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Math and Measuring

Do you know any kids who are fascinated by numbers and love to count, puzzle out fractions, and measure stuff? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about math and measuring.

Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres [6] (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such as math and measuring. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge [7], vocabulary [8], and comprehension skills.

Math and Measuring

How to explore this theme:

  • Read fiction and nonfiction books
  • Try some hands-on activities
  • Build writing skills with these fun ideas
  • Dig deeper with kid-friendly websites
  • Listen and learn with these podcasts especially for kids
  • Play and learn with mobile apps

More themed resources:

  • Growing Readers tip sheets (English & Spanish)
  • Video interviews with children’s authors
  • Washington DC for kids
  • [1]
  • [2]
  • [3]
  • [4]
  • [5]
Start with a Book is made possible with major support from the Park Foundation [9]

promo for text message tip serviceStart with a Book is made possible with generous support from the National Education Association [10]-->

Other topics to explore

  • Cooking and Food [16]
  • Money [17]
  • Weather [18]

Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Sometimes, as a treat, Mom takes Charlie and Lola to the store and says they may choose one thing. “One thing to share?” Lola asks. No, it’s one thing each, explains Charlie, or two actual things between two. Lola is nine minutes late getting ready, and on the way, there are ladybugs and birds to count and maybe a squillion leaves on a tree. At the store, Lola says she’ll choose three things, or possibly two.

Purchase on Bookshop [24]

Purchase on Amazon [25]

Absolutely One Thing: Featuring Charlie and Lola

By:
Lauren Child

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""
Math is not only all around but everyday goings-on make thinking mathematically fun. Activities of varying difficulty (wee ones, little kids, big kids) use the familiar — from dogs to ketchup — to present intriguing math questions to solve, all humorously illustrated. Answers are discreetly placed on each page with additional information for adults at the end.

Purchase on Bookshop [26]

Purchase on Amazon [27]

Bedtime Math

By:
Laura Overdeck
Illustrated by: Jim Paillot

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""
A charming picture book about a hen who decides to make a strawberry shortcake with her friends...none of whom know anything about cooking. Iguana tries to measure the flour with a ruler! Hen teaches about measuring properly with the right tools and the author includes side notes about dry versus liquid measuring, as well as equivalents such as 1 stick butter = 1 cup = 8 tablespoons.

Purchase on Bookshop [28]

Purchase on Amazon [29]

Cook-A-Doodle-Do!

By:
Janet Stevens
Illustrated by: Susan Stevens Crummel

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Counting up from one stuffed piñata to ten hefty hens — and always counting on each other — children are encouraged to recognize the value of their community and the environment. A broad and inspiring vision of diversity is told through stories in words and pictures. 

Purchase on Bookshop [30]

Purchase on Amazon [31]

Counting on Community

By:
Innosanto Nagara

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""

Dinosaurs are endlessly fascinating. Perhaps because it is hard to imagine giant lizards roaming the earth. In simple illustrations and straightforward text, the size of dinosaurs is related to more familiar things, so that children can picture this prehistoric time. Before embarking on a museum field trip, start kids thinking about how big dinosaurs were!

Purchase on Bookshop [32]

Purchase on Amazon [33]

How Big Were the Dinosaurs?

By:
Bernard Most

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""
A small inch worm "green as an emerald" avoids being eating by a hungry robin using his wit — and his ability to measure things. He measures other birds as well — until he escapes them all by measuring a nightingale's song. Textured collage illustrations complement the straightforward text in this modern classic.

Purchase on Amazon [34]

Inch by Inch

By:
Leo Lionni
Illustrated by: Leo Lionni

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Cover of Josefina showing young Mexican woman holding many clay figures.

Count along in English and Spanish with a Mexican folk artist as she sculpts her world from clay. Inspired by Josefina Aguilar, an artist who continues to create painted clay figures in the village of Ocotlán, Mexico, this colorful tale is profound in its beauty and simplicity.

Purchase on Amazon [35]

Josefina

By:
Jeanette Winter

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""

A billion is a big number, bigger than a million. "It's written like this: 1,000,000,000 — one followed by nine zeroes." There aren't even that many hairs on your head! Colorful illustrations and child-friendly comparisons bring these huge numbers into clearer focus in both words and numerals enhanced by bright, cheery illustrations.

