Science Reads: Math! Recommended reads for school age children

Updated April 8, 2024
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Dreaming in code : Ada Byron Lovelace, computer pioneer
McCully, Emily Arnold
Paper Book
"Written with grace and intelligence, researched with care. . . . Sure to inspire a new generation of pioneers." --Shelf Awareness (starred review) This illuminating biography reveals how the daughter of Lord Byron, Britain's most infamous Romantic poet, became the world's...
Flow, spin, grow : looking for patterns in nature
Barss, Patchen
Paper Book
Branching, spiraling, spinning--you can find patterns almost anywhere in nature, if you look for them. This book is a starting point that introduces kids to some major patterns in the natural world. Just as the branches of a tree spread upwards into the sky, roots branch deep into the ground....

Canadian author.

It's a numbers game! : basketball : the math behind the perfect bounce pass, the buzzer-beating bank shot, and so much more!
Buckley, James, Jr.
Paper Book
Why do NBA players only have 24 seconds to score a basket? What's the geometry behind making the perfect shot? Become a basketball pro and learn all about the numbers and math behind this popular sport. Numbers are everywhere in basketball--from the dimensions of the court to the...
She persisted in science : brilliant women who made a difference
Clinton, Chelsea
Paper Book
A STEM-focused addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling She Persisted series! Throughout history, women have been told that science isn't for them. They've been told that they're not smart enough, or that their brains just aren't able to handle it. In this book,...
Charlie Piechart and the case of the missing pizza slice
Comstock, Eric
Paper Book
With a dinnertime mystery and 5 hungry suspects, Charlie Piechart makes fractions fun. Charlie Piechart has a piechart for a belly, and it's a belly that's perfect for showing fractions. In his first mystery, perfect for little math enthusiasts, it's pizza night at the...
How many? : a different kind of counting book
Danielson, Christopher
Paper Book
Talking math with your child is fun and easy with this better approach to counting! Written by a math educator, this innovative book encourages critical thinking and sparks memorable mathematical conversations. You and your child decide what to count on each page. You have many...
A hundred billion trillion stars
Fishman, Seth
Paper Book
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book * Winner of the Mathical Book Prize Perfect for curious children, classrooms eager for STEM content, and readers who have devoured Ada Twist, Scientist and How Much Is a Million?, this nonfiction picture book is an excellent...
How to be a math wizard
Imafidon, Anne-Marie
Paper Book
Bring math to life with this exciting new math activity book for kids. With 30 activities and crafts that children can play their way through, this kids' book takes the fear out of math--and gives you the skills to become a math expert. Children will find out that being a...
One day by the numbers : a book of infographics
Jenkins, Steve
Paper Book
What happens around in the world in twenty-four hours Award-winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins shares tons of amazing facts, figures, and stunning infographs in this early reader perfect for curious kids. In this latest stunning, informative reader in Steve...
The picnic problem : (math)
Litton, Jonathan
Paper Book
Do not open this math book!
McKellar, Danica
Paper Book
Learn at home with help from The Wonder Years/Hallmark actress, math whiz, and New York Times bestselling author Danica McKellar using her acclaimed McKellar Math books! Addition and subtraction are as easy as 1+2+3 with this fun and accessible introduction to the essentials of math...
How many dolphins in a pod? : counting by tens
Musgrave, Ruth A.
Paper Book
K-2 math concepts include power of 10. Let's learn to count by 10 with sea creatures! Kids will learn the different combinations that add up to ten and how to count by tens as they explore the ocean and its dazzling array of sea creatures. Forty jellyfish, fifty reef fish, sixty corals,...
Sir Cumference and the roundabout battle
Neuschwander, Cindy
Paper Book
Join Sir Cumference and the gang for more wordplay, puns, and problem solving in the clever math adventure that introduces readers to the concept of rounding numbers. When Steward Edmund Rounds and Sir Cumference notice that there are strangers camped nearby, Rounds II decides to...
STEM junior math
O'Callaghan, Jonathan
Paper Book
One of four books in an exciting STEM series for younger children, STEM Junior: Math covers 40 topics from the core subjects of math. Each topic is introduced as a personality who has plenty to say on the subject, while a STEM Junior character appears on each spread to introduce the big idea...
A math journey through planet Earth
Rooney, Anne
Paper Book
Fun pictograms and infographics about planet Earth make learning about math topics such as volume, scale diagrams, division, and number lines easy and fun. In this book, readers go on a mission to protect threatened areas around the world and use their mathematical skills to measure geysers,...
Grasping mysteries : girls who loved math
Atkins, Jeannine
Paper Book
Learn about seven groundbreaking women in math and science in this gorgeously written biographical novel-in-verse, a companion to the "original and memorable" (Booklist, starred review) Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science. After a...
Also available in eBook format.
Vivi loves science. Sink or float
