Read-alouds and Children’s Texts
Inspiration and Representation
Books that provide windows and mirrors to inspire young mathematicians.
Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Story of Sophie Germain by Cheryl Bardoe Goodreads.com: "The true story of eighteenth-century mathematician Sophie Germain, who solved the unsolvable to achieve her dream."
Numbers in Motion: Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematicians by Laurie Wallmark Goodreads.com: "The book explores the life of the ground-breaking mathematician."
The Girl with a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague by Julia Finley Mosca Goodreads.com: "Meet Raye Montague--the hidden mastermind who made waves in the U.S. Navy!"
Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker Goodreads.com: "The story of Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race and was depicted in the book and film Hidden Figures."
Hedy Lamarr's Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor by Laurie Wallmark Goodreads.com: "Movie star by day, ace inventor at night: learn about the hidden life of actress Hedy Lamarr!"
Number Sense and Number Patterns
From Place Value to PEMDAS.
Place Value by David A. Adler Goodreads.com: You had better not monkey around when it comes to place value. The monkeys in this book can tell you why! As they bake the biggest banana cupcake ever, they need to get the amounts in the recipe correct. There's a big difference between 216 eggs and 621 eggs. Place value is the key to keeping the numbers straight. Using humorous art, easy-to-follow charts and clear explanations, this book presents the basic facts about place value while inserting some amusing monkey business.
A Place for Zero by Angeline Sparagna LoPresti Goodreads.com: Zero is lonely in Digitaria. He can't play Addemup with the other numbers, because he has nothing to add. What's a digit to do? Join Zero as he goes on a journey to discover his place.
How Much is a Million by David M. Schwartz How Much Is a Million? knocks complex numbers down to size in a fun, humorous way, helping children conceptualize a difficult mathematical concept. It's a math class you'll never forget.
Anno's Counting House by Mitsumasa Anno Goodreads.com: In this book, Mitsumasa Anno, the creator of the brilliantly inventive Anno's Alphabet, invites young readers on another stimulating adventure of the imagination-this time into the world of numbers and counting. Gentle watercolor pictures show a landscape changing through the various times of day and the turning seasons, months and years, and the activities of the people and animals who come to live there. But the seemingly simple plan of the book is deceptive: look more carefully and you will see one-to-one correspondences; groups and sets; scales and tabulations; changes over time periods; and many other mathematical relationships as they occur in natural, everyday living. Just as our forebears developed our number system from observing the order of nature, the reader is subtly led to see and understand the real meaning of numbers.
Addition and Subtraction
Books that add up to big take-aways.
The Action of Subtraction by Brian P. Cleary Goodreads.com: The author and illustrator of the best-selling Words Are CATegorical(R) series brings their trademark sense of humor to the subject of subtraction. Rhyming text filled with funny, countable examples shows what it means to take one number away from another. Readers are also introduced to the terminology they'll encounter as they learn to subtract.
The Mission of Addition by Brian P. Cleary Goodreads.com: In the first book of the Math Is Categorical(R) series, readers will become familiar with the concept of addition and its key terms. The author and illustrator of the best-selling Words Are CATegorical(R) series use their trademark sense of humor to add up the fun!
Anno's Counting House by Mistumasa Anno One by one, ten children move from their old house into their new house with all their possessions. Die-cut windows reveal the interiors of the houses and the book can also be read from back to front. The first ten numbers and the principles of addition and subtraction are introduced not by rote but as part of a pleasant experience. All children are natural mathematicians, Anno believes, and by independent observation they can find other, more advanced concepts in this book. (less)
Multiplication and Division
Multiple titles to get into.
Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Maisachiro Anno Goodreads.com: "Superbly demonstrating the conception of factorials in mathematics, the text and pictures combine to present a lesson in a palatable form as well as the pleasure of looking at pictures that only Mitsumasa Anno could invent." — Publishers Weekly"
One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes Goodreads.com: One hundred hungry ants march off single file to sample a picnic, but when the going gets too slow, they divide into two rows of fifty, then four rows of twenty . . . until they take so long that the picnic is gone!
A Remainder of One b Elinor J. Pinczes Goodreads.com: Hup, two, three, four! We're in the 25th Army Corps. Queen's count! Two, three! We are the marching infantry! Poor Joe! He wants to march in the parade, but every time the lines are uneven, he must stand aside. What's a poor bug to do? Joe is determined. He studies the problem, relining the twenty-five bugs in his squadron from two lines to three lines to four lines, until inspiration and fortitude result in five lines of five -- and Joe fits in the last.
Fractions, Decimals, Percentages, and Ratios
Reading about the parts that make the whole.
Fractions, Decimals, and Percents by David A. Adler Goodreads.com: Step right up! Come take part in the county fair, where you'll see fractions, decimals, and percents everywhere. Gobble up a fraction of pie, boost your batting average in the arcade, and take a percent off the price of a toy. Learning about equivalent parts equals a whole lot of fun in this straightforward introduction to a challenging concept.
Fractions in Disguise by Edward Einhorn Goodreads.com: When a valuable fraction goes missing, George Cornelius Factor (a.k.a. GCF) vows to track it down. Knowing that the villainous Dr. Brok likes to disguise his ill-begotten fractions, GCF invents a Reducer—a tool that strips away the disguise, reducing the fraction and revealing its true form. Equal parts of action and humor add up to a wholly entertaining introduction to simplifying fractions.
Measurement and Geometry
Going the distance with plots and figures.
Perimeter, Area, and Volume by David A. Adler Goodreads.com: Readers are invited to the premiere of a 3-D movie. The star-studded cast of monsters will help them calculate the perimeter of the set, the area of the movie screen, and the volume of their popcorn box. Learning about dimensions has never been so entertaining.
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All: A Mathematical Story by Marilyn Burns Goodreads.com: Mr. and Mrs. Comfort have arranged tables and chairs to seat 32 people at their family reunion. But the guests have their own ideas for seating. Area and perimeter come alive as the family makes room for everyone.