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EXPLORE OTHER 'PLACE VALUE' STORIES HERE

THE CASE OF THE MISSING BIRTHDAY PARTY
​Author: Joanne Rocklin 
​Illustrator: John Speirs

Picture
Number of pages: 48
Publisher: Scholastic (USA)
First published in: 1996
Format: Picturebook

Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes
Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Hello Math Reader)
​
Click here to preview and/or purchase this book via the Amazon (UK) website 

Synopsis by the author/publisher
Pauline is all dressed up to go to a birthday party, but her hamster chewed up the invitation. The only scrap left contains the number five, so she calls on her neighbor Liz the Whiz to track down the address using this clue--and her expert place value skills.​
“I grab the invitation. "Look!" I shout. "Your sweet hamster Spotty chewed holes all over this invitation! The party is not at 5 Twig Street. I'll bet Nick's address has two digits."”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Coming soon!
​
​
Recommended age range: 
7 years old + 

Relevant mathematics topics: 
Place Value​

​Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.

​mathsthroughstories.org

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ABOUT US

MathsThroughStories.org is a non-profit research-based initiative, based at the University of Reading's Institute of Education (UK).

It sets out to help mathematics learners around the world develop their conceptual understanding in mathematics and to help them foster positive attitudes towards the subject through  the power of storytelling.

Contact Us

  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • RESEARCH TEAM
    • On-line Contributors
    • Research Dissemination
    • Research Impact
    • SHOUTOUTS
    • Teacher Training / CPD Services
    • MEDIA APPEARANCES
  • RESOURCES
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • BLOG
    • NEWSLETTER
    • BOOK REVIEWS >
      • BOOK REVIEWS
      • INSPECTION COPIES
    • LESSON IDEAS
    • VIDEOS
    • CREATE YOUR OWN MATHEMATICAL STORIES >
      • GUIDELINE FOR MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
      • INTERVIEWS WITH MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
    • 'HOW TO' BOOKS
    • RESEARCH ARTICLES
    • PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED ARTICLES
  • COMPETITIONS
    • 2025 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2024 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2023 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2022 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2021 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2020 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2019 YMSA WINNING AND SHORTLISTED ENTRIES
  • NEWS
  • CONTACT US
    • GET INVOLVED