Supremely confident middle-school student Nate Wright manages to make getting detention from every one of his teachers in the same day seem like an achievement.
Big Nate Wright is president of P.S. 38, the after school cartooning club. When he doodles his observations in his cartoon notebook: "Mighty Jefferson Middle School always wins," Nate decides it's time to go from zeroes to heroes! Will Nate crack under the pressure of the "Ultimate Snowdown"? Or lead P.S. 38 to its biggest victory ever?
Nate's name does not spell neat, and it is the same with the way he lives his life, which is getting on Francis' nerves. When Big Nate's uncleanliness gets Francis in trouble, Francis may snap on him after all.
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.
