- Photo by Anne Dziok
When Ben was younger, I loved reading aloud to him. We enjoyed all kinds of good children’s literature. Reading together was a sweet way to spend time together, to learn new things, and to enjoy good stories.
At some point, I became familiar with books that offered fun and interesting stories with a bit of mathematical thinking in the storylines. Some of these were simple storybooks while others offered games and problem solving as well. Over the years, I collected some of these books and recorded lists of our favorites. That collection is listed here.
I think it’s important to mention that the reason to read any of these books is because they’re delightful! Of course, they might spark some good conversations about a variety of mathematical thinking, but I wouldn’t read them in order to teach a certain topic or focus on a specific math skill. Just enjoy the stories. That’s enough.
Anno’s Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno
Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Masaichiro Anno and Mitsumasa Anno
Anno’s Magic Seeds by Mitsumasa Anno
Anno’s Math Games I, II & III by Mitsumasa Anno
The Grapes of Math: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles by Greg Tang
The Best of Times: Math Strategies that Multiply by Greg Tang
How Big Is A Foot? by Rolf Myller
A Remainder of One by Elinor Pinczes
One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J Pinczes
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
Mr. Archimedes’ Bath by Pamela Allen
Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen
Sir Cumference and The First Round Table: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander
Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander
Sir Cumference and The Great Knight of Angleland: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander
Sir Cumference and The Sword in the Cone: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander
The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream: A Mathematical Story by Marilyn Burns
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All! A Mathematical Story by Marilyn Burns
The $1.00 Word Riddle Book by Marilyn Burns and Martha Weston
From Head to Toe: Body Math by Time Life Books, edited by Patricia Daniels and Jean B. Crawford
Look Both Ways: City Math by Time Life Books, edited by Patricia Daniels and Neil Kagan
If You Hopped Like A Frog by David M. Schwartz
G is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book by David M. Schwartz
The Man Who Counted: a collection of mathematical adventures by Malba Tahan
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Ensensberger
Math Talk: Mathematical Ideas in Poems for Two Voices by Theoni Pappas
Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians by Luetta Reimer & Wilbert Reimer
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The above list is just a small collection of books to get you started. If you’d like more, you’ll find plenty others to choose from here:
The Wonderful World of Mathematics: A critically annotated list of children’s books in mathematics by Diane Thiessen, Margaret Matthias, and Jacquelin Smith
Math Literature Lists by Topics from a wonderful site called Living Math! created by Julie Brennan
Chart of Children’s Literature from Math Solutions, founded by Marilyn Burns
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If you have any other favorite titles, please post them in the comment section below. Happy reading!
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Fabulous site Marcia! So many people are going to benefit from your experience!
Thanks, Cynthia. I’ve certainly benefited from you and others over the years. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm!
Hey Marcia,
I think it’s great you had the idea to do this! What a wonderful resource. Thanks so much for the conversations — in the past and to come!
Thanks, Stacy! I’ve really been enjoying the process of gathering ideas and resources to share. And I always enjoy a good conversation!
Marcia, this is a fantastic site! Thank you! As a bookophile, I was so excited to read this list. The only good math book we’ve found is The Lions Share by Matthew McElligott. Engaging story that teaches both multiplication and fractions with really fantastic pictures.
http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Share-Matthew-McElligott/dp/0802797687/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292088853&sr=8-1
Thanks so much, Sarah. I’m glad you like the book list! Thanks for recommending The Lion’s Share. I’ll check it out. I especially like the subtitle: A Tale of Halving Cake and Eating It, Too. I have some other great book lists that I’ll be posting soon.