15 Picture Books with PreK Math Concepts

You’ll often hear adults exclaim, “I hate math!” or “I’m not good at math!” But, we don’t want preschoolers to think those thoughts before they’ve really gotten to understand basic math concepts. And that’s where this book list comes in, 15 picture books with PreK math concepts is a great way to introduce STEM ideas to young kids in a fun and interactive way. Counting, recognizing patterns, knowing shapes, and measuring things are all math concepts that kids can begin practicing when they are young!

If you’re looking for even more great suggestions check out 14 Picture Books to Introduce Math Concepts or my storytime themes on counting, measurement, and patterns.

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15 Picture Books with PreK Math Concepts

The Animals Would Not Sleep! by Sara Levine and Marta Alvarez Miguens

It’s bedtime for Marco and his stuffed animals, but the animals have other ideas. When Marco tries to put them away, they fly, swim, and slither right out of their bins! Can Marco sort the animals so everyone is happy? A playful exploration of sorting and classifying that combines math with empathy.

A Beautiful House for Birds by Grace Lin

Olivia wants to make a colorful birdhouse for summer. She starts painting a pattern of stripes on the roof but then oops!—messes up. Now what? Explore patterns in this playful story about creative problem-solving. 

How Many Legs? by Kes Gray, illustrated by Jim Field

This book has got legs–the question is, just how many are there? In this zany, laugh-out-loud counting book, little readers are challenged to figure out how many legs there would be in a room if lots of many-legged friends showed up. How many legs would there be if a dog walked in with a chimpanzee? Or a frog hopped in on a kangaroo? Or a squid rode in on a buffalo? Hilarious illustrations and fun text ratchet up the giggles as each new friend joins the party. Can you keep track of all the wacky, multiple-legged “guests” that turn up on the page? Maybe or maybe not, but you’ll sure have a hoot along the way.

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

“How many seeds are in a pumpkin?” Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she’s talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn’t have a guess.

Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone’s surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, “Small things have a lot going on inside of them.”

How to Count to 1 (and Don’t Even Think About Bigger Numbers!) by Caspar Salmon, illustrated by Matt Hunt

You know how to count, right? GREAT! There are LOTS of fun things to count in this book: whales, baboons, rainbows, pyramids . . .There’s just one rule. You must ONLY ever count to ONE. So don’t even about THINK bigger numbers. OK?!

Get ready to show off your skills in this fun new counting book! But not everything is as it seems . . . is this book really only about counting to ”ONE?” Because there are SO MANY fun things that you could count. But wait —maybe there’s a way to outsmart the book . . . and count all the way up to 100!

I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

When a giant squid takes inventory of all of the creatures in the ocean, he realizes that he’s way bigger than most of them! Of course, there are bigger things lurking around… but maybe this giant squid with a giant touch of hubris doesn’t really care?

Me and the Measure of Things by Joan Sweeney, illustrated by Katie Kath

Now with new art by Katie Kath (illustrator of Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer), this easy-to-understand introduction teaches children how to quantify the things in their daily routines. They’ll learn all about the tools used to measure—rulers, scales, pencils, and cups—as well as the language to express what they find. Readers will soon have the answers to questions like how far, how tall, and how small.

Pitter Pattern by Joyce Hesselberth

Pitter, pitter, pat! Pitter, pitter, pat! Hey, it’s a pitter, pitter, pattern!

Lu and her friends love spotting patterns in their daily activities. Lu learns that patterns can be found at soccer practice, during her piano lessons, in dance class, at snack time, and even at the park! How many patterns can you spot as Lu goes about her week?

Patterns are an important building block of preschool and early elementary education, and Pitter Pattern includes examples of patterns found in music, weather, time, play, shapes, nature, math, and language. The accessible and playful illustrations feature additional patterns for engaged readers to discover. 

Ten on a Twig by Lo Cole

Ten on a twig, just passing time… One falls off, and then there are nine.

