My kids are 6 & 8 years old and I’ve been homeschooling them through their preschool years and now into elementary schoool. We do follow homeschool math curriculums, but we also love to read books together and so I include books with math in them as part of our reading together.
On this blog, you’ll see recommendations for high-quality living books – a term that homeschool educator, Charlotte Mason, used to refer to books that don’t talk down to children, aren’t dry as toast, are full of big ideas to chew on and beautiful language. These books have math concepts in them but they aren’t about math. You can teach your child many math concepts in a by-the-way, play-based way as you live your lives.
I’ve organized the book list of over 30 books below by subtopic within the mathematics kingdom:
- Counting
- Number Sense
- Addition and Subtraction
- Multiplication and Division
- Data and Measurement
- Time
- Geometry
- Money
- Mathematicians
- General Math.
This list of math books for kids is mostly applicable to children as young as two years old, but my eight year old still enjoys many of them. Near the end I’ve also included some for older children, or to look forward to reading with your child as they get older and further along in math. I will continue to add to this list as we discover new books to read!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links from which I receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog!
At Home Math Curriculums We’ve Used & Liked
First, I’d like to recommend a gentle math curriculum for the preschool homeschool parent – Preschool Math at Home by Kate Snow. Kate has done a fantastic job of breaking down math concepts into play-based games to do with your young child. As math concepts build on one another, Kate also gives you an idea of how to know when your child has mastered one concept and is ready to tackle the next foundational block.
Preschool Math at Home by Kate Snow
Right Start Math
We have liked Right Start Math as our main curriculum and enjoy playing many of the games. The lessons do require one-on-one parent involvement, and sometimes my kids find the review questions a bit tedious – so we often do math outside on the climbing dome or completing obstacle courses to break it up and make it a bit more fun. This curriculum is heavy on the manipulatives use – which has been helpful for busy little hands.
One criticism of this curriculum is that it teaches math in a slightly different timeframe than Common Core math curriculums and so it has not translated well to state-testing. Even though my kids do well on the assessments within Right Start Math and I know they are understanding the concepts and putting them into practice through games, their knowledge has not translated well to the computer-based i-Ready tests and the way i-Ready asks questions, making it seem like they are way behind.
Khan Academy
My son is doing really well with Khan Academy. He really likes the slow peaceful video explanations by Sal Khan, and he loves seeing the map trajectory of what he’s learned and what’s coming up. He likes knowing exactly how many questions he needs to answer before moving on to the next section. I like that it is free and that it is giving him a lot of confidence in math.
My daughter isn’t independently reading yet, so Khan Academy does require me to read the questions out to her to answer. She likes the videos but she’d prefer to do the Right Start Math games as practice.
Counting Books for Kids
Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss
When my kids were preschoolers, we took a special trip to the grocery store to buy 5 green apples and 5 red apples. We played a lot with these apples!
- We stacked the apples, rolled them, and hid them.
- We counted them: five red, five green – together make ten; five red, two green together make seven.
- We compared the five apples to our five fingers and we practiced counting on our fingers: five fingers on one hand and two fingers on the other hand also makes seven!
- When we were all done playing and the apple was bruised to smithereens, we cut it in half cross-wise and found the star hidden in the middle. Then we cut it into quarters for the guests at our doll tea party, and we talked about fractions, dividing into equal parts, symmetry and shapes.
Over in the Meadow by Olive A. Wadsworth illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
This is a beautifully illustrated version of the classic children’s folk song that counts up to ten with nature’s creatures.
This is a nice recording of the song:
Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
A getting-ready-for-bed book that counts down the things in a little girl’s bedroom as she readies for sleep. We counted all the things the little girl saw as we read along.
Numbears by Kathleen Hague
One of my favourite books from my childhood was Alphabears by Kathleen Hague. Numbears compliments it nicely, counting up in rhyme with beautiful illustrations – perfect for a little girl or boy who loves stuffed animals.
These Rocks Count! by Alison Formento
This book is for an older preschooler or kindergarten/first grade. It ties in geology with counting. It is part of a series that includes trees, bees, seas as well.
Number Sense Books for Kids
Number sense is about intuitively understanding numbers – how they are composed and their relationships with one another. In this section I’ve also included some books that include linguistic understandings of numbers – like “a pair”, “a dozen”, and when numbers are used as adjectives in a story.
One Odd Day by Dorish Fisher and Dani Sneed
What would happen if even numbers disappeared and we only had odd numbers of things? I wouldn’t have ten fingers to type this, or two slippers for my two feet. A fun read to ponder one odd world!
More Than One by Miriam Schlein
More Than One brings together things that are more than one but that we linguistically describe as one – like one pair of shoes, one carton of eggs, or one week.
How Much is a Million by David Schwartz
A million is a really big number – hard for even adult brains to comprehend the quantity. How Much is a Million gives some context to how much a million is.
The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord
This story uses numbers as adjectives – 4 million wasps, fifty cookers – as examples. You’ll find all sorts of math terms hidden in this zany tale.