Purchase on Bookshop [36]

Purchase on Amazon [37]

Millions, Billions and Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers

By:
David Adler
Illustrated by: Edward Miller

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""
Zebra wants to create a traditional counting book but his buddy, Musk Ox, is not cooperating at all! Instead, Musk Ox adds and subtracts animals, much to Zebra's chagrin but sure to delight readers while challenging their counting and visual acuity! This is a worthy and equally funny companion to A is for Musk Ox.

Purchase on Amazon [38]

Musk Ox Counts

By:
Erin Cabatingan
Illustrated by: Matthew Myers

Age Level: 3-6 years old

One hungry fox with two sly eyes is on the prowl…three plump hens had better watch out! Rich and colorful illustrations plunge the reader into a dramatic and exciting story set in a moonlit farmyard. 

Purchase on Bookshop [39]

Purchase on Amazon [40]

One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller

By:
Kate Read

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""
Whether or not the primates introduced from 1 to 10 are familiar, readers are sure to appreciate meeting them in arresting portraits. A self-portrait of the illustrator and other humans are accompanied by concluding text: "All primates. All one family. All my family … and yours!"

Purchase on Amazon [41]

One Gorilla: A Counting Book

By:
Anthony Browne

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""
A group of movie-making monsters introduce the concepts needed to make a 3-dimensional film: width, height, depth. Related ideas and vocabulary follow (e.g., circumference, area, etc.) also presented with the same light touch. Flat, silly-but-colorful monsters lead the exploration to its conclusion.

Purchase on Bookshop [42]

Purchase on Amazon [43]

Perimeter, Area and Volume: A Monster Book of Dimensions

By:
David Adler
Illustrated by: Edward Miller

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Clarissa is flabbergasted. Ten of the sheep she was counting while trying to doze off have barged into her bedroom. The bossy ewes tell her to count pairs of alpacas, herds of llamas, and sets of yaks. Pretty soon baaing, bleating, and snorting animals have overrun the room. Luckily Clarissa can use subtraction to literally unravel her problem.

Purchase on Amazon [44]

Sheep Won't Sleep: Counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s

By:
Judy Cox
Illustrated by: Nina Cuneo

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""
Colorful toy teddy bears appear on open pages with an engaging, rhyming narrative. Children will be able to see the patterns and learn to "skip count" (e.g., counting by 2s) while being introduced to basic arithmetic (addition and its relationship to multiplication). One of a series of basic math books.

Purchase on Bookshop [45]

Purchase on Amazon [46]

Teddy Bear Patterns

By:
Barbara McGrath
Illustrated by: Tim Nihoff

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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""

Private I tries to assuage 6 who just knows that 7 is coming to get him! Why? Because 7 8 9, of course! Wordplay and over-the-top humor make this satire of old detective stories sophisticated. Told with tongue in cheek language and colorful illustrations, this is a very funny tale.

Purchase on Bookshop [47]

Purchase on Amazon [48]

7 Ate 9

By:
Tara Lazar
Illustrated by: Ross MacDonald

Age Level: 6-9 years old

The times tables causes third grader, Wilson, great anxiety as he struggles to learn them all the way through 12! This familiar fear, familiar classroom activities and friendships are sure to resonate whether they know multiplication tables or not.

Purchase on Bookshop [49]

Purchase on Amazon [50]

7 X 9 = Trouble

By:
Claudia Mills

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of A Computer Called Katherine showing a little girl looking up at the title above her.

The inspiring true story of mathematician Katherine Johnson--made famous by the award-winning film Hidden Figures--who counted and computed her way to NASA and helped put a man on the moon!

Purchase on Bookshop [51]

Purchase on Amazon [52]

A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon

By:
Suzanne Slade

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Earth is surrounded by stars of which the sun is only one. Earth is blue “because it is covered by 370,000,000.000,000,000,000 gallons of water.” It has trillions of trees and millions of cities …. but “only one of YOU…” This imaginative presentation is enjoyable to read and may well encourage closer observation of what is all around.

Purchase on Bookshop [53]

Purchase on Amazon [54]

A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars

By:
Seth Fishman
Illustrated by: Isabel Greenberg

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

The real and truly amazing size of animals from the sea and land are shown in a way that children can understand and appreciate. Textured collage illustrations are used to show the actual size of a gorilla's hand, a giant squid's eye and much more. Additional information on each animal is included in an afterword.