Watch the birds fall as the pages turn in this interactive picture book from the publisher of the Don’t Push the Button series! In this charming, deceptively simple counting book, ten birds sit on a twig. As each falls off, they take a piece of the twig with them, and in the end, they have a new home―just in time to say goodnight. This delightful, fun read is great for bedtime or playtime. The cleverly die-cut pages are great for anyone who loves the format of A Very Hungry Caterpillar and will delight young readers. Counting down introduces the concept of subtraction in a natural way, and the varying lengths of the pages means the birds disappear off the twig as you turn the page.

Children learning how to count will be mesmerized by the actions that happen with the page turns. It encourages repetition and rereads, and is sure to help many kids remember their numbers as they laugh along the way. Parents who want Montessori toys for toddlers will appreciate this tactile and repetitive approach to learning numbers, paired with simple, bold and cute art that looks great in any home. And the strong pages, perfect for grabby little hands, makes this a great next step up from board books for babies.

Sam Sorts by Marthe Jocelyn

Sam’s things are in a heap. Time to tidy up! He starts to organize his things, but quickly runs into trouble. He can make a pile of black and white things. But the penguin also belongs in the things with wings pile. He can make a pile of rocks. But the round rock also belongs in the round things pile. How will he ever sort his 100 things? Marthe Jocelyn takes a fun look at categories and counting in this very cleverly conceived story. Kids will delight in the cut-paper images of everything from a zipper pull to a robot, and Sam’s surprising solution makes for a tidy end to this unique story.

Seven Golden Rings: A Tale of Music and Math by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan

In ancient India, a boy named Bhagat travels to the Rajah’s city, hoping to ensure his family’s prosperity by winning a place at court as a singer. Bhagat carries his family’s entire fortune–a single coin and a chain of seven golden rings–to pay for his lodging. But when the innkeeper demands one ring per night, and every link snipped costs one coin, how can Bhagat both break the chain and avoid overpaying? His inventive solution points the way to an unexpected triumph, and offers readers a friendly lesson in binary numbers–the root of all computing.

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes

A Caldecott medalist and a Newbery Honor-winning poet celebrate the beauty and value of spirals.What makes the tiny snail shell so beautiful? Why does that shape occur in nature over and over again—in rushing rivers, in a flower bud, even inside your ear?

With simplicity and grace, Joyce Sidman’s poetry paired with Beth Krommes’s scratchboard illustrations not only reveal the many spirals in nature—from fiddleheads to elephant tusks, from crashing waves to spiraling galaxies—but also celebrate the beauty and usefulness of this fascinating shape.

Tangled by Anne Miranda, illustrated by Eric Comstock

One day a little circle,
just as happy as could be,
got caught inside a jungle gym,
and couldn’t wiggle free.

When the neighborhood shapes go climbing on the park jungle gym the last thing they expect is a tangle. First the circle, next the triangle and then the square. One by one soon all sixteen shapes are trapped. They push and pull and tumble and cry for help. Who will save them? One special shape can set the others free. Can you guess which one it is? This charming story makes learning the names of sixteen shapes as easy as a day in the park.

Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews

What can you do with ten black dots?

One dot can make a sun, two dots can make the eyes of a fox, and three dots can make a snowman’s face.

And that’s just the beginning in this unique counting book! Children will develop visual learning skills, explore creativity, and practice counting numbers, all in one deceptively simple—and fun!—picture book.

Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street by Mark Lee, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus

One ice-cream truck selling everything sweet breaks down and blocks the middle of our street.

If you’re a little boy on a bike, an ice-cream truck on your street is always a welcome sight. But what if the truck breaks down and blocks the mail truck behind it (now there are two), not to mention a third truck carrying hay? One by one, trucks of all types and sizes and functions are sure to pile up behind, offering ample opportunity for ogling — and counting. And maybe the boy’s idea for putting one of the trucks to good use might even save the day!