Is math missing from your read-aloud pile? No worries! Today I’m sharing my favorite children’s books for teaching math skills.
**This post contains affiliate links for recommended books; that means I could receive a commission if you click through and take action through one of the links. See this disclosure to learn more.**
The great thing about this list of math books for kids is that there’s a mix of stories that incorporate math skills and non-story picture books. There are also several series on the list, which means even more math and reading fun. :)
Our Favorite Math Books for Kids
Before we jump into these fun math books, I do want to mention that each book description below also contains an Amazon link for easy wishlist additions. If you prefer to support independent bookstores instead of Amazon, check out this Bookshop.org link. The same books are all listed there for your convenience.
1. Sir Cumference Series
The Sir Cumference series is a fantastic place to start if you’re looking for picture books that teach math skills. Each book teaches a particular math skill through the lens of a story set in medieval England. For example, Sir Cumference and All the Kings Tens teaches place value, Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi introduces Pi, and Sir Cumference Gets Decima’s Point introduces decimal notation.
2. Math in Nature Series
This cross-curricular series is a fun way to bring nature study and math together for younger kiddos. It’s made of four volumes that each focus on a math concept and how it can be found in nature.
- Sizing Up Winter focuses on measurement.
- Sorting Through Spring teaches patterns, sorting, and probability.
- Shaping Up Summer focuses on shapes and lines.
- Counting On Fall teaches counting skills.
3. Bedtime Math
Another math-themed series, the Bedtime Math books aren’t meant to be read in one sitting. Instead, these vibrantly-illustrated books consist of lots of interesting math facts with corresponding math questions for “wee ones, little kids, and big kids.”
You can read several pages of facts and matching questions a night or work through it a chapter at a time. Either way, the Bedtime Math books are a fun way for parents and kids to enjoy math together.
Want more Bedtime Math? Check out Bedtime Math: This Time It’s Personal and Bedtime Math: The Truth Comes Out to round out the series.
4. Goodnight Numbers
This sweet picture book from Danica McKellar and Alicia Padron is a lovely way to include counting into your little one’s bedtime routine. Also worth noting, it’s available in hardcover, paperback, and board book since it’s written with younger kids in mind.
If these are the ideal math books for your kiddo, check out Danica McKellar’s other books. Bathtime Mathtime, Ten Magic Butterflies, and Double Puppy Trouble are some of her other offerings.
5. Math is CATegorical
There are nine books in this fun series. With titles like The Action of Subtraction and A Dollar, a Penny, How much and How Many?, each one explains a specific math skill through catchy rhymes, examples, and funny illustrations.
6. Fraction Fun
This is one of the few math books on this list that doesn’t teach math through a story. Instead, David Adler’s Fraction Fun explains math terminology related to fractions to younger kiddos and helps them make connections to fractions used in everyday life.
7. Multiplying Menace: The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin
Can’t get enough of the Sir Cumference books? If so, Multiplying Menace: The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin should be next on your to-read list. They’re also illustrated by Wayne Geehan and use a story presentation similar to the Sir Cumference books, but they have an obvious focus on multiplication.
Also worth noting, The Multiplying Menace Divides is a great option for introducing division through picture books.
8. The Grapes of Math
Greg Tang’s The Grapes of Math is full of fun rhymes, riddles, and visual cues that help kiddos grasp and reinforce key math skills needed for the elementary years and beyond. And when you’re done with this one, be sure to check out Math Potatoes for more fun.
9. What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras?
Along with the Multiplying Menace books, What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? is another math-themed picture book from Charlesbridge Math Adventures. This one, unsurprisingly, focuses on angles and other geometry principles. Like the Multiplying Menace books, it’s also an ideal picture book for kids in middle and older elementary grades.
10. Mummy Math
Want more geometry-themed math books for your kiddos? Mummy Math tells the story of a family visiting Egypt. While there, the kids must rely on their geometry skills to an ancient pharaoh’s burial chamber.
11. One Hundred Hungry Ants
One Hundred Hungry Ants is a fun way to reinforce counting and skip counting with younger kiddos.
12. Mysterious Patterns: Finding Fractals in Nature
And because I can’t resist adding another nature-themed book, we’ll round out this list of math books for kids with Mysterious Patterns: Finding Fractals in Nature. We’ve borrowed it from our library a few times and love how it features the Fibonacci sequence and explains fractals. An added bonus, it’s full of gorgeous photographs that will instantly grab your kiddo’s attention. :)
Looking for more read-aloud inspiration? A few of my favorite book compilations are listed below: