Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or

in part or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the
publisher. For information regarding permission, write to
Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Written by Maria Fleming

Illustrated by Hector Borlasca
Designed by Maria Lilja

ISBN: 0-439-69026-9

Copyright © 2005 by Scholastic Inc.

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. Printed in the U.S.A.

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 Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Millie was a little mouse.

She lived alone in a great big house.
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to live with lots of other mice.
Millie thought it might be nice
Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

She called her cousins, “Come and stay.”

They all moved in the very next day.
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 Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Her cousins came from near and far
 by bus, balloon, train, plane, and car.
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Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources
 Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Millie counted as they came
and called hello to each by name.
 Thirty mice! Hip-hip-hooray!
Thirty mice had come to stay.

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Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources
 Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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But thirty mice were quite a crowd.
 They were messy.
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Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources
 Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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They were loud.
 Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Thirty mice wasn’t nice at all.

Now Millie’s house felt very small.
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 Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

So Millie changed her mind and then

she sent her cousins home again.
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Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Now Millie is happy alone in her house—

just the right size for one little mouse.
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 Can you find . . .
inside this house,
all 30 guests of Millie Mouse?
Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources
 30
Hooray for Thirty!

Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Let’s clap and tap
and touch the ground.
Let’s jump and thump
and spin around.
Let’s romp and stomp
and cheer and shout
for a wonderful number
we can’t live without:
THIRTY!

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 Reading Tips 30
Here are some engaging ways to use this book to
help children build important early math skills.
Before Reading:
4 Create a sense of excitement by using a wet sponge to write the numeral 30 on a

Number Tales: 30 Mice Are Very Nice © Scholastic Teaching Resources

chalkboard. Can children guess what you’ve written before it disappears?
4 Invite each of the children to trace the numeral 30 in the air and to hold up 30 fingers
by “flashing” three sets of 10 fingers.
4 Display the book’s cover. Ask children to identify the numeral 30 in the top right corner.
What do they see 30 of? (mice) Challenge children to locate all 30 mice, then use
picture clues to predict what might happen in the story.

During Reading:
4 Read the story straight through with gusto. This will give kids an opportunity to enjoy its
whimsical plot and rollicking rhyme.
4 Read the story a second time. Invite children to explore the illustrations. Can they locate
and count all 30 mice?
4 Read the story a third time. Call attention to moments when the word thirty appears in
the text. If you like, encourage kids to clap whenever they hear the word.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or
in part or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
After Reading:
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the 4 Display the “Can You Find?” picture on pages 14–15. Challenge children to locate
publisher. For information regarding permission, write to and count all 30 mice.
Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
4 Read “30 Cheer” on page 16 several times, encouraging children to chime in and
Written by Maria Fleming
Illustrated by Hector Borlasca
enthusiastically perform the designated movements. If you like, close the cheer with a
Designed by Maria Lilja rousing round of 30 claps!
ISBN: 0-439-69026-9 4 Give each of the children a plentiful supply of manipulatives—such as snap beads,
Copyright © 2005 by Scholastic Inc.
pennies, O-shaped cereal, or dried beans—to practice counting up to 30. For added
fun, work together to make a “30 Collage” in which you clip a set of 30 items from
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. magazines (such as pictures of 30 kids, 30 flowers, or 30 toys), then affix them to
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 40 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 posterboard and display.