72 of the Best Math Picture Books for Kids

Math is a difficult subject for many children, so difficult in fact that many children claim they hate math! One way to pique interest in math and to help solidify math skills is to use picture books to help explain mathematical concepts. This post includes 72 of the very best math picture books for kids.

I love teaching math!

But I have to admit, this was not always the case. As a kid, I struggled in math. From elementary school through college I struggled. It did not come easily to me and I had to work hard to maintain the scores I wanted.

When I was a new teacher, guess what? Teaching math didn’t come all too easily to me, either. I had to study and prepare for my math instruction more than any other content area, and when my students’ work came back to me showing that they too were struggling, I had to study and prepare some more!

But that was then.

Having taken a handful of exceptional professional development classes in math instruction, I can say with confidence I finally get it! (Well, mostly). But more importantly, I can teach it, too!

One thing I learned along the way is the importance of solidifying concepts using literature. While children may not be drawn to math, children are almost certainly drawn to great stories. So when we combine the two, we sneak in math concepts that can be reinforced with fun activities at the same time as retaining the interest of the children. And what administrator or director doesn’t appreciate the effort to integrate math and reading!

72 Math Picture Books for Kids

As many of you know, I have written an entire year of math lesson plans which spiral through all five disciplines of math. Included in those lesson plans are two recommended math picture books for kids to be used as an optional literacy element. This post includes every picture book I mention in those lesson plans.

I say these are math picture books “for kids”, but they are all appropriate for preschool, not just elementary school. I do own each of these books, and highly recommend them, which is why I’ve thought to put them all in one place to make it more convenient for you.

Picture Books That Teach Counting

There are thousands of counting books out there, but these are some preschool favorites.

1. One Duck Stuck: A Mucky Ducky Counting Book by Phyllis Root
2. Elmer’s First Counting Book by David McKee
3. One Chicky, Two Chicky: A Counting Bookby Cheryl Casey
4. Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming
5. Counting Cows by Michelle Medlock Adams
6. CChicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 by Bill Martin Jr.
7. Ten Red Applesby Pat Hutchins
8. Over in the Meadow by Jill McDonald
9. Butterfly Colors and Counting by Jerry Pallotta
10. Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews
11. Hippos Go Berserk! by Sandra Boynton
12. Hop Jump by Ellen Stoll Wash
13. How Many Snails?: A Counting Book by Paul Giganti Jr.
14. My Very First Book of Numbers by Eric Carle
15. Eight Silly Monkeys by Steve Haskamp
16. Bear Counts by Karma Wilson
17. Anno’s Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno
18. Counting Crocodiles by Judy Sierra
19. Jack the Builder by Stuart J. Murphy
20. 12 Ways to Get to 11 by Eve Merriam
21. Let’s Count It Out, Jesse Bear by Nancy White Carlstrom
22. Bears At The Beach, 1-20 by  Nikki Yetai
23. 20 Hungry Piggies by Trudy Harris
24. 1 to 20, Animals Aplenty  by Katie Viggers

Picture Books That Teach Shapes

There are lots of shape picture books out there, but these are some preschool favorites.

1. The Shape of Me and Other Stuff by Dr. Seuss
2. Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
3. Shape by Shapeby Suse MacDonald
4. Wild About Shapes by Jérémie Fischer
5. Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban
6. My Very First Book of Shapes by Eric Carle
7. My Shapesby Rebecca Emberley
8. The Shape of My Heart by Mark Sperring

Picture Books That Teach Comparing and Sorting

Some of our all time favorite books come from this collection of books that teach comparing and sorting.

1. The Button Box by Margarette S. Reid
2. A House for Birdie by Stuart J. Murphy
3. Sorting by Henry Arthur Pluckrose
4. The Greatest Gymnast of All by Stuart J. Murphy
5. Sort it Out! by Barbara Mariconda
6. A Pair of Socks by Great Source
7. Sorting at the Market by Tracey Steffora
8. 3 Little Firefighters by Stuart J. Murphy

Picture Books That Teach Positions and Patterns

It’s difficult to find picture books that teach positional words and patterns, but here are eight that my preschoolers really enjoy.

1. Over, Under and Through by Tana Hoban
2. Rosie’s Walkby Pat Hutchins
3. The Best Bug Parade by Stuart J. Murphy
4. Jack and his ball: A Positional Word Adventure by Larry Olsen
5. Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris
6. Teddy Bear Patterns by  Barbara Barbieri McGrath
7. Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes by Steven R. Swinburne
8. Pattern by Henry Arthur Pluckrose

Picture Books That Teach Measurement

Measurement sometimes gets forgotten in the preschool setting, so these picture books are great for working it into the day!

1. The Long and Short of It by Cheryl Nathan and Lisa McCourt
2. Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
3. Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? by Robert E. Wells
4. Super Sand Castle Saturday by Great Source
5. Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel
6. Just a Little Bit by Ann Tompert
7. Much Bigger Than Martin by Steven Kellogg
8. Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen

Picture Books for Teaching Graphing

Graphing is an important skill that can easily be taught with these fun picture books.

1. Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger by Anna whitehead Nagda
2. Bar Graphs by Vijaya Khisty Bodach
3. The Great Graph Contestby Loreen Leedy
4. When Sheep Cannot Sleep: The Counting Book by Satoshi Kitamura
5. Tally O’Malley by Stuart J. Murphy
6. Pictographsby Vijaya Khisty Bodach
7. Let’s Eat Lunch: Learning about Picture Graphs by Susan Vaughan
8. Giraffe Graphs by Melissa Stewart

Picture Books That Teach Addition and Subtraction

There are thousands of addition and subtraction books out there, but these all preschool approved.

1. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoesby Rick Walton
2. The Crayon Counting Bookby  Pam Munoz Ryan and Jerry Pallotta
3. Fat Frogs On a Skinny Log by Sara Riches
4. The Icky Bug Counting Bookby Jerry Pallotta
5. Ten Terrible Dinosaursby Paul Stickland
6. Ten Sly Piranhas by William Wise
7. Five Little Ducks by Pam Paparone
8. Construction Countdown by K.C. Olsen

72 Picture Books That Teach Math

Just to help you visualize what an awesome resource this collection of math picture books for kids is…this is what it looks like all together:

Now that is quite the library of math picture books for kids!

But here’s the thing.

These books will seriously strengthen your math instruction. They are interesting, colorful and approach math in a very kid friendly way.

Looking for Preschool Lesson Plans?

Do you like having your lesson plans done in advance in a systematic and intentional manner? Then my Preschool Literacy Lesson Plans Bundle and myPreschool Math Lesson Plans Bundle are just what you are looking for! (These are also sold in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.)