Numbers, shapes, counting, telling time, patterning, addition, subtraction, and so much more! Math is an exciting world of logic, problem-solving, and spatial reasoning. Getting kids EXCITED about math at an early age is critical, and there is no better way than through the magic of reading!
This list is a great mix of both fiction and non-fiction math titles that you and your children can enjoy together. There are books for the very young, and books for middle-schoolers. The bulk of titles on this list are suitable for children K-5. I hope you will enjoy them with your budding mathematician! Even the reluctant math student will enjoy and appreciate these fantastic books about math….and they will learn in the process!
“Arithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your head.” ~Carl Sandburg
As you read to your children, watch the numbers begin to fly and their understanding of mathematical concepts begin to soar!
1. Math Curse
2. One Hundred Hungry Ants
3. Ten Black Dots Board Book
4. Rosie’s Walk
5. Stories to Solve
6. The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure
7. How Much Is a Million? (Reading Rainbow Books (Pb))
8. Richard Scarry’s Best Counting Book Ever
9. The Grouchy Ladybug
10. A Million Dots
11. Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3
12. One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale
13. A Place for Zero: A Math Adventure
14. Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens: A Math Adventure
15. Harcourt School Publishers Collections: Library Book Grade K Benny’S Pennies
16. Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
17. The Grapes Of Math
18. The Greedy Triangle (Scholastic Bookshelf)
19. Shapes, Shapes, Shapes
20. Spaghetti And Meatballs For All! (Scholastic Bookshelf: Math Skills)
21. The Doorbell Rang [ THE DOORBELL RANG BY Hutchins, Pat ( Author ) Jan-01-1901
22. 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo
23. Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On
24. Ten Apples Up On Top!
25. G Is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book
26. Why Pi? by Johnny Ball
27. Curious George Learns to Count From 1 to 100 by H.A. Rey
28. Pizza Counting by Christina Dobson
29. Math for All Seasons: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles by Greg Tang
30. Multiplying Menace: The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin by Pam Calvert
31. The Wishing Club: A Story About Fractions by Donna Jo Napoli
32. Let’s Count to 100 by Masayuki Sebe
33. Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds by Ann McCallum
34. Teddy Bear Math by Barbara Barbieri McGrath
35. Full House: An Invitation to Fractions by Dayle Ann Dodds
36. Even Steven and Odd Todd by Kathryn Cristaldi
37. The Coin Counting Book by Rozanne Lanczak Williams
38. Once Cent, Two Cent, Old Cent, New Cent by Bonnie Worth
39. Sorting by Henry Arthur Pluckrose
40. Fannie in the Kitchen: The Whole Story from Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements by Deborah Hopkinson
41. How Tall How Short How Faraway by David A. Adler
42. Millions to Measure by David M. Schwartz
43. Clockwise: A Time-Telling Tale by Sara Pinto
44. Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy
45. How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin by Margaret McNamara
46. Inchworm and a Half by Elinor J. Pinczes
47. The Berenstain Bears Trouble with Money by Stan and Jan Berenstain
48. All in a Day by Mitsumasa Anno
49. Clocks and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins
50. Great Estimations by Bruce Goldstone
51. Domino Addition by Lynette Long
52. Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
53. Over in the Meadow by Olive A. Wadsworth
54. Mission: Addition by Loreen Leedy
55. Elevator Magic by Stuart J. Murphy
56. A Very Improbable Story: A Math Adventure by Edward Einhorn
57. Mummy Math : An Adventure in Geometry by Cindy Neuschwander
58. What’s Your Angle Pythagorus? by Julie Ellis
59. The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat by Theoni Pappas
60. The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics by Norton Juster
61. The Amazing Pop-up Multiplication Book by Kate Petty
62. Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris
63. Each Orange Had 8 Slices by Paul Giganti
64. Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Masaichiro Anno
65. A Remainder of One by Elinor J. Pinczes
66. Ten Flashing Fireflies by Philemon Sturges
67. Bean Thirteen by Matthew McElligott
68. Divide and Ride by Stuart J. Murphy
69. Math Potatoes: Mind-Stretching Brain Food by Greg Tang
70. My Half Day by Doris Fisher
71. Two Ways to Count to Ten : A Liberian Folktale by Ruby Dee
72. 12 Ways to Get to 11 by Ever Merriam
73. Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream: A Mathematical Story by Cindy Neuschwander
74. Apple Fractions by Jerry Pallotta
75. Cubes, Cones, Cylinders, and Spheres by Tana Hoban
76. Lemonade for Sale by Stuart J.Murphy
77. The Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy
78. You Can Count on Monsters: The First 100 Numbers and Their Characters by Richard Evan Schwartz
79. Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
80. Math-terpieces: The Art of Problem Solving by Greg Tang
81. Gator Pie by Louise Matthews
82.Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Multiplication Book by Jerry Pallotta
83. The Lion’s Share by Matthew McElligott
84. Cut Down to Size at High Noon: A Math Adventure by Scott Sundby
85. One Odd Day by Doris Fisher
86. The King’s Chessboard by David Birch
87. Three Pigs, One Wolf, Seven Magic Shapes by Grace Maccarone
88. If You Were a Fraction by Speed Shaskan
89. The Best of Times by Greg Tang
90. Mapping Penny’s World by Loreen Leedy
91. Beanstalk: The Measure of a Giant (A Math Adventure) by Ann McCallum
92. Once Upon a Dime: A Math Adventure by Nancy Kelly Allen
93. Equal Shmequal by Virginia L. Kroll
94. Shapes that Roll by Karen Nagel
95. Tally O’Malley by Stuart J. Murphy
96. Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems by J. Patrick Lewis
97. Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney
98. The Multiplying Menace Divides: A Math Adventure by Pam Calvert
99. Is it Larger? Is it Smaller? by Tana Hoban
100. Piece=Part=Portion by Scott Gifford
Authors to Know
As I was researching and reading for this list, I began to notice a “Varsity Team” of math authors. The following authors are leaders in the field of both fiction and non-fiction math books for children. If you are a parent wishing to quickly scan the shelves at the library for a math book that could enhance your child’s education, look for these names first.
Greg Tang
Cindy Neuschwander
Stuart J. Murphy
Mitsumaso Anno
Marilyn Burns
David Schwartz
Elinor Pinczes
Jerry Pallotta
Henry Pluckrose
Tana Hoban
Loreen Leedy
Pam Calvert
*Pin, share, and pass on this list to anyone you know that may have a child who is struggling with math. Books are a non-threatening and engaging way to build interest and understanding!
If you like this book list, you may want to check out:
100 Chapter Books You MUST Read to Your Kids
That’s a great list of books If my children need help with math! Thanks for sharing!
I think they’ll enjoy them! Thanks for stopping by!
Great list! I totally recommend, by the way, putting in amazon links (with your referral code) to the books you endorse in these lists– it would definitely increase the number that sell through your link, although I can see why it would be tedious to do…
Yes! Thank you for saying that! I don’t know why that hadn’t crossed my mind! Slowly working my way down the list with the links!
This is such a great way to teach math! When I taught I tried to incorporate math into everything from reading to games…you have to make it fun and real! You mentioned some great books!
I agree! Books just make math more approachable. (I think books make just about everything better!)
Who knew there were so many books about math?! What a great list!
Thanks so much! There were so many more I could have added too!
wow what a great list!
What a terrific resource for grandparents and grandchildren as well. Thank you.
Thank you! There are so many great books about math that help make mathematical concepts easier for kids to understand.
What an amazing list of books. I will be stopping by this list to write some on my wish list of books for our classroom
Thank you! I was surprised how many more I could have added!
Great list of books! Since I homeschool I love to have resources like these!
Thank you so much! There are so many great titles to incorporate into your teaching!
Wow! What a great list! Featuring this list this week on the Sunday Showcase! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! Thank you! What an honor!
Wow, talk about a thorough list!! Thanks for this!
Thank you…and I could have kept going! There are SO many great books about math!
Must add two to your list: Rock, Brock, and the Savings Shock is an amazing book to teach kids the value of saving money and the concept of exponential growth. And the book, Out for the Count: A Counting Adventure by Kathryn Cave, has been one of my boys’ favorites for forever, especially because the book offers a game at the end. They have clamored over and over, “can we play ‘the game at the end of the book’?”
Thank you for the suggestions! They both sound great. I love that more moms are using literacy to teach mathematical concepts…and teaching kids to save is SO important! Love it!