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Reif Larsen

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The Puzzling World of Winston Breen and The Potato Chip Puzzle

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The Puzzling World of Winston Breen and The Potato Chip Puzzle

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both by Eric Berlin

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"Anybody can stick a lot of math in a book," says Ellenberg, a University of Wisconsin professor of math who also holds a master's degree in creative writing. "If it's a bad book, it's not going to interest kids."

The committee also looks for books touching on a range of interests. "A lot of kids don't think of themselves as math people, but the intention of the award is to help kids understand that math is for everybody," says Bohl.

Below are 10 books on the Mathical list, including this year's winners.

Written by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela BrooksbankBaby Goes to Market
Pre-K
2018 Mathical prize winner

At a Nigerian outdoor market, Mama shops while Baby attracts edible gifts from the vendors. Baby eats one of each treat before adding the rest to the basket. When the basket gets heavy, Mama hurries home to feed "Poor Baby!" who's "not had one single thing to eat." According to Ellenberg, the math in a children's book need not be announced in the title, but children should be able to recognize that it's happening. For example, Fran Wilson, one of the other judges, shared that second-graders in her classroom pointed out the subtraction at play in Baby Goes to Market without her prompting. "That's a sign of a real winning book," says Wilson.

A child narrator searches high and low for his pet in this multilayered counting book. Children will enjoy spotting the roving dragon amid a richly detailed, pen-and-ink cityscape. They will also practice counting via a set of objects featured in spot color on each spread: two hot dogs, five water towers, 12 pigeons, and so on - up to the 20 lanterns in a final scene where the child and dragon are reunited.

Sheep Won't Sleep: Counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's
Written by Judy Cox, illustrated by Nina Cuneo
Grades K-2
2018 Mathical prize winner

Clarissa tries all the usual tricks for falling asleep, including counting sheep. When that fails, the sheep suggest counting alpacas - this time in pairs. When that also fails, the alpacas recommend counting llamas - by fives. As the trend continues, Clarissa's room fills up with woolly animals in bold colors and patterns. The comical storyline and bright illustrations will engage early elementary schoolers as they practice advanced counting skills.

By Lauren ChildAbsolutely One Thing
Grades K-2
2017 Mathical prize winner

Big brother Charlie guides little sister Lola through the rules of numbers as they trek to the store to pick out a toy. Younger readers will enjoy correcting Lola's faulty number sense, while older readers can join Charlie in embedded calculations, such as: how many stickers does Lola have left after sticking five on the pavement, three on a tree, two on her shoes, one on her brother and one on the dog? (Answer: zero.) Although the pages are chock full of digits, a well-paced plot, sibling humor and funky illustrations make for a breezy read.

Written by Seth Fishman, illustrated by Isabel Greenberg A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars
Grades 3-52018 Mathical prize winner

How do you convey the immensity of numbers like three hundred seventy billion billion? Writing 37 followed by 19 zeros likely won't do the job. Instead, this book uses awe-inducing facts from the cosmos (a hundred billion trillion stars in the universe) and the ground beneath our feet (10 quadrillion ants on Earth) to explore scale and estimation. According to Ellenberg, literature can't replace classroom instruction in the practice of math but books like this one can spark a "dizzy excitement" that's also important to the learning process. "You can tell a kid there's no largest number," he says. "If they can feel it, that's a different story."

Written by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Mike HolmesSecret Coders #1: Get with the Program
Grades 3-5
2016 Mathical prize winner

Hopper knows there's something strange about her new school. When she and basketball star Eni team up to find out what, things turn out weirder than she imagined. Readers are introduced to the principles of programming through logic puzzles, a robotic turtle and creepy birds in this adventure-filled graphic novel from the 2016 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. The book is the first in a series. Mathical also offers an educator tip sheet for Secret Coders.

By Melanie Heuiser HillGiant Pumpkin Suite

Grades 6-8
2018 Mathical honor book*

In addition to presenting calculations, figures, and puzzles, another way for a book to be mathematical is by portraying characters who love and practice math. In Giant Pumpkin Suite , math and cello enthusiast Rose deals with literal and figurative growing pains as she joins her shorter, nonmusical twin brother in a project to grow a record-breaking pumpkin for the state fair. "We want kids to see mathematics but we also want kids to see mathematicians, because math is in the end a human activity," says Ellenberg.

With frank, funny narration Schwartz takes readers on a numerical journey that begins at one and proceeds through mind-bogglingly large figures - but still ends very far from infinity. Complex ideas are tackled through everyday objects and patterns in whimsical, geometric drawings. Unanswered questions on some spreads will encourage readers to keep pondering and calculating after putting the book down. Mathical also provides an educator tip sheet for this book.

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race2018 Mathical honor book*

Better known as one 2017's hit movies, Hidden Figures tells the inspiring story of African-African women "computers" whose brains and grit helped launch NASA astronauts into orbit. With more depth than the film, this book illuminates the interconnections between math, careers and social history. A young readers' edition and a picture book version also are available.

