Principal Nichols wants Nate to be buddies with new kid Breckenridge Puffington III and show him around. But that's no easy task when Breckenridge is a plant-doodling total fun-sponge. There's also something strangely familiar about this guy. . . . What in the world could it be? Meet BIG NATE, Mr. Big-time Doodler and definitely NOT the teacher's pet.

Both Nate Wright and school bully Randy Betancourt have crushes on the new girl Ruby, and altercations between the two boys result in peer counseling sessions that eventually lead to an unlikely friendship and their becoming teammates on the school's ultimate frisbee Mud Bowl team.

Big Nate is in a class by himself! But things don't always go your way just because you're awesome. Nate barely survives his dad's toxic oatmeal before rushing off to school -minus his lunch. He body slams the no-nonsense principal. He accidentally insults his least favorite teacher, the horrifying Mrs. Godfrey (aka Godzilla). And school has barely started! Nate keeps his cool. He knows he's destined for greatness. A fortune cookie told him so. For...

"In this latest misadventure, Nate, the all-time record-holder for detentions, gets to see how the other half lives as he follows his best friend Francis's example and becomes a total neat freak; has Nate totally flipped out?"--