It's one, two, three strikes, you're out, as the Cream Puffs seek sweet revenge!

"Whether he's fast-talking his way out of trouble or unleashing the contents of his locker on unsuspecting classmates, Nate does it with gusto. And every time he swings into action, the crowd goes wild"--Back cover.

Nate goes up against Gina, the class brainiac.

Nate has a master plan. But will Mrs. Godfrey catch him in the act?

"Nate's not only the star of his own comic strip--he's the star goalie of his school soccer team! Will Nate defend his goal and save the day? Or will Jefferson Middle School win ... again?"--Page 4 of cover.

"Can Nate Wright get any cooler? Not according to Nate himself. He's already P.S. 38's rockin'est drummer, finest poet (check out his haiku about Brazil nuts), and deepest thinker--in his own mind. But does Nate have what it takes to hang with Marcus, leader of the school's most notorious posse? Or will he decide that being cool isn't all it's cracked up to be?"--

Big Nate, a.k.a. middle schooler Nate Wright, is 11 years old, four-and-a-half feet tall, and the wunderkind creation of cartoonist Peirce. "Big Nate Out Loud" collects Peirce's Big Nate strips, originally published only in newspapers and online at comics.com.

Nate endures a series of middle school hijinks and adventures while dealing with his crush on his baseball team's new pitcher.

"For Nate Wright, conflict is a way of life. He tangles with Gina, the editor of the school newspaper, after she rejects his comic strip. He can?t get on the same page with his snooty study partners as they cram for the final exam. And once he hears that Mr. Rosa?s job is on the line, Nate even takes on the all-powerful school board. But when a challenger threatens Nate?s status as the owner of P.S. 38?s filthiest locker, our hero may have met his...

When Nate decides to run for school office, he asks for Francis's help in triumphing over the popular kids.