<I>The Big Nate Box</i> is a two-volume boxed set featuring Andrews McMeel Publishing's <I>New York Times</i> bestseller <I>Big Nate</i> collection <I>From the Top</i> and <I>Out Loud</i>. The boxed set also includes a poster of Big Nate characters to share.<P>Aspiring cartoonist Nate Wright is the star of <I>Big Nate</i>, the daily and Sunday comic strip distributed by Newspaper Enterprise Association since 1991. Nate is eleven years old, four-and-a-half feet tall, and the all-time record holder for detentions in school history. He's a self-described genius and sixth-grade Renaissance Man. Equipped with only a no. 2 pencil and the unshakable belief that he is #1, Nate fights a daily battle against overzealous teachers, undercooked cafeteria food, and all-around conventionality. He's the original rebel without a clue, alternately abrasive and endearing to classmates and teachers alike. Nate blazes an unforgettable trail through the sixth grade at P.S. 38, earning straight A's in laughs along the way.<P>Born in Ames, Iowa, Peirce grew up in Durham, N.H. As a kid, he began creating his own strips in the sixth grade. Peirce taught high school in New York City and has created several animated pilots for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. Helives in Portland, Maine, with his family.