Math in Literature List

Compiled by DeeGee Lester, Education Director

The Parthenon

GEOMETRY

TitleAuthorGrade

  • Angles are as Easy as PieFroman4-8
  • Anno’s Math Games III (Spanish)AnnoPreK-3
  • A Triangle for Adaora: African Book of Shapes OnyefuluPreK-3

(Nigerian culture; shapes in nature).

  • Aunt Harriet’s Underground RailroadRingoldPreK-3

(Perimeter of quilt shapes; Quilts & the Underground Railroad; Quilt codes).

  • Captain Invincible and the Space ShapesMurphyPreK-3

(3-D shapes)

  • The Case of the Backyard TreasureRocklinPreK-3

(Patterns, measure, time, maps)

  • Chickens on the MovePollack & BelvisoPreK-3

(Perimeter, measurement, shapes)

  • Eye Spy Shapes: A Peephole BookMacKinnon & SievekingPreK-3

(Clues to shapes)

  • Flat StanleyBrownPreK-3

(2D & 3D representations, project/sightings)

  • How We Learned the Earth is RoundLauberPreK-3

(Circumference)

  • I Spy Shapes in ArtMicklethwaitPreK-3

(Geometric shapes in art pieces – great Art2STEM)

  • Let’s Fly a KiteMurphyPreK-3

(Symmetry)

  • The Librarian Who Measured the EarthLaskyPreK-3

(Eratosethenes; circumference)

  • Look At Annette WalterPreK-3

(Symmetry in mirrors)

  • Louise Builds a HousePfannerPreK-3

(Architectural shapes)

  • Mummy Math: An Adventure in GeometryNeushwander1-4
  • Museum ShapesMetropolitan Museum of Art K-3

(Find shapes in art)

  • Over, Under & Through & Other Spatial ConceptsHobanPreK-3
  • Pancakes for Breakfastde PaolaPreK-3

(Circles, sequencing)

  • Pigs on a BallAxelrodPreK-3

(Geometry in miniature golf)

  • PyramidMacaulay4-6
  • Right Angles, Paper-folding GeometryPhillips4-6
  • Round TripJonasPreK-3

(Geometry; negative/positive space, symmetry)

  • The Secret Birthday MessageCarlePreK-3

(Pattern recognition; matching shapes; directional relationships)

  • Shrinking MouseHutchinsPreK-3

(Spatial perspective; size)

  • Sir Cumference & the Dragon of PiNeuschwanderPreK-6
  • Sir Cumference & the First round TableNeuschwander4-6

(Shapes lessons)

  • Sir Cumference & the Great Knight of Angleland Neuschwander4-6
  • Sir Cumference & the Isle of ImmeterNeuschwander3-6

(Perimeter; area)

  • Sir Cumference & the Sword in the ConeNeuschwander4-6
  • The Tangram MagicianErnstAll
  • Tic-Tac-Toe: Three in a RowStamperPreK-3

(Logical reasoning)

  • Tree of Life: The World of the African Baobab BashPreK-3

(Area and perimeter; African legend)

  • What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras?Ellis4-6

(Pythagoras as a boy discovering his theomem)

  • X Marks the SpotPennerPreK-3

(Maps and charts for problem solving)

Ratio & Proportion

  • If You Hopped Like a FrogSchwartzPreK-3
  • Kate and the BeanstalkOsbornePreK-3

(Proportion of giantess and Kate)

  • Much Bigger Than MartinKelloggPreK-3
  • “One Inch Tall” in Where the Sidewalk Ends SilversteinAll

(If you were one inch tall, how big would objets be?)

  • “Shapes” in A Light in the AtticSilversteinAll

(Ratio between diameter, circumference, number of rolls of the circle)

  • Swamp Angel (A Caldecott Honor)IsaacsPreK-3

(Compare the heights of mothers and children)

  • The Shrinking of TreehornHeidePreK-3

(Treehorn keeps shrinking in size)

Measurement

  • Alley Oop!MayerPreK-3

(Estimate the weight of each animal)

  • Block CityStevensonPreK-3

(Measurement; architecture, city design)

  • Fannie in the KitchenHopkinsonPreK-3
  • How Big is a Foot?MyllerPreK-3
  • How Tall, How Short, How Far Away?AdlerPreK-3
  • How to Weigh an ElephantBarnerPreK-3
  • The 100 Pound ProblemDusslingPreK-3
  • Is the Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? WellsPreK-3
  • Jim and the BeanstalkBriggsPreK-3

(Twisted tale of measurement and proportion)

  • Keep Your DistanceHermanPreK-3
  • Lulu’s LemonadeDerubertisPreK-3

(Recipe doubling, measurements)

  • The Man Who Walked Between the Towers GersteinK-6

(Caldecott book; highest towers/ 44 pound cable)

  • Mapping Penny’s WorldLeedyPreK-3
  • The Math Chef: Over 60 Recipes/ActivitiesD’Amico & Eich4-6
  • Millions to MeasureSchwartzPreK-3
  • Mouse Views: What the Class Pet SawMcMillanPreK-3
  • My Place in SpaceHirstPreK-3
  • Nature Got there FirstHutchins4-7

(Spatial relations; weight, geometry)

  • Pigs in the PantryAxelrodPreK-3
  • Pigs on the MoveAxelrodPreK-3
  • Star MaidenEsbensenPreK-3

(Non-standard measurement; Native American tale)

  • Tell Me How Far It Is (Spanish)WillisPreK-3
  • The Borrowers`Norton4-6

(Scale, ratio and proportion)

  • The Village of Round & Square HousesGrifalconiPreK-3

(African village story)

  • Who Sank the Boat?AllenPreK-3

(Weight, balance, capacity, estimate/predict)

  • Wilma UnlimitedKrull4-6

(Measurement; timeline; Olympics)

Probability & Statistics

  • Boxcar Children #32: The Campout MysteryWarner4-6
  • The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County TwainAll
  • Cloudy With a Chance of MeatballsBarrettPreK-3

(Data analysis, and probability; collecting data)

  • How Do You Lift a Lion?Wells4-6
  • “Hungry Mungry” in Where the Sidewalk Ends Silverstein 4-6

(Graphing how much he ate)

  • Jumanji (Caldecott 1982)AllsburgPreK-3
  • The Long & Short of ItNathan & McCourtPreK-3
  • Mysteries and Marvels of NatureDalby4-6
  • Pigs At OddsAxelrodPreK-3
  • Socrates & the Three Little PigsAnno4-6

(Permutations and combinations)

  • Ten for DinnerBogart4-6
  • The Three Pigs (Caldecott 2002)WiesnerPreK-3
  • What Do You Mean By Average, Means, Medians & Modes? James & Barkin4-6
  • What’s Faster Than a Speeding Cheetah?Wells4-6

Other Math/Lit Books

  • A Wrinkle in TimeMadeleine l’engle
  • The Adventures of Penrose - the Mathematical CatTheoni Pappas
  • The Further Adventures of PenroseTheoni Pappas