Purchase on Bookshop [55]

Purchase on Amazon [56]

Actual Size

By:
Steve Jenkins

Age Level: 6-9 years old

How many species are there across the globe? How much do all of the insects in the world collectively weigh? How far can animals travel? Find answers to these questions and many more with numbers, images, innovation, and authoritative science. Cut-paper illustrations alongside computer graphics and a text that is teeming with fresh, unexpected, and accurate zoological information.

Purchase on Bookshop [57]

Purchase on Amazon [58]

Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Infographics

By:
Steve Jenkins

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

This is a colorful and fun-filled introduction to nonstandard measurement, comparison, and organizing and representing data. As caterpillars, butterflies, and other insects are measured and compared in lengths of ants, an amazing plan unfolds. Just in time for the jamboree, the ants put the final touches on the perfect roller coaster, seen in a deluxe gatefold spread.

Purchase on Bookshop [59]

Purchase on Amazon [60]

Ants Rule: The Long and Short of It

By:
Bob Barner

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Playful situations from familiar situations and activities make math come alive. Questions for “wee ones”, “little” and “big kids” as well as bonuses make this humorously illustrated bedtime book fun at any time of the day. It’s a follow-up to Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late.

Purchase on Bookshop [61]

Purchase on Amazon [62]

Bedtime Math 2: This Time It’s Personal

By:
Laura Overdeck
Illustrated by: Jim Paillot

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
Two friends practice their estimating skills on their way to a store that's having a contest to figure out how many jellybeans are in the jar.

Purchase on Bookshop [63]

Purchase on Amazon [64]

Betcha! Estimating

By:
Stuart Murphy
Illustrated by: S.D. Schindler

Age Level: 6-9 years old

As a young boy in medieval Italy, Leonardo Fibonacci thought about numbers day and night. He was such a daydreamer that people called him a blockhead. He realized that many things in nature, from the number of petals on a flower to the spiral of a nautilus shell, seem to follow a certain pattern. 

 

Purchase on Bookshop [65]

Purchase on Amazon [66]

Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci

By:
Joseph D'Agnese
Illustrated by: John O'Brien

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Cover for the children's nonfiction book Counting on Katherine

You've likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 moon landing. But do you know about the mathematical genius who made sure that Apollo 13 returned safely home? This is the story of a groundbreaking American woman who calculated the course of moon landings and in turn, saved lives and made enormous contributions to history.

Purchase on Bookshop [67]

Purchase on Amazon [68]

Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13

By:
Halaine Becker

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Dinosaurs: By the Numbers

Through infographics, illustrations, facts, and figures, readers will learn about the giants that roamed the earth millions of years ago, but that still captivate their imaginations: Dinosaurs. Discover some of the most fascinating aspects of dinosaurs through astonishing numbers:  the varying sizes and shapes of dinosaurs, timelines of when they roamed the earth, charts comparing the fastest dinos with the speedy animals of today, maps of where these giant reptiles lived across the globe, and so much more. 

Purchase on Bookshop [69]

Purchase on Amazon [70]

Dinosaurs: By the Numbers

By:
Steve Jenkins

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

How do two children share one banana? Cut it in half, of course! Healthy foods are shared by dividing them into in thirds and quarters in this cogent introduction to fractions. Crisp photographs and clear graphics create an appealing book to make sense of fractions.

Purchase on Amazon [71]

Eating Fractions

By:
Bruce MacMillan

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

The true story of four African American women whose talent and tenacity led to careers at NASA is recast for younger readers. Though necessarily brief, the unfairness of the segregation is presented in an accessible, age appropriate, and engaging way.

Purchase on Bookshop [72]

Purchase on Amazon [73]

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race

By:
Margot Lee Shetterly
, Winifred Conklin
Illustrated by: Laura Freeman

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
The Queen's apprentice needs to build a new bed for the Queen. But how big is a bed when beds have not been invented yet? The amusing story is a fun introduction to the concept of standard measurement.

Purchase on Bookshop [74]

Purchase on Amazon [75]

How Big Is a Foot?

