Building a Children's Math Library

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Updated: November 14, 2010
I try to update the following list on a semi-regular basis. You can always access it from the link at the top of the home page.

Here's the children's math book bibliography I have so far, book titles/authors by concept.

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. Over time, I'll be trying to add OOP notations to books as well as my own thoughts about individual titles. Please leave a comment and let me know if a link is broken. I'd also love it if you'd let me know of new books on the market.

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.

Addition/Subtraction
The 329th Friend, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
The Action of Subtraction, Brian Cleary
Bunches and Bunches of Bunnies, Louise Mathews
Centipede's 100 Shoes, Tony Ross
Each Orange Had 8 Slices, Paul Giganti
Elevator Magic, Stuart Murphy (subtracting)
The Grapes of Math, Greg Tang
Math Appeal, Greg Tang
Math Fables, Greg Tang
Math For All Seasons, Greg Tang
Monster Math, Anne Miranda
My Little Sister Ate One Hare, Bill Grossman
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, Eric Carle
Safari Park, Stuart Murphy (finding unknowns)
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 (a LOT of books exist in this category. My focus is grades 2-5 and up, however, so this category is mostly limited to what's on my shelf. )
Anno's Counting Book, Mitsumasa Anno
Anno's Counting House, Mitsumasa Anno
The April Rabbits, David Cleveland
The Button Box, Margarette Reid
Count and See, Tana Hoban
Equal, Shmequal, Virginia Kroll (equality)
How Many Snails?,Paul Giganti
In My Garden, Ward Schumaker
Is It Larger, Is It Smaller, Tana Hoban
Monster Math, Grace Maccarone (Hello Math)
More or Less Mess, Sheila Keenan (Hello Math)
More Than One, Miriam Schlein
Nine Ducks Nine, Sarah Hayes
One is a Snail Ten is a Crab April Pulley Sayre
Seaweed Soup, Stuart Murphy (matching sets)
The Sundae Scoop, Stuart Murphy (combinations)
Two Greedy Bears, Mirra Ginsburg (love this!)
What's a Pair? What's a Dozen?, Stephen Swinburne

Division
17 Kings and 42 Elephants, Margaret Mahy
The Doorbell Rang, Pat Hutchins
A Remainder of One, Elinor J. Pinczes
Bean Thirteen, Matthew McElligot
Divide and Ride, Stuart Murphy
The Great Divide, Dayle Ann Dodds

Estimating
Betcha!, Stuart Murphy
Great Estimations, Bruce Goldstone
Greater Estimations, Bruce Goldstone


Fractions, Decimals, Percents
Apple Fractions, Jerry Pallotta
Eating Fractions, Bruce McMillan
Fabulous Fractions, Lynette Long
Fraction Action, Loreen Leedy
Fraction Fun, David Adler
Full House, Dayle Ann Dodds
The Grizzly Gazette, Stuart J. Murphy
The Hershey’s Fraction Book, Jerry Pallotta
Jump, Kangaroo, Jump!, Stuart Murphy
Little Numbers and Pictures That Show Just How Little They Are!, Edward Packard
Music Math, Kathleen Collins
Piece=Part=Portion, Scott Gifford
Twizzlers Percentages Book, Jerry Pallotta
The Wishing Club, Donna Jo Napoli

Geometry
All About Where, 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
A Cloak for the Dreamer, Aileen Friedman (tessellations)
Cubes, Cones, Cylinders, and Spheres, Tana Hoban
Eight Hands Round: A Patchwork Alphabet, Ann Whitford Paul (Quilts)
Grandfather Tang's Story, Ann Tompert
The Greedy Triangle, Marilyn Burns
Hamster Champs, Stuart Murphy (angles)
If You Were a Polygon, Marcie Aboff
If You Were a Quadrilateral, Molly Blaisdell
The Incredibly Awesome Box, Joanne Rocklin (Hello Math Reader)
A Light in the Attic (poem, “Shapes”), Shel Silverstein
Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry, Cindy Neuschwander
The Seasons Sewn, Ann Whitford Paul (quilts)
Shapes, Shapes, Shapes, Tana Hoban
The Silly Story of Goldie Locks and the Three Squares, Grace Maccarone (Hello Math)
Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, Cindy Neuschwander
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table, Cindy Neuschwander
Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland, Cindy Neuschwander
Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter, Cindy Neuschwander
Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone, Cindy Neuschwander
So Many Circles, So Many Squares, Tana Hoban 
Three Pigs, One Wolf, and Seven Magic Shapes, Grace Maccarone
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

