Everyone loves a good story. Especially kids! Did you know that a search on the Amazon website for “math story books” yields over 2000 results! Math storybooks are a great way to present the “cool” side of math. Whether your resident kid is a bouncing off the walls 3-year-old whirlwind or an independence-seeking high schooler, here’s a list of my favorite math storybooks to help build your child’s love of math.
For Curious Pre-Schoolers:
Math Fables: Lessons That Count
Not just any ordinary counting book!
This colorful collection of rhyming stories helps young children start to make the connections between numbers and place-value. Little ones will love the cartoon animals which are central to each story while they subconsciously build initial arithmetic skills with the numbers from 1-10.
One Is a Snail, Ten is a Crab: A Counting by Feet Book
Fun math concepts with a beach theme!
Odd and even numbers, tens and one hundred, all explained using animal feet and a snail. How cute is that for preschoolers? Look out for the googly-eyed snail and the crazy crabs in this simple story set at the beach that shares some not so simple math concepts.
For Energetic Elementary Kids:
The Boy Who Loved Math – The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos
Find the magic in mathematics!
An illustrated, story-book style biography of real-life Mathematician Paul Erdos, which starts from when he was a young boy seeing the world with a numerical eye. The book also introduces concepts such as infinity and prime numbers in a light-hearted way. Decorated with mathematical artwork on each page, this book is a lovely way to give children a behind-the-scenes look at the life of one of the most brilliant contemporary mathematicians.