By:
Rolf Myller

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

There are millions of people living in the United States, but the numbers are much too large to really understand, aren't they? With the help of a mathematical magician, understandable comparisons, and animated, humorous, and engaging illustrations, huge numbers become more child-friendly and downright understandable.

Purchase on Bookshop [76]

Purchase on Amazon [77]

How Much Is a Million?

By:
David Schwartz
Illustrated by: Steven Kellogg

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
Learn the units of measure (including the metric system) by comparing the lengths to fingers, arms, feet, and other body parts. You'll find lots of examples of how we use measurement in everyday activities as well as hands-on activities, such as asking the reader to see how tall you are using units of measure from ancient Egypt.

Purchase on Bookshop [78]

Purchase on Amazon [79]

How Tall, How Short, How Far Away?

By:
David Adler
Illustrated by: Nancy Tobin

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

In just a second, a bat can make 200 calls, a black mamba snake can slither 24 feet, four babies are born somewhere in the world, and much more. Time takes on new meaning in this stylishly illustrated, provocative look at time and how it's measured.

Purchase on Bookshop [80]

Purchase on Amazon [81]

Just a Second

By:
Steve Jenkins

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
Four best friends start a lemonade business and make a bar graph to chart their growing sales. After three days the friends notice that their sales suddenly drop and investigate to find out why. After discovering that the competition is a new kid with a great juggling act just down the street, they ask him to perform beside the lemonade stand and then watch sales increase "over the top."

Purchase on Bookshop [82]

Purchase on Amazon [83]

Lemonade for Sale

By:
Stuart Murphy
Illustrated by: Tricia Tusa

Age Level: 6-9 years old

As a little girl growing up in Tehran, Maryam Mirzakhani was spellbound by stories but she did not like math.— until she discovered the "stories" in geometry. Maryam became a professor, inventing new formulas to solve some of math's most complicated puzzles. And she made history by becoming the first woman—and the first Iranian—to win the Fields Medal, mathematics’ highest award.

Purchase on Bookshop [84]

Purchase on Amazon [85]

Maryam’s Magic: The Story of Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani

By:
Megan Reid
Illustrated by: Aaliya Jaleel

Age Level: 6-9 years old

When the narrator begins to see math everywhere, she knows she’s suffering from a math curse! In response, she poses perfectly reasonable (and answerable) questions while others are as outrageously funny as the collage illustrations. This modern classic is not to be missed by fans of humor – or even of math!

Purchase on Bookshop [86]

Purchase on Amazon [87]

Math Curse

By:
Jon Sciezka
Illustrated by: Lane Smith

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Magic tricks and math come together, sure to engage sophisticated children. Clear explanations present how to perform the trick and explain why they work.

Purchase on Amazon [88]

Mathemagic! Number Tricks

By:
Lynda Cogan
Illustrated by: Jane Kurisu

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
What’s the difference between a cup and an ounce? What gets measured in bushels and when do you use a scale? Easy-to-understand text and playful corresponding illustrations teach children the differences between wet and dry measurements, weight, size, and length. And all information is conveyed in a unique kid’s-eye perspective, using everyday objects and situations. [Amazon review]

Purchase on Amazon [89]

Me and the Measure of Things

By:
Joan Sweeney
Illustrated by: Annette Cable

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
A young girl named Lisa has a homework assignment to measure something in as many ways as she can. "Use your imagination!" says the teacher. Lisa chooses her dog Penny and discovers, among other things, that Penny's tail is one biscuit long. This engaging book teaches the difference between standard and non-standard measurement.

Purchase on Bookshop [90]

Purchase on Amazon [91]

Measuring Penny

By:
Loreen Leedy
Illustrated by: Loreen Leedy

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
An entertaining look at linear, weight, and volume measurements, with Marvelossimo the Mathematical Magician as your guide. The book clearly explains the metric system and why it's used around the world.

Purchase on Bookshop [92]

Purchase on Amazon [93]

Millions to Measure

By:
David M. Schwartz

Age Level: 6-9 years old

If you could hike to the moon, how long would it take? Just how many glasses of lemonade would you need to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool? If everyone on Earth owned exactly the same amount of land, how big would your yard be? And how much time would you spend mowing the lawn? Learn the math behind these questions in this funny romp through weight, volume, distance, and more.

