READ-ALOUD

Nuts in My Nest
A Reading A–Z Read-Aloud Book
Consonant N • Word Count: 600

Written by Joe Slade • Illustrated by John Kastner

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 WORDS USED IN THIS BOOK
High utility words:
1–100 the, to, and, he, a, I, you, it, of, in,
was, said, his, that, for, on, they, but,
had, at, him, with, all, is, there, some,
out, as, be, have, we, then, do, can,
when, did, what, so, see, not, were,
get, like, one, this, my, would, will,
went, are, if, now, long, no, very, an,
your, about, want, don’t, know, put
101–200 old, by, five, two, or, again, play,
who, been, off, never, keep, write,
say, sit, which, please, thank, many
N words:
not, November, night, nightingale, Nicky, nearby,
named, Norman, nocturnal, nap, night, nice, nine,
needed, nest, naughty, nut(s), neat, nudged, ninety,
nudge, nineteen, nasty, next, nobody, nodded,
neighbor, note, near, now, nail, Norman’s, net,
nephew, niece

Nuts in My Nest
A Read-Aloud Book
© 2002 Learning Page, Inc.
Written by Joe Slade
Illustrated by John Kastner

ReadingA–ZTM
Written by Joe Slade © Learning Page, Inc.

Illustrated by John Kastner All rights reserved.

Learning Page
1630 E. River Road #121
Tucson, AZ 85718

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Not long ago, one moonlit November night,

a handsome nightingale named Nicky sat

on a branch and sang a sweet song.

Norman was never tired of listening to

On a nearby branch, was an old owl named Nicky’s nice songs. At nine minutes past

Norman. Owls are nocturnal, which means nine, Nicky needed a rest, so off he flew

they nap in the day. And go out at night. back to his nest.

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When he sat in his nest, he had a surprise.
One by one, he nudged the nuts out of
Some naughty creatures had filled his
his nest. It took Nicky ninety minutes
nest with nuts. Not one or two nuts,
to nudge all the nuts out of his nest.
but many, many nuts.
He counted each nut as it fell to the

Nicky was very angry. He liked to keep his ground. At last, all the nuts were gone.

nest tidy and neat. Now he had no room He counted nineteen nuts that some
to sit, no matter what he did. nasty creature had put in his nest.

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Next night, Nicky told Norman about the

nuts in his nest.

When he got back to his nest, at nine
“Nobody I know would do such a naughty
minutes past nine, the same thing
thing,” said Norman.
happened. There were nuts in his nest.

Nicky sang his song that night, but it was Again, he nudged all the nuts out of his

not a nice song. Nicky was thinking nest. There were nineteen nuts in his nest.

about the nuts in his nest. He was not He nodded off and awoke late next
thinking about his singing. morning, at nine o’clock.

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Nicky went to see his neighbor the fox.

“Some naughty creature has been putting

nuts in my nest. Do you know who it

can be?”

“No,” said the fox. “I’ve no idea who put “Thank you,” said Nicky. “Everybody will

nuts in your nest. Why don’t you put a note then know that I don’t like nuts in my nest.

near your nest? I can write a note for you. Please write it now, and I will nail it on the

It will say ‘NO NUTS IN THIS NEST.’ ” tree above my nest.”

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That night, Nicky sang a nice song.
He was not worried now that everyone
knew that he did not want nuts in his nest.
When he got back to his nest, again there
were nineteen nuts in his nest.
“No! No! No!” said Nicky. “Not again.”
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Nicky didn’t nudge the nuts out of his nest.
Instead, he went to see Norman, the wise
old owl.
“What can I do?” said Nicky. “Someone is
still putting nuts in my nest.”
“I have a plan,” said Norman. “Do what
I say and you will find out who is putting
nuts in your nest.”
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 Norman’s plan had worked. Someone was

caught in the net! When Nicky looked in

the net, he was surprised to see his nephew

The next night, Nicky sang his song very
and niece.
quickly. He wanted to get back to his nest
“Sorry, Uncle Nicky,” said his nephew.
to see if Norman’s plan had worked. At five
“We wanted to play a trick on you, but now
minutes past nine he flew back to his nest.
we are the ones who have been tricked!”
Norman had told him to put a net above

his nest. The net would catch the naughty Nicky wasn’t angry. He was glad that there

creatures who put the nuts in his nest. would now be no nuts in his nest.

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