Genius: The Game
By Leopoldo Gout
Grades 9-12
2017 Mathical prize winner

Three online friends and tech prodigies from diverse parts of the world connect in real life during a high-stakes global tech challenge. Together they embark on a quest not only to win "the Game" but also to solve their individual problems: Rex is searching for his missing brother, Tunde is on the run from a military warlord, and Painted Wolf must conceal her identity after exposing corrupt Chinese officials. Told in realistic, rotating voices and filled with suspensful plot twists, this book will grip teenage readers regardless of their prior interest in coding or programming.
*The Mathical selection committee did not name winners for middle or high school grades this year. According to Bohl, that decision reflects the lack of frontlist titles that were submitted by publishers for the older age groups.

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10 Books to Spark a Love of Math in Kids of All Ages

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"Anybody can stick a lot of math in a book," says Ellenberg, a University of Wisconsin professor of math who also holds a master's degree in creative writing. "If it's a bad book, it's not going to interest kids." The committee also looks for books touching on a range of interests.

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The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventureby Hans Magnus Enzensberger and Rotraut Susanne Berner

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The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventureby Hans Magnus Enzensberger and Rotraut Susanne Berner

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The international best-seller that makes mathematics a thrilling exploration.

In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, meets a Number Devil, who leads him to discover the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that magically appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without. As we dream with him, we are taken further and further into mathematical theory, where ideas eventually take flight, until everyone - from those who fumble over fractions to those who solve complex equations in their heads - winds up marveling at what numbers can do.

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All of the above: a novel by Shelley Pearsall

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All of the above: a novel by Shelley Pearsall

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Five urban middle school students, their teacher, and other community members relate how a school project to build the world's largest tetrahedron affects the lives of everyone involved.

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Flatland has 42,221 ratings and 3,149 reviews. Stephen said: Take a classically styled, 19th century satire about Victorian social mores...dress it up in d...

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by Jon Scieszka

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by Cindy Neuschwander, Wayne Geehan

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Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (A Math Adventure)

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

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the curious incident of the dog in the night-time

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modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

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autism; family; young adult; aspergers; coming of age; 2000s; teen; literary fiction; disability; disabilities; parenting; parent-child relationship; family relationships; family issues; family dynamics; dysfunctional family; broken family; asd; autism spectrum; plays; great american read; the great american read; book club recommendations; best teen books for boys; mystery books; fiction; fiction books; mystery; mysteries; mystery and thrillers; murder mystery books; literature; pbs great american read; dogs

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modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

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A bestselling modern classic-both poignant and funny-about a boy with autism who sets out to solve the murder of a neighbor's dog and discovers unexpected truths about himself and the world.Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American ReadChr...

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By John Green

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How Reading Novels in Math Class Can Strengthen Student Engagement

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How Reading Novels in Math Class Can Strengthen Student Engagement

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Scroll down to tweet with link to book list and offer to lend books.

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During Bezaire's Curious Incident unit, each period begins with a typical 20-minute math lesson, followed by a 15-minute discussion of the previous day's reading. For the rest of the 55-minute period, he reads a new chapter aloud. As he reads, Bezaire often pauses to dig deeper into the story's math. Sometimes, the concepts align directly with the day's pre-algebra lesson. For example, on the day when they learn about prime numbers, the class also reads why the main character, Christopher, chose primes as his system for labeling chapters.

"The literary hook for this lesson is strong, and kids are really into learning more about primes thanks to the context of the story," said Bezaire. "The lessons don't always line up this nicely, but so much of what Christopher writes about regarding mathematics is about flexibility with numbers that it's a really nice match."

After class students complete written reflections about the book, with different types of questions serving multiple pedagogical goals.

Mathematical questions, which often relate to puzzling out the novel's two mysteries, allow students to practice problem-solving strategies in a context with more buy-in than the usual practice worksheets. They also encourage deeper thinking about the reasoning behind a math strategy. For example, after students test Christopher's method for mental math with large multiplication, they are asked how easy or hard it was and when it might be most useful.

Questions related to plot and language, Bezaire said, help his less confident math students. "Students who more easily self-identify as 'English types' immediately get a little more comfortable in math class if they experience those types of (literary) questions regularly."

Others questions invite students to connect personally with the text. For instance, one question asks students to share the meaning of their name. Another asks them to consider how it might affect their interactions if they could not read facial expressions, like Christopher, who has autism. These questions allow Bezaire to learn about his students in ways that equations cannot. They also improve students' patience and understanding with each other, he said.

"Context and prior knowledge are critical components in fostering comprehension, regardless of the topic," according to Faith Wallace, co-author of Teaching Math Through Reading. Reading literature is one of several ways to build that context and background knowledge. "When math is integral to the story students can learn the concepts in a natural way, become inquisitive, engage in thoughtful conversation, and more," said Wallace.

The combination of mathematical, literary and personal reflection, along with students' genuine interest in the story, leads to higher student engagement, Bezaire said. Year after year, his students who previously kept quiet raised their hands during discussions of The Curious Incident . "Very often, this continues into the rest of the year after our novel study is done," he said. "Often when middle school students get momentum in a certain class, they are hardy enough to allow it to continue even when the unit of study changes."
Calculus Book Club
Two years ago, when a schedule change created extra periods in Sam Shah's multivariable calculus course, he instituted a class book club. The students started with the satirical science fiction novel Flatland by Edwin Abbott and later read several nonfiction texts about mathematicians and mathematical ideas. Book club meetings took place during a block of 30 to 40 minutes a few times per month, with a rotating pair of students leading each discussion.

