"As expansive as the broad sweep of the great owl's wings and as close and comforting as a small hand held on a wintry night . . . The visual images have a sense of depth and seem to invite readers into this special nighttime world."--School Library Journal, starred review.
Early one morning, a torn slip of paper with the mysterious letters V I T A appears on Nate the Great's doorstep. He and his faithful dog, Sludge, set off to solve this latest mystery. Against ferocious cats, hostile adversaries, and a sly, phony clue -- not to mention a three o'clock deadline -- Nate struggles to prove, once again, that he is Nate the Great.
Nate the Great doesn't especially want to go to a birthday party for Annie's ferocious dog, Fang. But he can't resist a mystery--and when Annie loses her house key and can't get inside to set up the party, Nate and his trusty dog, Sludge, are hot on the trial.
Annie's dog is unhappy. When Fang is unhappy, everyone is unhappy. Especially Nate the Great. So Nate agrees to sniff out Fang's mysteriously missing Christmas mail. It's cold and snowy. But Nate the Great and his dog, Sludge, will try to solve this holiday case in time for Fang to have a crunchy, munchy Christmas.