While traveling on the train to San Francisco with his cousin Olivia's owl, Nate the Great and his dog Sludge must use all of their detective skills when the owl suddenly disappears.

A boy names Nate is a detective on a train that has to find out what happened to his cousin's owl! I personally thought it was just ok, and not that attention-getting. Grades 2-4 ( )

I love the Nate the Great series because they are a classic. Older readers can most likely remember reading or hearing of these books as a child. The book is simple enough for an early elementary aged student to read. It has some difficult words which gives readers a little bit of a challenge when reading but the context is exciting to keep young readers wanting to read. The story begins with the idea that someone on the train is out to get Olivia's owl. The emotions the author displays are detailed enough for readers to feel the feeling of worry. As Nate is hunting for clues on who intends on stealing the owl, the owl mysteriously disappears. The mystery of the missing owl needs to be solved before the last stop of the train therefore, it is exciting for readers to find out if Nate will solve it. Also, the clues the author provides lets readers become engaged in the detective side of the story.

This book would be great to provide in a classroom library for early elementary aged readers. The book is divided into short chapters, making it exciting but a little challenging. The Nate the Great books are a fun series to follow and keep children on the edge of their seat. They are also interesting for parents to read and I could see them really enjoying reading them to their children. This is a great book for students to use context clues to make inferences about the mystery of the missing owl! There are also many available lesson plans on the internet for the Nate the Great Series.

Nate the Great must find out who is out to destroy Hoot, his cousin's pet owl. She hires Nate to be the owl's bodyguard on a train ride to LA, on the way to a vet. But while on the train to LA, Nate realizes that the empty cage has no owl; he is the bodyguard of a decoy! His cousin is actually on the train too, and Nate proves himself as great when he uncovers the mystery!