Great for help. Even though Nate was in the middle of his vacation, he began the hunt for the list. As it turns out, their strange friend Rosamond had found it in her yard, thought it was a recipe for Cat Pancakes, and didn't realize she had it. Nate had solved the mystery and went back to his vacation.

This teeters on being a good example of realistic fiction. The fact that this girl is having a cat party, or that this boy's parents allow him to go to the store when he got lost on the way to a friend's house and the main character is a detective makes it seem a little unrealistic. But their overall qualities and interactions are realistic and some students may relate to loving cats or getting lost a lot or trying to help friends. ( )