Big Nate: In a Class by Himself
Lincoln Peirce spins his long-running newspaper comic strip into a rollicking middle grade novel that opens on the day a fortune cookie tells Nate Wright he will surpass all others. Within hours Nate has set a personal record for detentions, broken his teachers' patience in roughly the order of seniority, and invented several theories about why the cookie was probably right anyway. Peirce mixes prose with hundreds of his own line drawings, doodles, and full comic-strip panels, so reluctant readers move through the book at the pace of an animated short. Beneath the goofing around there is a real sixth grader trying to be seen by his dad, his sister, his crush, and most of all himself. A reliable gateway book for kids who think they hate reading.
What you might want to know about Big Nate: In a Class by Himself
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Sixth grader Nate Wright cracks open a fortune cookie that promises he will surpass all others today. He spends the rest of the school day hunting for proof, racking up detentions on the way.
Lincoln Peirce has written more than 25 Big Nate novels and graphic novels since 2010, plus a long-running comic strip syndicated since 1991. A Paramount+ animated series began in 2022.
Big Nate is middle grade, recommended for readers 8 to 12. The cartoon-illustrated chapter book format and humor make it especially popular with reluctant readers in elementary school.
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself was written by Lincoln Peirce, published in 2010 by Harper.
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself is 224 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Big Nate: In a Class by Himself takes most readers 3 to 5 hours to finish.
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself is a standalone novel by Lincoln Peirce, not part of a series.
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