In the first year, Shah said, his biggest challenge was deciding how much to chime into the discussions. It's as important to create a relaxed atmosphere for the meetings as it is to keep students focused on the text, he said.

During the second year of book club, he made an effort to intervene less often. "When I reflected upon what my goal was ... it wasn't to teach kids how to do close readings and feel like drudgery. The readings were picked to inspire kids to think, to have strong feelings about, to be curious about something mathematical that showed up, to see and think about math differently."

That's what the readings did.

"What I appreciated most is how humanizing our conversations were of mathematics - in terms of who was doing it - and how much curiosity students brought to the mathematical ideas they were exposed to."

One student, for example, used The Calculus of Friendship by Steven Strogatz as the model for her final course project , in which she explored her identity and mathematical experiences using calculus concepts.

Although another schedule change this year forced Shah to drop book club from calculus, he has continued the club outside class with interested students.

"If you have the time, it's a magical way to get kids to see mathematics through a number of different lenses," he said.

Shah created a list of titles that would work well in a math book club, and Bezaire's curriculum for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is available on his website . MindShift asked the two teachers to share their advice for educators who want to try incorporating literature into their own math classrooms.

Lay the groundwork for the unit by communicating with parents, other teachers, administrators, students before diving in. There may be resistance: the book has been removed from some schools because of profanity.

Stock up on throat lozenges or tea with honey. "I speak out loud in front of classes for a living, and it's still a stretch for me to read the book out loud four times per day," Bezaire said.

Pre-read each day's reading passage to find teachable moments: clues, red herrings and math worth expanding on. Make notes in your copy of the novel to make things easier the second year.

Tips for math book club

Bring snacks and drinks. Make the class feel like it is embarking upon something special and different.

Don't grade anything. Let it be fun and non-stressful.

Don't talk too much.

Have all kids come with two to four discussion points to share at the start of each book club. This allows everyone to know what others found interesting and see if there were any topics that the discussion leaders should definitely address.

Plan and lead the first book club to set an example of the structure and style.

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How Reading Novels in Math Class Can Strengthen Student Engagement

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During Bezaire's Curious Incident unit, each period begins with a typical 20-minute math lesson, followed by a 15-minute discussion of the previous day's reading. For the rest of the 55-minute period, he reads a new chapter aloud. As he reads, Bezaire often pauses to dig deeper into the story's math.

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LibGuides: Curriculum Center: Math Literature for Young Adults

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LibGuides: Curriculum Center: Math Literature for Young Adults

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by Shelley Pearsall

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Math in Children's Literature

New Update! Dec. 28, 2016
My goal is to gradually update this list with new links. You can see which sections have been updated by looking for

New! A Math Game List (pdf) is also available. Free!
Access this and other freebies and products through my store.

Latest Update: March 8, 2014
I try to update the following list of Math Books for Kids on a regular basis. You can always access it from the link at the top of the home page.

Why Do I Keep Up This List?
1. I'm addicted to math-related children's books.
2. I teach continuing education courses utilizing this list and many of these books.
3. Most importantly, if you're interested in purchasing any of these books through Amazon, all commissions go toward foster care in China through Grace and Hope at no additional cost to you. I do not keep any money myself. Thank you for making a difference in children's lives! I've provided links but suggest that you look around if a book looks outrageously high. I've noticed that many of the OOP (out-of-print) books have multiple listings...some for pennies and some for hundreds of dollars, often for the same book. Please let me know of new books on the market.

Linking Children's Literature to Math
A few important notes about this list:

1. Book titles/authors are organized by concept. You may disagree with some of my categorization. I sometimes had a hard time deciding. Know that many of the books could fit multiple categories.

2. Over time, I'll be trying to add OOP notations to books as well as links to "reviews" and "lessons" within my blog.

3. New addition...I'm putting an "*" in front of a few of my favorite titles. Usually it's just because I truly enjoy the book. (I was a language arts and literature teacher before I became obsessed with math!) Sometimes a book becomes a favorite because it made a lesson come alive. Sometimes it's just because. Plenty of great books don't have "*"...and some that you love may not be marked.

, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat ( lesson)
The Action of Subtraction

, Brian Cleary
Centipede's 100 Shoes

, Tony Ross
Each Orange Had 8 Slices

, Paul Giganti (also multiplication)
Elevator Magic

, Stuart Murphy (subtracting)
The Grapes of Math

, Greg Tang
The King's Commissioners

, Aileen Friedman (addition, skip counting)
Math Appeal

, Greg Tang
Math For All Seasons

, Greg Tang
Math-terpieces

, Anne Miranda (counting)
Monster Musical Chairs, Stuart Murphy
My Little Sister Ate One Hare

, Bill Grossman
Night Noises, Mem Fox (add up the relatives that visit)
Panda Math; Learning About Subtraction from Hua Mei and Mei Sheng

, Ann Whitehead Nagda
*Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, James Dean (subtracting from 4)
Ready, Set, Hop!

, Stuart Murphy (building equations)
The Real Princess: A Mathematical Tale

Brenda Williams (variety of problems)
Rooster's Off to See the World

, Stuart Murphy (finding unknowns)
Sea Sums, Joy Hulme
Shark Swimathon

, Stuart Murphy (subtracting two-digit numbers)
Splash!

