Math for Kids: Children's Books that Incorporate Math in Reading

Did you know how well children do math at the start of kindergarten predicts how well they will do in 3rd grade and high school? In addition, it also predicts how well they'll doing in reading.

These books incorporate math in reading and are available at the Sussex County Library System.

Updated December 31, 2025
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1 big salad
Medina, Juana
Paper Book
Juana Medina's ingenious illustrations nearly pop off the page in her new counting book, ONE BIG SALAD. One avocado deer saunters across the spread, two radish mice scurry by, until finally ten clementine kitties prance onto the scene - all of the ingredients in one big salad! Medina's...
Albert is not scared
May, Eleanor.
Paper Book
Alexander, who used to be rich last Sunday
Viorst, Judith.
Paper Book
Anthony has two dollars and three quarters and one dime and seven nickels and eighteen pennies. Nicholas has one dollar and two quarters and five dimes and five nickels and thirteen pennies. Alexander has...bus tokens. And even when he's rich, pretty soon all he has is bus tokens. ...
Bedtime math
Overdeck, Laura
Paper Book
Get ready for back-to-school season with the Bedtime Math mission: to make math a fun part of kids' everyday lives! "We want kids to feel about math the way they feel about dessert after dinner." --Laura Overdeck, Time magazine We all know it's wonderful to...
Bedtime math 2 : this time it's personal
Overdeck, Laura
Paper Book
"With just the right amount of math and humor, Overdeck continues to present mathematical concepts in fun and easy-to-digest pieces that will simultaneously entertain and educate young readers." --School Library Journal on Bedtime Math: This Time It's Personal Get...
Bedtime math. The truth comes out
Overdeck, Laura
Paper Book
Get ready for back-to-school season with the Bedtime Math mission: to make math a fun part of kids' everyday lives! "We want kids to feel about math the way they feel about dessert after dinner." --Laura Overdeck, Time magazine When is the last time you...
The boy who loved math : the improbably life of Paul Erdos
Heiligman, Deborah.
Paper Book
The perfect gift for young, curious readers and a staple for every classroom, The Boy Who Loved Math is a vibrant picture book about a young math prodigy that celebrates curiosity, creativity, and the boundless joy of thinking differently. Paul Erdos never followed the...
The doorbell rang
Hutchins, Pat 1942-2017
Paper Book
This enjoyable read-aloud picture book about friendship, sharing, and cookies can also be used to introduce basic math concepts to young children. "Refreshing, enjoyable, and unpredictable."--School Library Journal Each ring of the doorbell brings more friends to share the delicious...
Feast for 10
Falwell, Cathryn.
Paper Book
Enjoy this classic counting book and lively read-aloud featuring a family shopping for food, preparing dinner, and enjoying a meal together. Count from one to ten--then count again! What does it take to make a feast for ten hungry people? Shopping, cooking, setting the table-...
The grapes of math : mind stretching math riddles
Tang, Greg.
Paper Book
This innovative and delightful book challenges children -- and parents -- to open their minds and solve problems in new and unexpected ways. By looking for patterns, symmetries, and familiar number combinations displayed within eye-catching pictures, math will become easier and quicker -- and much...
The greedy triangle
Burns, Marilyn 1941-
Paper Book
Kids will get their early math skills in shape with this bestselling picture book--now available in Scholastic Bookshelf!Bored and dissatisfied with his life, a triangle visits a local shapeshifter to add another angle to his shape. Poof! He becomes a quadrilateral. But then he gets greedy and keeps...
The growing story
Krauss, Ruth.
Paper Book
From this simple beginning grows a story that celebrates those little changes that tell us we're growing up! This Ruth Krauss classic enchanted young readers when it was first published in 1947. Now it blooms again with lush illustrations by one of the world's best-loved illustrators: Helen...
Have you seen my monster?
Light, Steve
Paper Book
In a follow-up to Steve Light's highly praised Have You Seen My Dragon?, the county fair is filled with shapes--and somewhere among them a monster is waiting to be found. A little girl gallivants through a county fair, searching for her furry friend. Readers will surely...
How many jelly beans?
Menotti, Andrea.
Paper Book
How many jelly beans are enough? How many are too many? Aiden and Emma can't decide. Is 10 enough? How about 1,000? That's a lot of jelly beans. But eaten over a whole year, it's only two or three a day. This giant picture book offers kids a fun and easy way to understand large numbers. Starting...
How much is a million?
Schwartz, David M.
Paper Book
This book reveals how big a bowl would be needed to hold a million goldfish, or how many years it would take to count to a million.
Inside, outside, upside down
Berenstain, Stan 1923-2005
Paper Book
A bear explores a carton on a truck and gets carried away. By the time he has returned, the reader will be exposed to the concepts of "inside, outside, upside down." Bright and Early Books are perfect for beginning beginner readers! Launched by Dr. Seuss in 1968 with The Foot Book,...
Lemonade in winter : a book about two kids counting money
Jenkins, Emily
Paper Book
