14 Picture Books to Introduce Math Concepts

We are often asked at our library for science and math books for young children and while we keep a few workbook style options that families can copy pages from for practice, I much prefer being able to use a great story to introduce math concepts to young children and then create opportunities to explore these concepts in the real world.

For instance, measuring ingredients for cooking, matching clean socks out of the dryer, and finding shapes on a walk around the block. I want kids to learn without necessarily knowing that they’re learning, without using flashcards and drilling math worksheets, but to learn that math is used in everyday life! Enjoy just a few selections of math-focused picture books that can encourage children to learn about math in a fun, stress-free environment!

14 Picture Books to Introduce Math Concepts

1. 20 Hungry Piggies by Trudy Harris (counting)
2. Actual Size by Steve Jenkins (measurement)
3. Feast for Ten by Cathryn Falwell (counting)
4. Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni (measurement)
5. Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh (shapes)
6. A Pair of Socks by Stuart J. Murphy (sorting)
7. Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris (patterns)
8. Peg + Cat: The Pizza Problem by Billy Aronson and Jennifer Oxley (measurement)
9. Perfect Square by Michael Hall (shapes) 
10. Quack and Count by Keith Baker (addition) 
11. Round Is a Mooncake by Roseanne Thong (shapes)
12. Shape by Shape by Suse Macdonald (shapes)
13. Ten Terrible Dinosaurs by Paul Stickland (subtraction)
14. Who Sank the Boat? By Pamela Allen (measurement)