IT'S NO MYSTERY...IT'S NATE THE GREAT!

Due again to our on-going construction, this book character program was also done a drop-in program. This could also be done as a sign-up participation program. All of the components are here!

A note: Costume Specialists of Columbus, Ohio have a Nate the Great costume available. It came be viewed at www.costumespecialists.com under the Book Characters category and then under the Random House listings. It also features a small pop-up window where you view the costume and specifics about the size the wearer has to be!

I did develop a Powerpoint presentation for Nate the Great. If anyone would like it, I'd gladly send it along! It consists of a short author biography, brief information on the books, and a short quiz on the series.

There were 6 activity stations for participants to travel to. They were:

IT'S A CANDY BAR MYSTERY!
Ten candy bars were cut into cross-sections and placed on plates marked Exhibits 1 through 10. It was up to participants to guess what candy bar that the cross-section came from. It is helpful to cut any candy bar that might be circular into a small square, if possible, thereby further disguising it! Here is a list of the candy bars that I used: Hershey's (regular), Almond Joy, Twix, Snickers, York Peppermint Patty, 3 Musketeers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Milky Way, Butterfinger, and Kit Kat. I had to use the Hershey's bar in place of a Zero bar. No one seems to carry them anymore (at least our local Wal-Mart didn't). The signs on each of the plates were done in a font from either Publisher or Word that resembled cut-out newsprint letters. Once participants had guess what they thought all ten bars were and had them written down, I checked them. Just for playing, they received their choice of a small kaleidoscope spyglass or nose and eyeglasses disguise kit. Attention librarians who used the "Get a Clue" theme: here's a great opportunity to use/get rid of extra prizes left over! See photo above for the lay-out!

SCRAMBLE A MYSTERY!
From a Nate the Great handout, 31 words that could be part of a book title were enlarged and then cut apart and laminated for durability. The 31 paper pieces were put in a container. Participants were invited to pull out 6 pieces (no fair peeking!) and try to make a title out of the words that they ended up with. Here is one that I did: Missing Mysterious Haunted Creepy Creature Cats. An easel pad and marker were provided to jot down the often hilarious combinations! See photo above!

NATE THE GREAT DOOR HANGER
See photo above for how this turned it! The base of this craft is an Ellison door hanger die cut. Participants could choose to color the entire doorhanger (or not). A small picture of Nate was found and enlarged and copied. This picture was then colored and pasted onto the door hanger. Also, the words "Search for Books" was taken from the Scramble-a-Mystery page and added as a slogan!

GREAT DETECTIVE BOOKMARK
White construction paper was provided, along with a paper cutter, for participants to use to make whatever size bookmark them wished. Stamps and stamp pads were also provided so that participants could decorate the bookmark. I used a detective stamp that was left over from Ohio's summer reading program many years ago ("Who Made the Splash?" I believe was the theme). The stamp is of a Sherlock Holmes-looking character with a magnifying glass. The second stamp that I used was left over from the Summ 2007 "Get a Clue" theme. It was the fingerprint with the word "Read" across the top. Participants used these two stamps to make whatever design that they wished on the bookmark. The bookmarks were laminated and hole-punched so that a piece of ribbon could be threaded through. See the example in the picture above!

NATE THE GREAT STICK PUPPETS
Figures of Nate, Rosamund, and Oliver were copied onto construction paper and then ready for participants to color, cut out, and then glue onto jumbo craft sticks. See the examples above!

SLUDGE TOILET PAPER ROLL CRAFT
Sludge is Nate's dog and crime-fighting companion, so it's only natural that we feature him in a craft. Patterns for the dog's body and head and legs were colored and then cut out. The large retangular piece wrapped around the toilet paper roll and other pieces were added following the example.

Snacks of cookies, pretzels, fruit snacks, and Capri-Sun juice drinks were served to participants. Handouts were also available with puzzles, word searches, and recipes for invisible ink!