"Nate the Great and the Missing Keys" by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

This book is about a little boy named Nate, but only goes by Nate the great. He is a great detective and solves many mysteries around town. He is very reliable and many of his friends come to him when they find themselves caught in a real mystery. One of Nate's friends, Annie, is throwing a party for her dog Fang. While setting up for the party Annie loses the keys and locks herself out of her house, which means NO PARTY! In order to save the party and his friends reputation, Nate the great must come to the rescue and solve the mystery. The book was written very clearly, and uses repetition in order to clarify characters and places. Throughout the book Nate finds not from his friends and writes notes to his mother. This is great for students because it show perspectives. Also, the book uses short sentences, and is great for students who are beginning to have better reading comprehension. Not every page has pictures, but there is still some illustrations within the pages to aid in students imagination, and to break up the reading. I really think this book would be perfect for students who are a bit nervous of a chapter book, but beyond mostly illustrated limited wording books. I think third grades would really enjoy this book. It's a fun read and is great for getting students to remember how important comprehension can be. My favorite part of this book was that at the end there are several pages that give students activities that coincide with the reading. There is one page that gives fun and interesting facts about keys, and what different keys can look like. There is also an activity on how to make a present cake. I believe that these books would be great for students because they are fun and interesting and hold students attention.