, Ann Jonas
Subtraction Action

, Loreen Leedy

Area/Perimeter
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!

, Marilyn Burns

Counting/Early Childhood Topics
10 Little Penguins, Jean-Luc Fromental
Anno's Counting Book

, Mitsumasa Anno
Anno's Counting House

, Mitsumasa Anno
Apple Countdown, Joan Holub
The April Rabbits

, David Cleveland
Art 123, Stefano Zuffi (new publication, Sept 2011)
*The Button Box

, Margarette Reid ( lesson, lesson) (sorting)
Changes, Changes

, Pat Hutchins (wordless picture book, building with blocks)
Count and See

, Tana Hoban
*Equal, Shmequal

, Virginia Kroll (equality) ( review)
Grandma's Button Box, Linda Williams Aber
How Many Candles?, Helen Griffith
How Many Feet in the Bed?, Diana Hamm (count by 2s) ( lesson)
How Many Snails?

,Paul Giganti
In My Garden

, Ward Schumaker
Is It Larger, Is It Smaller

, Tana Hoban
Little Quack's Hide and Seek

, Lauren Thompson
Icky Bug Counting Book, Jerry Pallotta
In My Garden, Ward Schumaker
The M&M's Counting Book

, Barbara Barbieri McGrath
Monster Math

, Grace Maccarone (Hello Math)
Monster Math, Ann Miranda
More, Fewer, Less

, Tana Hoban (photos)
More or Less a Mess

, Sheila Keenan (Hello Math) (sorting)
More Than One

, Miriam Schlein (concept of one...one pair, one week, one dozen)
Nine Ducks Nine

, Sarah Hayes
Ocean Counting, Jerry Pallotta (odd numbers)
One is a Snail Ten is a Crab

April Pulley Sayre (odd/even #s) ( review)
One, Two, Skip a Few! ( review)
*Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, James Dean
* Press Here, Herve Tullet (counting, position-Kinder standard)
Seaweed Soup

, Stuart Murphy (matching sets)
The Sundae Scoop

, Stuart Murphy (combinations)
Ten Black Dots, Donald Crews
Ten Little Elvi

, Laura Henson (counting book for Elvis fans!)
Ten Little Fish

, Audrey Wood
*Two Greedy Bears

, Mirra Ginsburg (maybe early division?)
What Comes in 2's, 3's, & 4's, (Suzanne Aker)
What's a Pair? What's a Dozen?

, Stephen Swinburne (explores number words)

, Stuart Murphy (My 5yo loves this book. Big Book Edition

available)
* Press Here, Herve Tullet (counting, position-Kinder standard)

, Margaret Mahy
A Remainder of One

, Elinor J. Pinczes
Bean Thirteen

, Matthew McElligot
Cheetah Math

, Ann Whitehead Nagda
The Doorbell Rang

, Pat Hutchins
Divide and Ride

, Stuart Murphy
The Great Divide

, Dayle Ann Dodds
One Hungry Cat

, Joanne Rocklin (Hello Math)
*Two Greedy Bears

, Mirra Ginsburg (maybe early division?)

, Stuart Murphy
The Candy Corn Contest

, Patricia Reilly Giff (chapter bk) ( review)
*Great Estimations

, Bruce Goldstone ( lesson, review)
*Greater Estimations

, Bruce Goldstone ( author letter, review)
* How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin

, Margaret McNamara ( review)

Fractions, Decimals, Percents
Apple Fractions

, Jerry Pallotta
Eating Fractions

, Bruce McMillan
Fabulous Fractions

, Lynette Long
Fraction Action

, Loreen Leedy
Fraction Fun

, Dayle Ann Dodds
Gator Pie, Louise Mathews (OOP)
The Grizzly Gazette

, Stuart J. Murphy
The Hershey's Fraction Book

, Jerry Pallotta
Jump, Kangaroo, Jump!

, Stuart Murphy
The Lion's Share: A Tale of Halving Cake and Eating It, Too, Matthew McElligott ( lesson)
*Little Numbers and Pictures That Show Just How Little They Are!

, Edward Packard
Music Math

, Kathleen Collins
* Picture Pie

, Ed Emberley (lesson here, here)
Piece=Part=Portion

, Scott Gifford
Twizzlers Percentages Book

, Jerry Pallotta
The Wishing Club

, Donna Jo Napoli ( review)

, Tana Hoban
The Amazing Book of Shapes: Explore Math Through Shapes and Patterns

, Lydia Sharman (OOP)
Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes

, Stuart J. Murphy ( lesson)
*A Cloak for the Dreamer

, Aileen Friedman (tessellations)(lesson here, here)
Changes, Changes

, Pat Hutchins (wordless picture book, building with blocks)
Cubes, Cones, Cylinders, and Spheres

, Tana Hoban
Eight Hands Round: A Patchwork Alphabet,

Ann Whitford Paul (Quilts)
Grandfather Tang's Story

, Ann Tompert (lesson here, here)
*The Greedy Triangle

, Stuart Murphy (angles)( review/lesson)
Icky Bug Shapes

, Jerry Pallotta
If You Were a Polygon

, Marcie Aboff
If You Were a Quadrilateral

, Molly Blaisdell ( lesson)
The Incredibly Awesome Box

, Joanne Rocklin (Hello Math Reader)
A Light in the Attic

(poem, "Shapes"), Shel Silverstein
The Magic Mirror Book

, Marion Walter (OOP, symmetry)( lesson)
Magic Mirror Tricks

, Marion Walter (OOP, symmetry)( lesson)
*Mouse Shapes

, Ellen Stoll Walsh
Museum Shapes

, Metropolitan Museum of Art
*Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry

, Cindy Neuschwander ( lesson)
The Seasons Sewn

, Ann Whitford Paul (quilts)
The Secret Birthday Message, Eric Carle (directional terms)
Shapes, Shapes, Shapes

, Tana Hoban
The Silly Story of Goldie Locks and the Three Squares

, Grace Maccarone (Hello Math)( lesson)
*Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi

, Cindy Neuschwander
*Sir Cumference and the First Round Table,

Cindy Neuschwander ( lesson, lesson)
*Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland

, Cindy Neuschwander ( lesson, lesson)
Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter

, Cindy Neuschwander
Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone

, Cindy Neuschwander ( lesson)
So Many Circles, So Many Squares

, Tana Hoban
*I Spy Shapes in Art

, Lucy Micklethwait ( lesson)
Square Cat

, Elizabeth Schoonmaker
Three Pigs, One Wolf, and Seven Magic Shapes

, Grace Maccarone ( lesson)
The Village of Round and Square Houses

, Ann Grifalconi
When a Line Bends...A Shape Begins

, Rhonda Greene
Zachary Zormer, Shape Transformer

, Joanne Reisberg

Graphs, Charts, Coordinates, Data
Bart's Amazing Charts

, Dianne Ochiltree (Hello Math Reader)
The Best Vacation Ever,

Stuart Murphy
*The Fly on the Ceiling: A Math Myth

, Dr. Julie Glass (Step into Reading)
The Long Wait

, Annie Cobb (Math Matters Reader)
Tiger Math

, Nagda & Bickel

, Jennifer Dussling
*Balancing Act

, Ellen Stoll Walsh
Beanstalk; the Measure of a Giant

, Ann McCallum ( lesson)
The Biggest Fish

, Sheila Keenan (Hello Math)
Biggest, Strongest, Fastest

, Steve Jenkins
*Counting on Frank

, Rod Clement
*The Dragon's Scales

Sarah Albee (weight) ( review)
*Equal Shmequal

, Virginia Kroll ( review)
Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest

, Steve Jenkins
*How Big is a Foot?

, Ben Hillman
How Long Is It?

, Donna Loughran
How Long or How Wide?

, Brian Cleary
How Tall, How Short, How Faraway

, David Adler
*If Dogs Were Dinosaurs

, David Schwartz (Ratio/Proportion)
*If You Hopped Like a Frog

, David Schwartz (Ratio/Proportion)
*Inch by Inch

, Elinor Pinczes
Incredible Comparisons

, Russell Ash (boys in my class love this book!)
Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?

Robert Wells
Jim and the Beanstalk

, Henry Arthur
*The Librarian Who Measured the Earth

, Kevin Hawkes ( review)
Me and the Measure of Things

, Joan Sweeney
Measuring Penny

, Loreen Leedy
Millions to Measure

, David Schwartz
More For Me!

, Sydnie Meltzer Kleinhenz (Hello Math)
Pastry School in Paris: An Adventure in Capacity

, Cindy Neuschwander
Pezzettino

, Leo Lionni (area)( Mathwire lesson)
Pigs in the Pantry

, Amy Axelrod
Racing Around

, Stuart J. Murphy
Slower Than a Snail

, Anne Schreiber (Hello Math)
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!

, Marilyn Burns (area, perimeter)
Super Sand Castle Saturday

, Stuart Murphy
Twelve Snails to One Lizard

, Susan Hightower
Twenty-One Elephants

, Phil Bildner (see lesson)
Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing

, April Jones Prince (see lesson)
Weight

, Henry Arthur
What's Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew?

, Robert Wells
*Who Sank the Boat?

, Pamela Allen ( lesson)

, Tana Hoban
A Dollar for Penny

, Julie Glass
*Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

, Judith Viorst
*Arthur's Funny Money

, Lilian Hoban ( review)
The Big Buck Adventure

, Gill & Tobola
Benny's Pennies

, Pat Brisson
The Coin Counting Book

, Rozanne Williams ( review)
Growing Money

, Gail Karlitz (resource/reference)
How Much is that Guinea Pig in the Window?

, Joanne Rocklin (Hello Math)
How the Second Grade Got $8,205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty

, Nathan Zimelman ( review)
If You Made a Million

, David Schwartz
Jelly Beans for Sale

, Bruce McMillan ( review)
Jenny Found a Penny

, Trudy Harris
Max's Money

, Teddy Slater (Hello Math)
*Monster Money

, Grace Macarone (Hello Math)(My boys love this)
My Rows and Piles of Coins

, Tololwa Mollel (setting: Tanzania)
*Once Upon a Dime; A Math Adventure

, Nancy Kelly Allen ( review)
The Penny Pot

, Stuart Murphy
Pigs Will Be Pigs: Fun with Math and Money

, Amy Axelrod
A Quarter from the Tooth Fairy

, Caren Holtzman (Hello Math)
The Story of Money

, Betsy Maestro
Tight Times

, Barbara Shook Hazen
The Toothpaste Millionaire

, Jean Merrill (chapter book)
*Where the Sidewalk Ends

(poem, "Smart"), Shel Silverstein (lesson here, here)