Purchase on Bookshop [94]

Purchase on Amazon [95]

Mind-Boggling Numbers

By:
Michael J. Rosen
Illustrated by: Julia Patton

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Cartoon versions of American presidents guide children through this lively introduction to currency values and adding and subtracting money. Topics covered include an introduction to American units of money; the many ways these units combine to make a price; basic money symbols such as the dollar and cent signs; and the math inherent in shopping.

Purchase on Bookshop [96]

Purchase on Amazon [97]

Money Math: Addition and Subtraction

By:
David A. Adler
Illustrated by: Edward Miller

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
Mysterious, humorously spooky illustrations and easy, engaging text demystifies the mystery of basic algebra, further clarified by a suggested activity.

Purchase on Amazon [98]

Mystery Math: A First Book of Algebra

By:
David Adler
Illustrated by: Edward Miller

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
While you're on the beach, you can count from 1 to 10 by feet — combining numbers of feet and then multiplying them all the way to 100, which is ten crabs... or 100 snails if you really count slowly! Colorful, bug-eyed, cartoon-like critters further enliven this jaunty approach to numbers.

Purchase on Amazon [99]

One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab: A Counting by Feet Book

By:
April Sayre
, Jeff Sayre
Illustrated by: Randy Cecil

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Telling a story about pigeons should be simple. But what's a narrator to do when the number of birds keeps changing owing to different scenarios such as the presence of rain, insects, and even a cat. The story is told with a realistic, relatable tone and contains some simple math. 

Purchase on Bookshop [100]

Purchase on Amazon [101]

Pigeon Math

By:
Asia Citro
Illustrated by: Richard Watson

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

In this playful introduction to number values, readers are reminded that “Order is important in both words and numbers.” Cheerful monkeys, chefs from the Banana Café, host this exploration making place values from one to upwards of a trillion understandable and relatable.

Purchase on Amazon [102]

Place Value

By:
David Adler

Age Level: 6-9 years old

a star in space

Do aliens come from the stars? What is that twinkling out there? How long does it take for a star's light to reach Earth? Stunning photographs, computer-generated, and clear text present basic information about stars, sure to pique curiosity.

Purchase on Amazon [103]

Stars

By:
Seymour Simon

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Leonard is disappointed in superhero school; the only thing his teacher, The Blue Tornado, talks about is math and other dull stuff. Fractions and division come in quite handy for the student team, however, when Ice Zombies appear! Exaggerated humor in both text and illustration make this a real champ.

Purchase on Bookshop [104]

Purchase on Amazon [105]

Superhero School

By:
Aaron Reynolds
Illustrated by: Andy Rash

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
The O'Malley family is off to the beach, but it's a long, hot, boring drive. What can Eric, Bridget, and Nell do to keep busy? Play tally games, of course &mdash counting up all the gray cars or green t-shirts they see. Whoever has the most marks at the end wins the game. This is a great picture book for teaching data collection and tallying. It also gives kids a head start in counting by fives and is a good basis for charts and graphs.

Purchase on Bookshop [106]

Purchase on Amazon [107]

Tally O'Malley

By:
Stuart Murphy
Illustrated by: Cynthia Jabar

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Paul Erdos grew up in Hungary and was always an unusual child. He enjoyed numbers, was inept at everyday activities (like tying his shoes), and hated rules but grew up to be a famous mathematician. Witty illustrations and a fluid narrative (which imbeds mathematical language), and fascinating author and illustrator notes introduce this mathematically gifted man.

Purchase on Bookshop [108]

Purchase on Amazon [109]

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos

By:
Deborah Heiligman
Illustrated by: LeUyen Pham

Age Level: 6-9 years old

After touring a German submarine in the early 1940s, young Raye set her sights on becoming an engineer and becoming a pioneer who changed the course of ship design forever.

Purchase on Bookshop [110]

Purchase on Amazon [111]

The Girl With a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague

By:
Julia Finley Mosca
Illustrated by: Daniel Rieley

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
Chester the snail sets up a contest between his friends Gonk the toad and Beezy the lizard to see who can make the best graph. Points will be given for correct math, creativity, and neatness. Beezy and Gonk explore information collection (tallies and surveys) and the use of graphic organizers (Venn diagrams, quantity graphs, circle graphs, picture graphs, and bar graphs). In the end, kids can look at Chester's graphically designed score sheet and see that the result is a tie.