A lemonade stand in winter? Yes, that's exactly what Pauline and John-John intend to have, selling lemonade and limeade--and also lemon-limeade. With a catchy refrain (Lemon lemon LIME, Lemon LIMEADE! Lemon lemon LIME, Lemon LEMONADE!), plus simple math concepts throughout, here is a read...
The lemonade war
Davies, Jacqueline 1962-
Paper Book
Here is a clever blend of humor, math wizardry, and business know-how. As it captures the one-of-a-kind bond between brother and sister, this poignant novel also subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone's intent. For a full hour, he poured lemonade. The world is a thirsty...
Math at the art museum
Group Majoongmul.
Paper Book
This charming and colorful book incorporates mathematical concepts by introducing children to a fresh perspective on math through art When his father tells him there's math in art, a young boy is suspicious of the idea. But when the boy explores paintings and other masterpieces with...
Math play! /
Dauksas, Linda,
Paper Book
In this third book in the Busy Little Hands series, (Busy Little Hands: Art Play! and Busy Little Hands: Food Play!) preschoolers are introduced to the idea that math is everywhere, and numbers are fun! Each page features lots of bright pictures for pre-readers and each...
Measuring Penny
Leedy, Loreen.
Paper Book
Lisa has an important homework assignment--to measure something in several different ways. She has to use standard units like inches and nonstandard units like paper clips to find out height, width, length, weight, volume, temperature, and time. Lisa decides to measure her dog, Penny, and finds...
Money math : addition and subtraction
Adler, David A.
Paper Book
This primer on money will change how you see addition and subtraction. What can a handful of coins get you? Well, it depends on how many you've got. . . . and what they are. In this fun introduction to American currency, a variety of past presidents introduce...
Mouse shapes
Walsh, Ellen Stoll.
Paper Book
What can you make with one oval, two circles, and eight triangles? Just ask three clever mice--who even find a funny way to trick a sneaky cat.             Ellen Stoll Walsh once again proves that she's a master of concept books in...
Mystery math : a first book of algebra
Adler, David A.
Paper Book
Boo! There is a mystery behind every door of the creepy haunted house. Luckily, algebra will help you solve each problem. By using simple addition, subtraction, mulitplication, and division, you'll discover that solving math mysteries isn't scary at all -- it's fun!
One big pair of underwear
Gehl, Laura.
Paper Book
Count and share with...underwear! Come along on a zany adventure with hilarious pictures from the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. What's one thing that two bears, three yaks, four goats, and six cats have in common?...
One hundred hungry ants
Pinczes, Elinor J.
Paper Book
One Hundred Hungry Ants is not only a spirited and whimsical picture book story, it also serves as a fun visual introduction to math. Hi dee ho! It's off to a picnic we go! One hundred very hungry ants hurry to sample the delights of a picnic, but marching in a single file seems too...
Over and under the pond
Messner, Kate
Paper Book
A follow up to Over and Under the Snow and Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, this time focusing on the rich, interconnected ecosystem of a mountain pond. As parent and child launch a canoe from the muddy shore and paddle through water lilies, they see...
Rooster's off to see the world
Carle, Eric.
Paper Book
"One fine morning, a rooster decided he wanted to travel." In strikingly designed, colorful collage illustrations and a beguiling simple text, Eric Carle takes his young readers on a trip with the rooster and his companions. As he travels, the rooster is joined by two cats, three frogs, four turtles...
Rosie's walk
Hutchins, Pat 1942-2017
Paper Book
Rosie the hen leaves the chicken coop and sets out for a little walk. Right behind her is the fox, slyly trying to catch up with her. Rosie's walk is quiet, uneventful and eventually leads her back to the coop, blissfully unaware of the fox's travails as he tries -- unsuccessfully -- to navigate the...
Round is a tortilla : a book of shapes
Thong, Roseanne.
Paper Book
In this lively picture book, children discover a world of shapes all around them: rectangles are ice-cream carts and stone metates, triangles are slices of watermelon and quesadillas. Many of the featured objects are Latino in origin, and all are universal in appeal. With rich,...
Sir Cumference and the first round table : a math adventure
Neuschwander, Cindy.
Paper Book
Join Sir Cumference, Lady Di of Ameter, and their son Radius for wordplay, puns, and problem solving in this geometry-packed math adventure. King Arthur was a good ruler, but now he needs a good ruler. What would you do if the neighboring kingdom were threatening war? Naturally,...
Ten black dots
Crews, Donald.
Paper Book
From Donald Crews, the Caldecott Honor artist and award-winning creator of Truck, Freight Train, and many other classic picture books for young children, this picture book is a fun introduction to basic math concepts. What can you do with ten black dots? <...
Yumbo gumbo
Dawson, Keila V.
Paper Book
Celebrate diversity, math, and the power of storytelling! Annabelle's grandparents are finally going to teach her how to cook gumbo! But the family can't agree on what type of gumbo to make. They vote for their favorite, but the vote results in a tie. Now what? A playful...

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