Multiplication, Skip Counting, Doubling, Square Numbers
The 512 Ants on Sullivan Street

, Carol Losi (Hello Math Reader), (doubling, add, multiply)
A Grain of Rice

, Helena Clare Pittman (doubling)
Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream

, Cindy Neuschwander
Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar

, Mitsumasa Anno
Arctic Fives Arrive

, Elinor Pinczes (skip counting by 5s)
Bats on Parade

, Kathi Appelt (mult, square #s)
*The Best of Times

, Greg Tang
Bunches and Bunches of Bunnies

, Louise Mathews
Counting Coconuts

, Contando Cocos (counting by 2s,3s,4s,5s,10s...#s also in Spanish)
Double the Ducks

, Stuart Murphy
Each Orange Had 8 Slices: A Counting Book

, Paul Giganti, Jr.(multiply, add, count)
How Do You Count a Dozen Ducklings?

, In Seon Chae
*How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?

, Margaret McNamara ( review)
*The King's Chessboard

, David Birch (doubling)(lesson here, here)
The King's Commissioners

, Aileen Friedman (addition, skip counting)
The M&M's Counting Book

, Barbara McGrath (counting, add/subtract/multiply)
More M&M's Math

, Barbara McGrath (many topics)
My Full Moon is Square

, Elinor Pinczes (square #s)
*One Grain of Rice

, Demi (doubling)(lesson here, here)
One Hundred Hungry Ants

, Elinor Pinczes
One Hundred Ways to Get to 100

, Jerry Pallotta (many topics)
*Sea Squares

, Joy N. Hulme (square numbers) (lesson here, here)
Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens

, Cindy Neuschwander
Stay in Line

, Teddy Slater (Hello Math), (add, multiply)
Spunky Monkeys on Parade

, Stuart Murphy (count by 2s, 3s, 4s)
Ten Times Better

, Richard Michelson (multiplying by ten)
Too Many Kangaroo Things to Do!

, Stuart Murphy (multiplying)
*Two of Everything

, Lily Toy Hong (doubling)
*Two Ways to Count to Ten

, Ruby Dee

Number and Operations, Number Sense (lg/sm)
*100 Ways to Celebrate 100 Days

, Bruce Goldstone (100 day celebrations)( review, author)
*365 Penguins

, Jean-Luc Fromental ( review, lesson)
Big Numbers: And Pictures that Show Just How Big They Are!

, Edward Packard
Can You Count to a Googol?

, Robert E. Wells
Dinosaur Deals

, Stuart Murphy (equivalent values)
How Big is It?

, Ben Hillman (large numbers)
How Many Candles?

, Helen Griffith
*How Much is a Million?

, David Schwartz
If You Made a Million

, David Schwartz
Less Than Zero

, Stuart Murphy
*Little Numbers: And Pictures that Show Just How Little They Are!

, Edward Packard
A Million Dots

, Andrew Clements
On Beyond a Million

, David Schwartz
*Zero the Hero, Joan Holub ( review)
Zero: Is It Something? Is It Nothing?

, Claudia Zaslavsky (OOP)
Zero Is the Leaves on the Tree

, Betsy Franco

Odd/Even Numbers
*Even Steven and Odd Todd

, Kathryn Cristaldi (Hello Math)
Missing Mittens

, Stuart Murphy
Ocean Counting: Odd Numbers

, Jerry Pallotta

One Hundred Days of School
*100 Ways to Celebrate 100 Days

, Bruce Goldstone ( review, author)
The One Hundredth Day of School!

, Abby Klein (chapter book)

, Sarah Campbell (Fibonnaci #s)
*Pattern Bugs

, Trudy Harris ( lesson)
*Patterns in Peru: An Adventure in Patterning

, Cindy Neuschwander ( review)
The Rabbit Problem, Emily Graves ( review)

, Stuart Murphy (place value)
Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens

, Cindy Neuschwander (base 10)( lesson)

, Tana Hoban
Left or Right? Rehm & Koike
The Secret Birthday Message, Eric Carle (directional terms)

Prime/Composite Numbers
You Can Count on Monsters, Richard Even Schwartz ( review/lesson ideas)

Probability, Data Analysis, Graphs
Do You Wanna Bet? Your Chance to Find Out About Probability

, Jean Cushman (chapter bk)
Pigs at Odds

, Amy Axelrod
Probably Pistachio

, Stuart J. Murphy
Socrates and the Three Little Pigs

, Mitsumasa Anno
A Very Improbable Story

, Edward Einhorn ( review)

, Jean-Luc Fromental ( review, lesson)
Anno's Hat Tricks

, Mitsumasa Anno
Anno's Magic Seeds

, Anno (lots in here!)
The Case of the Backyard Treasure

, Joanne Rocklin (Hello Math Reader)
The Further Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat

, Theoni Pappas (chapter bk)
Math Curse

, Jon Scieszka (humor)
Math Trek

, Paterson & Henderson (chapter book)
Painless Math Word Problems

, Marcie Abramson (chapter book)
You Can, Toucan, Math

, David Adler

Roman Numerals
Fun With Roman Numerals

, David Adler (new!)
Roman Numerals, David Adler (this is the book I own which I don't see on Amazon. I'm wondering if it's an older version of Fun With Roman Numerals??)
Roman Numerals I to MM

, Arthur Geisert

Sorting & Classifying
*The Button Box

, Margarette Reid ( lesson, lesson)
More or Less a Mess

, Sheila Keenan (Hello Math) (sorting)
Seaweed Soup

, Stuart Murphy (sets)

Spatial Sense/Direction
Pigs in the Corner

, Amy Axelrod

Square Numbers
Bunches and Bunches of Bunnies

, Louise Mathews
My Full Moon is Square

, Elinor Pinczes
*Sea Squares

, Jeunesse & Verdet
All in a Day

, Mitsumasa Anno, et al
Bats Around the Clock

, Kathi Appelt
Chimp Math

, Nagda & Bickel
Clocks and More Clocks

, Pat Hutchins
Cluck O'Clock

, Kes Gray
Four Season Make a Year

, Anne Rockwell
Henry's Important Date, Robert Quackenbush (only linked mini-version is currently in print)
How to Tell Time (older Little Golden Book)
It's About Time, Jesse Bear, Nancy White Carlstrom
Just a Minute!

, Teddy Slater (Hello Math)
Maxie, Mildred Kantrowitz
My First Book of Time

, Claire Llewellyn
On the Same Day in March

, Marilyn Singer
Pigs on a Blanket, Amy Axelrod
Scaredy Squirrel, Melanie Watt ( Review & Activity)
Telling Time

, Jules Older
Telling Time with Big Mama Cat

, Dan Harper
Time To..., Bruce McMillan
The Warlord's Alarm, Virginia Walton Pilegard
What Time Is It? A Book of Math Riddles, Sheila Keenan
What Time Is It Mr. Crocodile?, Judy Sierra
When This Box Is Full, Patricia Lillie

********** Additional Assorted Topics in Math **********

Activity Books
Circles: Fun Ideas for Getting A-Round in Math

, Catherine Ross
*Math Games & Activities from Around the World

, Claudia Zaslavsky
*The Secret Life of Math: discover how (and why) number have survived from the cave dwellers to us

, Ann McCallum ( lesson)

Art/Math
Art 123, Stefano Zuffi (new publication, Sept 2011)
MathART: Projects and Activities

, Carolyn Ford Brunetto (teacher book)
*Math-terpieces

, Greg Tang
Museum Shapes

, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Biographies
*Blockhead: the Life of Fibonacci

*The Boy Who Loved Math, Deborah Heiligman ( review)
*Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

, Jean Lee Latham (chapter book, Newbery Award, maritime biography)
*Mathematicians Are People, Too

, Reimer (two volumes, biographies of mathematicians)
Of Numbers and Stars: The Story of Hypatia

, D. Anne Love
*Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein

, Don Brown

Fact & Photo Books (fun for kids to share during gathering time)
*A Closer Look

, Mary McCarthy
Incredible Comparisons

, Stephen Biesty
Life-Size Aquarium

, Teruyuki Komiya
Penguins Swim But Don't Get Wet; and Other Amazing Facts About Polar Animals

, Berger

, Denise Schmandt-Besserat (picture book, advanced)
The Warlord's Beads

, Virgian Walton Pilegard (history of abacus)

Poetry
Count Me a Rhyme: Animal Poems by the Numbers

, Jane Yolen
Mathematickles!

, Betsy Franco

Puzzles, Rhymes and Riddles (I LOVE opening math sessions with things from this category!)
Amazing Math Puzzles

, Adam Hart-Davis
Arithme-Tickle: An Even Number of Odd Riddle-Rhymes

, J. Patrick Lewis
*Easy Math Puzzles

, David A. Adler
How Many Feet? How Many Tails?

, Marilyn Burns (Hello Math)
Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School

, Louis Sachar (chapter book)

World With No Numbers (great to spur creative writing)
A Day With No Math

, Marilyn Kaye (OOP)( lesson)
Missing Math

, Loreen Leady ( lesson)
Neil's Numberless World

, Lucy Coats (OOP)( lesson)

Chapter Books (or more advanced, reference)
The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat

, Theoni Pappas
Arithmetricks

, Edward Julius
Body Math

, Penny Dowdy
The Candy Corn Contest

, Patricia Reilly Giff (early chapter book)
*Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

, Jean Lee Latham (chapter book, Newbery Award, maritime biography)
Chasing Vermeer

, Blue Balliett
Fractals, Googols and Other Mathematical Tales

, Theoni Pappas
The Further Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat

, Theoni Pappas
G is for Googol; A Math Alphabet Book

, David Schwartz
Go Figure!