Derting, Kimberly
Paper Book
Vivi loves science! In this STEM-themed Level 3 I Can Read! title, Vivi and her friends visit the aquarium and are introduced to the concepts of density and buoyancy. A great choice for aspiring scientists, emerging readers, and fans of Andrea Beaty's Ada Twist, Scientist. ...
The miscalculations of Lightning Girl
McAnulty, Stacy
Paper Book
A lightning strike gave her a super power...but even a super genius can't solve the problem of middle school. This smart and funny novel is perfect for fans of The Fourteenth Goldfish, Rain Reign, and Counting by Sevens. Lucy Callahan's life was changed...
Annika Riz, math whiz
Mills, Claudia.
Paper Book
Annika Riz loves math more than anything, so when she hears about a sudoku contest at the local public library, she is determined to win it--maybe then her friends Kelsey Green and Izzy Barr will see that math is just as cool as reading and running. When the school carnival, the biggest...
Peg + Cat. Math in the bath
Oxley, Jennifer
Paper Book
Bath time turns into math time for Peg and Cat in this tale for early readers. Peg and Cat are in the bath. One, two friends in the bath. Seems like a great time to do some math! Readers can join old friends Peg and Cat as they engage with the concepts of counting and weight and...
Ellie, engineer
Pearce, Jackson
Paper Book
"Look out, Junie B. Jones! Ellie the engineer is thinking, making, creating, and showing enthusiasm and brilliance with her creations!" --School Library Connection A charming, hilarious illustrated middle grade about a girl who is an engineer--no, not the kind on a...
Three times four with Annemarie : a TOON book
Brunetti, Ivan
Paper Book
★So exemplary an execution of a simple concept that it can be read multiple ways-as multiplication, counting, sorting-without sacrificing fun."-Kirkus Reviews, starred review Fun by the dozen! Annemarie and her clever classmates must draw sets of twelve...
Multiplication
Midthun, Joseph.
Paper Book
Solar system : our place in space
Mosco, Rosemary
Paper Book
With Science Comics, you can explore the depths of the ocean, the farthest reaches of space, and everything in between! These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. In this volume, get up close and personal with Earth's nearest...
Secret coders
Yang, Gene Luen
Paper Book
Gene Luen Yang is the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and is a MacArthur Fellow, a recipient of what's popularly known as the MacArthur "Genius" Grant. Welcome to Stately Academy, a school which is just crawling with mysteries to be solved! The founder of the school...
Look up with me : Neil deGrasse Tyson : a life among the stars
Berne, Jennifer
Paper Book
A 2020 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12! With an introduction from Neil DeGrasse Tyson about the importance of kid-like curiosity, this lyrical picture book biography on the beloved astrophysicist and host of Cosmos is the perfect gift for young astronomers and fans of all...
Katherine Johnson
Feldman, Thea
Paper Book
Get to know the woman who made many of NASA's early missions possible in this fascinating, nonfiction Level 3 Ready-to-Read, part of a series of biographies about people "you should meet!" Meet Katherine Johnson, a brilliant mathematician who worked at NASA in the early 1950s...
The boy who loved math : the improbably life of Paul Erdos
Heiligman, Deborah.
Paper Book
Most people think of mathematicians as solitary, working away in isolation. And, it's true, many of them do. But Paul Erdos never followed the usual path. At the age of four, he could ask you when you were born and then calculate the number of seconds you had been alive in his head. But he didn't...
One step further : my story of math, the moon, and a life-long mission
Johnson, Katherine G.
Paper Book
This inspirational picture book reveals what is was like for a young black mother of three to navigate the difficult world of the 1950s and 60s and to succeed in an unwelcoming industry to become one of the now legendary "hidden figures" of NASA computing and space research. ...
Stay curious! : a brief history of Stephen Hawking
Krull, Kathleen
Paper Book
A picture-book biography about science superstar Stephen Hawking, whose visionary mind revolutionized our concept of reality and whose struggle with ALS inspired millions. Perfect for parents and teachers looking to instill curiosity and a love for STEM. As a young boy, Stephen...
The boy whose head was filled with stars : a life of Edwin Hubble
Marinov, Isabelle
Paper Book
This beautifully illustrated biography of Edwin Hubble explores the curiosity that he possessed from a young age, and the many questions that he asked about our universe. This book invites children to ponder these questions as well: How many stars are in the sky? How did the universe begin?...
Ada's ideas : the story of Ada Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer
Robinson, Fiona
Paper Book
Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was the daughter of Lord Byron, a poet, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron's "mad" love of poetry. But Ada remained fascinated with her father and...
Zaha Hadid
Sánchez Vegara, Ma Isabel
Paper Book
Emmy in the key of code
Lucido, Aimee
Paper Book
In this innovative middle grade novel, coding and music take center stage as new girl Emmy tries to find her place in a new school. Perfect for fans of the Girls Who Code series and The Crossover. In a new city, at a new school, twelve-year-old Emmy has never felt more out of...
Also available in eAudiobook format.

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