Nate the Great and the Star-Spangled Parrot

Book excerpt: Nate the Great has been asked to help find his friend's parrot. It isn't just any parrot. And time is of the essence—the parrot and others are scheduled to perform at the upcoming 4th of July picnic. Nate the Great, along with his dog Sludge, are on the trail of clues and confident they can solve the case before the big day! Nate is working two cases at once! A double whammy in more ways than one way! The annual 4th of July Picnic is two days away and decorations are going up in Deering Oaks Park. As Nate and Sludge stroll along, they run into their friend Pip and his parrot Prattles. Pip explains that he’s lost his other parrot—Penelope—a drone that he disguised as a parrot, as a friend for Prattles. Pip plans to sing the Star-Spangled Banner with Prattles and Penelope at the picnic so they don’t have much time. The next day, Claude comes calling and asks Nate if he can help solve a case for him. He explains he’s lost Baxter, his drone parrot. A lightbulb goes off in Nate’s head--an idea that may very well lead to solving both cases at once. What happens next is a mix-up of epic proportions, but in the end Nate’s smart thinking and problem-solving makes sense of it all. And on picnic day, Pip is able to sing his song with Prattles and Penelope, however a pig called Anastasia manages to somehow steal the show!