, Johnny Ball
How Math Works

, Carol Vorderman
Isador A. Inchworm's Magic Math Glasses

(old, but good)( lesson)
The Lemonade War, Jacqueline Davis (upcoming review)
The Longitude Prize

, Joan Dash
The Man Who Counted

, Malba Tahan
Mathemagic

(Childcraft, old but good)
Murderous Maths

series by Kjartan Poskitt. You can sometimes find them used and inexpensive on Amazon, but there are a few dealers who sell them new in the U.S.
Navigating Early, by Clare Vanderpool ( review)
*The Number Devil

, Hans Magnus Enzensberger
Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School

, Louis Sachar
The Toothpaste Millionaire

, Jean Merrill (chapter book)
Walk Past the Wolf: A Mythmatical Battles Adventure

, Scrivener Minion
The Wright 3, Blue Balliett

Book list © 2010-16 love2learn2day. All rights reserved. You are welcome to link to this page. Please don't copy/paste the list onto another site. It took me a ton of work! :)

At a later date I'll add teacher reference books. And I'll be continually posting lessons that use the books listed here. :)

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Math in Children's Literature New Update! Dec. 28, 2016 My goal is to gradually update this list with new links. You can see which sections have been updated by looking for New! A Math Game List (pdf) is also available. Free! Access this and other freebies and products through my store.

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Maths and literature, or more broadly sciences and arts, are too often presented as separate, or opposites. But when they fuse and combine the results can be beautifully challenging, or perhaps excitingly absurd.

Here are a selection of favourite maths-themed novels and stories:

This book, written under the pseudonym A. Square and published in 1884, is the obvious place to start. Flatland is both an exploration of the nature of dimensions and geometry, and of Victorian social hierarchy. The narrator is a square living in Flatland who dreams of a visit to a one-dimensional world, which leads to the questioning of his (and our) understanding of dimensions and reality.
Flatland: A Romance Of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
Many books have been inspired by Flatland. Particularly notable among these are Sphereland: A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and An Expanding Universe by Dionys Burger and Flatterland by Ian Stewart, both having been written as sequels. The Dot And The Line: A Romance In Lower Mathematics by Norton Juster was also inspired by Flatland, and is best known for its 1965 short film adaptation.

Lewis Carroll worked as a mathematician and maths lecturer throughout his life. However, he's best known for his Alice works, which contain many references to mathematical concepts and logic, albeit often much obscured by absurdity. They follow the adventures of a young girl named Alice who finds herself in the bizarre and differently-logical worlds of Wonderland and Looking-Glass Land after either falling down a rabbit hole or climbing through a looking-glass.

Lewis Carroll In Numberland: His Fantastical Mathematical Logical Life by Robin Wilson is an enjoyable biography of Lewis Carroll exploring his work and life as a mathematician.
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.
Another book by Norton Juster- this is a children's fantasy novel. The main character Milo is transported to the Kingdom Of Wisdom, a land where harmony has been disrupted by disagreement over whether letters and numbers are equally important. The book is full of puns and literal interpretations of idioms, and has been compared to Alice's Adventures In Wonderland.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
A play containing mathematical, scientific, philosophical, and particularly chaos theory themes, Arcadia is considered by critics and people who are supposed to know about this sort of thing to be one of the best contemporary plays.

Another play by Tom Stoppard is Rosencrantz And Guildernstern Are Dead, the titular characters being taken from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The play begins with a somewhat humorous conversation on the subject of probability.
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
An Abundance Of Katherines is a young adult novel with a maths-loving protagonist named Colin who wishes to advance himself from the status of prodigy to that of a genius. Colin uses mathematical equations throughout the novel, some of which are explained in the book's appendix by mathematician Daniel Biss.

This novel follows the story of a teenaged boy with Asperger Syndrome who loves maths and is particularly fond of prime numbers. The book takes the form of a detective novel told in first person by the protagonist Christopher, but his love of maths is brought up in many ways throughout The Curious Incident, including via the unconventional chapter numbering.
An Abundance Of Katherines by John Green
There is also a very well-adapted play based on this book. The play captures the book, and what it feels like to experience the world in the way the main character does, impressively well.
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon
A young adult novel about a female high school student named Farrah who has been trying to ditch her maths-geek image. However, her talent for mathematics leads her down a path that includes terrorism and being kidnapped by the FBI for protection.

First published in Japanese, The Housekeeper and the Professor follows the story of a mathematician who suffers brain damage after an accident and loses his ability to form memories. He does, however, retain his passionate love for mathematics and equations. The plot is based around his relationship with his housekeeper and with her son, to whom he teaches his love of maths.
A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan
And finally (not a novel but still worthy of a mention) is the classic picture book Millions Of Cats. First published in 1928, Millions Of Cats demonstrates the practical problems that can come with large numbers or quantities, in this case of cats. It's not overtly mathsy, but is often recommended as a book for young children who enjoy looking at numbers. However, it's probably best to check how sensitive your young child is before giving them this book.
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág

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Maths and literature, or more broadly sciences and arts, are too often presented as separate, or opposites. But when they fuse and combine the results can be beautifully challenging, or perhaps excitingly absurd. Here are a selection of favourite maths-themed novels and stories: Flatland: A Romance Of

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WSIRN Ep 123: Books that will totally make you cry (with laughter)

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WSIRN Ep 123: Books that will totally make you cry (with laughter)

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WSIRN Ep 123: Books that will totally make you cry (with laughter)

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Today's guest is a reader who loves to laugh. Rissie Lundberg wrote in to the show and told me she's been a listener from the very beginning, but has NEVER heard her favorite titles discussed on the air. I knew I had to have her on the show to remedy that situation as soon as possible.

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by Hans Magnus Enzensberger