11 Mathematics-related books for children

As an educator, I want my students to embrace learning and be able to connect it to what they read.  In the books listed below, readers can find how math plays a role in everyday life through different formats: chapter books, picture books, poetry, nonfiction and biographies. 

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty, a middle-grade chapter book. Listen to the author read aloud the first chapter here.  Check out a book trailer for the story:

The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins, is a picture book appropriate for all ages but is ideal for pre-K, 1st and 2nd grades.

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan is a middle-grade picture book that is part of a series on math concepts. 

Polar Bear Math: Learning about Fractions from Klondike and Snow by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel is a non-fiction picture book for elementary-aged children that teaches about math concepts through two polar bears held at the Denver Zoo.

Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain by Cheryl Bardoe and Barbara McClintock is a picture book biography for elementary-aged readers.

More Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School by Louis Sachar is a chapter book aimed for third-graders and up. It is full of mathematical and logical puzzles based on the humorous Wayside School series.

Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy is a picture book that is aimed for kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders.  The story follows a student who is given a homework assignment to measure a pet with different forms of measurement.  

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith is a hilarious, non-fiction picture book for any elementary-aged reader. It shows how everything in our lives can be turned into a math problem.

Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Karen Barbour is a collection of math-related poems for kindergarten, first, second, and third graders. Here is an excerpt:

How Much is a Million? by David M. Schwartz and Steven Kellogg is a non-fiction picture book that helps elementary-aged readers visualize big numbers.  Here is a Reading Rainbow episode that features the book:

Calculator Riddles by David A. Adler and Cynthia Fisher is a funny, non-fiction, interactive book that is for third graders and up.  The book contains a number of riddles that can be answered by turning the calculator upside down.