Measurement
Beanstalk; the Measure of a Giant, Ann McCallum 
The Biggest Fish, Sheila Keenan (Hello Math)
Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, Steve Jenkins
Counting on Frank, Rod Clement
The Dragon's Scales Sarah Albee (weight)
Equal Shmequal, Virginia Kroll
Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest, Steve Jenkins
How Big is a Foot?, Rolf Myller
How Big Is It?, Ben Hillman
How Long Is It?, Donna Loughran
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, Leo Lionni
Inchworm and a Half, 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, Raymond Briggs
Length, Henry Arthur
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth, Kevin Hawkes
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
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
Super Sand Castle Saturday, Stuart Murphy
Twelve Snails to One Lizard, Susan Hightower
Weight, Henry Arthur
What's Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew?, Robert Wells

Money
26 Letters and 99 Cents, Tana Hoban
A Dollar for Penny, Julie Glass
Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday, Judith Viorst
Arthur's Funny Money, Lilian Hoban
The Big Buck Adventure, Gill & Tobola
Benny's Pennies, Pat Brisson
The Coin Counting Book, Rozanne Williams
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
If You Made a Million, David Schwartz
Jelly Beans for Sale, Bruce McMillan
Jenny Found a Penny, Trudy Harris
Max's Money, Teddy Slater (Hello Math)
Monster Money, Grace Macarone (Hello Math)
My Rows and Piles of Coins, Tololwa Mollel (setting: Tanzania)
Once Upon a Dime; A Math Adventure, Nancy Kelly Allen
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)
Tight Times, Barbara Shook Hazen
The Toothpaste Millionaire, Jean Merrill (chapter book)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (poem, "Smart"), Shel Silverstein 

Multiplication, Skip Counting, Doubling
The 512 Ants on Sullivan Street, Carol Losi (Hello Math Reader), (doubling, add, multiply)
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
The Best of Times, Greg Tang
Bunches and Bunches of Bunnies, Louise Mathews
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
The King's Chessboard, David Birch (doubling) 
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)
One Grain of Rice, Demi
One Hundred Hungry Ants, Elinor Pinczes
One Hundred Ways to Get to 100, Jerry Pallotta (many topics)
Sea Squares, Joy N. Hulme (square numbers)
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)
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)
365 Penguins, Jean-Luc Fromental
A Million Dots, Andrew Clements
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: Is It Something? Is It Nothing?, Claudia Zaslavsky (OOP)

Odd/Even Numbers
Even Steven and Odd Todd, Kathryn Cristaldi (Hello Math)
Missing Mittens, Stuart Murphy
Ocean Counting: Odd Numbers, Jerry Pallotta

Patterns
Pattern Bugs, Trudy Harris (a favorite!)
Pattern Fish, Trudy Harris (ditto!)
Patterns in Peru: An Adventure in Patterning, Cindy Neuschwander

Place Value
Earth Day—Hooray!, Stuart Murphy (place value) 
Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens, Cindy Neuschwander (base 10)

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

Problem Solving
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
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

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)

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

Spatial Sense/Direction
Pigs in the Corner, Amy Axelrod

Square Numbers
Bunches and Bunches of Bunnies, Louise Mathews
Sea Squares, Joy Hulme


Time
All About Time, 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
Just a Minute!, Teddy Slater (Hello Math)
My First Book of Time, Claire Llewellyn
On the Same Day in March, Marilyn Singer
Telling Time, Jules Older
Telling Time with Big Mama Cat, Dan Harper


And on a slightly different note...

Activity Books
The Secret Life of Math: discover how (and why) number have survived from the cave dwellers to us, Ann McCallum

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)
Chasing Vermeer, Blue Balliett
Circles: Fun Ideas for Getting A-Round in Math, Catherine Ross
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
The History of Counting, Denise Schmandt-Besserat (picture book, advanced)
How Math Works, Carol Vorderman
Isador A. Inchworm's Magic Math Glasses (old, but good)
The Longitude Prize, Joan Dash
The Man Who Counted, Malba Tahan
Mathemagic (Childcraft, old but good)
Mathematicians Are People, Too, Reimer (two volumes, biographies of mathematicians)
Math Games & Activities from Around the World, Claudia Zaslavsky 
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.
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

Book list © 2010 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. :)