Is your kid a natural storyteller or more of a numbers bug? Although it may be easy to divide the world into “numbers people” and “language people,” both subjects are crucial for learning and development. Fortunately, there are excellent books that will turn your kids into math lovers at an early age. So even if your kid is more predisposed to the love of literature, you can use reading as the medium for increasing his experiences with math.
It’s almost never too early to make math a positive force in your kid’s life. According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, “an engaging and encouraging climate for children’s early encounters with mathematics develops their confidence in their ability to understand and use mathematics.” It may be that the best way to combat math anxiety is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. By helping your kid form positive associations with mathematics through these fun books, you just might set him up for a future of stress-free algebra and calculus classes. Who knows? They may even be drawn into a STEM career down the road.
At any rate, encouraging your kid to get a grasp on these concepts will help him understand logical ways to navigate the world at an early age. And these books will help do it.
1
'Bedtime Math' by Laura Overdeck & Jim Paillot
Now you can make math time as fun as reading a bedtime story. Laura Overdeck & Jim Paillot's Bedtime Math uses kid-friendly puzzles and riddles to make math appealing. It just might help your kid think of numbers in a whole new light.
2
'A Place For Zero' by Angeline Sparagna LoPresti & Phyllis Hornung
Numerical concepts are explained by fun, personified numbers in this read. Angeline Sparagna LoPresti & Phyllis Hornung's A Place For Zero proves even the digit that represents nothing still has something to add to the land of Digitaria. It will take your kids on a journey from zero to infinity.
3
'The Grapes Of Math' by Greg Tang & Harry Briggs
Teaching kids about grouping, finding patterns, and multiplying has historically been a difficult task. But Greg Tang & Harry Briggs's The Grapes of Math uses clever rhyming verses will have kids adding and grouping in no time. The only downside: you may get poems about counting pizza toppings stuck in your head.
4
'Fractions In Disguise' by Edward Einhorn & David Clark
Who knew fractions could be so much fun? In Edward Einhorn & David Clark's Fractions In Disguise, the hero George Cornelius Factor has to work with a Reducer to reveal the true form of fractions. This story turns simplifying fractions into a fun mystery.
5
'Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Charts Dessert' by Cindy Neuschwander & Wayne Geehan
Help your kid master the basics of reading a pie chart and bar graph with this read. Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Charts Dessert helps your kids think about these crucial skills in the midst of a dessert baking competition. It's an easy way to introduce your kid to lots of math vocabulary and concepts in a fun story. (And if this one is a hit, Sir Cumference has an entire series of books worth checking out.)
6
'Multiplying Menace' by Pam Calvert & Wayne Geehan
Do you still get anxiety-provoking flashbacks to timed multiplication tests? Give your kid a kinder introduction to the concept with Multiplying Menace. It's a fun take on the old Rumplestiltskin story with multiplication, whole numbers, and fractions included.
7
'On Beyond A Million' by David M. Schwartz & Paul Meisel
If your kid enjoys thinking about big numbers, then this read is for him. On Beyond a Million will take your kid all the way up to a googol. Counting to ten will seem like child's play after this brain-expanding book.
8
'A Remainder Of One' by Bonnie MacKain & Elinor J Pinczes
Charming illustrations and rhyming text make numerical division more fun than every. In A Remainder of One, a group of beetles on parade have to divide their ranks in order to march evenly. How can Joe arrange the beetles so that no one has to be the "remainder" left alone?
9
'If You Were A Quadrilateral' by Molly Blaisdell & Francesca Carabelli
Getting kids comfortable with math vocabulary is half the battle. If You Were a Quadrilateral gets kids to think about the real-life instances of this shape. Would you be a kite or a checkerboard?