Addition and Subtraction Books for Kids
Five Little Monkeys by Eileen Christelow
5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head – a classic children’s rhyme that provides an introduction to subtraction and counting down. You can even act this one out (hopefully safely) jumping on the bed or a trampoline.
Five Little Ducks by Denise Fleming
5 Little Ducks is another classic children’s song about some ducks that get lost one by one. They come back to their mama in the end. This version also has the days of the week in the text.
Here is a recording of the 5 Little Ducks song.
Multiplication and Division Books for Kids
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
In The Doorbell Rang, some kids bake a dozen cookies to enjoy, and friends keep ringing the doorbell to come in to play. They need to divide the cookies further so that everyone gets an equal portion.
Data & Measurement Books for Kids
Me and the Measure of Things by Joan Sweeney
I love Joan Sweeney’s books. She does a great job of situating the child’s experience within the concept and making it relatable to kids in real life.
Mr. Archimedes’ Bath by Pamela Allen
This is a story of how Archimedes figured out volume.
Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
In Inch by Inch, a little inch worm outsmarts a hungry bird by inching far enough away.
Millions to Measure by David M. Schwartz
There are so many things in the world to measure and so many different ways to measure them!
Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs
Inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk, Jim helps a giant get objects that are the right size for him by measuring.
Books about Time for kids
Just a Minute by Lenore Klein
My kids love this book! It explains the relative experience of time and what it means when mom says “Just a minute”, or “I’ll be a second.” How long is a second? What about a year?
Clocks and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins
The clocks are not set right! Mr. Higgins must get his clock time to be accurate so he buys more and more clocks to get the correct time.
Over and Over – Charlotte Zolotow
I don’t know about your kids, but my kids understand the yearly calendar not as much by which month it is, but by which holiday bringing them chocolate or presents is coming up next. We love this book for helping kids understand what order the holidays come in – Valentine’s Day, St. Patricks Day, Easter etc.
Around the Year by Tasha Tudor
Around the Year describes the yearly calendar relative that what’s happening outside in nature (in the Northern Hemisphere). It is beautifully illustrated.
Geometry books for kids
Circle Sphere by Grace Lin
In Circle! Sphere! Kids explore blowing bubbles of different shapes. Is it possible?
Triangle by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
Oh man we love these little stories! They are so heartwarming. Triangle, Square and Circle aren’t really about math at all, they just feature shapes as characters who solve their problems in shape-related ways. They are really cute.
Square by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
See above! Square is my favourite. My soul-shape.
Circle by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
See above!
Books about Money for kids
Mama Panya’s Pancakes by Mary and Rich Chamberlin
In this story, the money they have is hardly enough to buy enough food for them and Adika keeps inviting others to join them for pancakes. Will the money stretch far enough?
Bunny Money (Max and Ruby) by Rosemary Wells
Two siblings are going to buy a birthday gift for their grandma. They know what she’d love but will they have enough money?
If You Made a Million by David M. Schwartz
If You Made a Million explores financial literacy terms – like interest, and dividends as the characters explore earning money, spending, and saving.
Biographies of Mathematicians for Kids
These biographies are great for elementary aged students!
The Girl With a Mind for Math by Julia Finley Mosca
Raye Montague is the story of a girl who rose above sexism and racism to become a mathematician and re-design ships for the better.
Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker
Katherine Johnson, the heroine of the movie Hidden Figures, is a a real-life mathematician who calculated the correct re-entry trajectory of Apollo 13, saving the entire mission.
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
We have known how big the earth is for thousands of years thanks to the mathematical mind of Eratosthenes.
Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese
A biography of a man who discovered spirals in numbers – the fibonacci sequence.
General Math books for kids
In this section I include math books that are for elementary and older students.
Life of Fred Series by Stanley F. Schmidt
The Life of Fred series is so funny! My son loves Fred and how goofy this math series is. Fred Gauss is a five year old math professor at Kittens University. His best friend is a doll named Kingie. Through story and laughter students learn many different math concepts. For a kindergartener you would start with the first book, Apples – but this series goes all the way up to Calculus. I will mention that this series occasionally mentions God, but I would not categorize this as a “Christian” math curriculum.
Sir Cumference Series by Cindy Neuschwander
This is a series of stories that feature math concepts throughout, like in the names of the characters (Sir Cumference, Lady Di of Ameter, Vertex, Radius etc) and the quests they embark upon.
Mammoth Math by David Macaulay
David Macauley is great at explaining how things work to kids. This visual math encyclopedia uses mammoths as the math mascot to explain math concepts of all levels.
Math with Bad Drawings by Ben Orlin
This one is more for your high-schooler. It’s funny and the math is advanced.
I hope you have enjoyed this mega-list of math books to bring some more numbers into your home library!
Warmly,
-Heather
ps: This post contains Amazon-affiliate links on which I receive a small commission from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting my blog!
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