Purchase on Bookshop [112]

Purchase on Amazon [113]

The Great Graph Contest

By:
Loreen Leedy
Illustrated by: Loreen Leedy

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of "The Kid's Book of Weather Forecasting" showing two children and various weather items

In this hands-on science book, kids learn how to make a barometer, record their observations in a Weather Log, use graphs and charts, read the cloud and wind direction, and look to the sunset glow to make more accurate predictions.

Purchase on Amazon [114]

The Kid's Book of Weather Forecasting

By:
Mark Breen
, Kathleen Friestad
Illustrated by: Michael Kline

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""
Math is all around when the Bird brothers, Woody, Willy, Wilmer, Wendell and Walter compete at games, eat hot dogs and ride the Ferris wheel at a carnival. Comic illustrations combine with words and numerals to highlight the brothers' alliterative tale while illuminating basic math concepts.

Purchase on Amazon [115]

The Wing Wing Brothers: Carnival de Math

By:
Ethan Long

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

A Siberian tiger cub born at the Denver Zoo is orphaned when he is just a few weeks old. Through photographs, narrative, and graphs, young readers follow the cub, named T.J., as he grows from a tiny newborn into a five-hundred-pound adult. This story about one tiger’s fight for survival that also introduces basic math skills.

Purchase on Bookshop [116]

Purchase on Amazon [117]

Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger

By:
Ann Whitehead Nagda
Illustrated by: Cindy Bickel

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Various birds appear with riddles asking readers to use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to find the solutions. Rhymes engage readers while introducing word problems and are extended by the colorful illustrations.

Purchase on Amazon [118]

You Can, Toucan, Math: Word Problem-Solving Fun

By:
David Adler
Illustrated by: Edward Miller

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Mary Golda Ross designed classified airplanes and spacecraft as Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's first female engineer. Learn how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work.

Purchase on Bookshop [119]

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Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer

By:
Traci Sorell
Illustrated by: Natasha Donovan

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Fraction-loving Mr. Factor goes on an exciting adventure to gain a prized possession.

Purchase on Bookshop [121]

Purchase on Amazon [122]

Fractions in Disguise

By:
Edward Einhorn
Illustrated by: David Clark

Age Level: 9-12 years old

cover of Hidden Figures showing a sepia photo of a group of women

This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly’s acclaimed book is perfect for young readers. It is the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program.

Purchase on Bookshop [123]

Purchase on Amazon [124]

Hidden Figures Young Readers' Edition

By:
Margot Lee Shetterly

Age Level: 9-12 years old

""

Can the three friends — Eni, Hopper, and Josh — foil the dastardly principal to save the day? How can coding help? In this third installment of Secret Coders, information and adventure combine to create another exciting story.

Purchase on Bookshop [125]

Purchase on Amazon [126]

Secret Coders: Secrets & Sequences

By:
Gene Luen Yang
Illustrated by: Mike Holmes

Age Level: 9-12 years old

When Mika starts fifth grade at the middle school, her neat life gets messy. Maybe, with some help from friends, family, and one unique teacher, a math journal can help her work out problems, and not just the math ones.

Purchase on Bookshop [127]

Purchase on Amazon [128]

Solving for M

By:
Jennifer Swender

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Every colorful page contains a thoughtfully designed set of four shapes. Each of the shapes can be a correct answer to the question “Which one doesn’t belong?” Because all their answers are right answers, students naturally shift their focus to justifications and arguments based on the shapes’ geometric properties.

Purchase on Amazon [129]

Which One Doesn't Belong? A Shapes Book

By:
Christopher Danielson

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Hands-on Activities

Build on what you’re learning together through books with these family-friendly activities, experiments, and crafts.

  • photo of a baseball mitt with a baseball inside it
    Ballpark Learning Activities [130]
    Teach Mama
  • photo of a baseball score keeping sheet
    Baseball: How to Keep Score [131]
    The Baseball Scorecard
  • kids holding pinecones
    Big and Small in Nature [132]
    National Wildlife Federation
  • four children lying down with thier heads together in a circle
    Exploring Measurement [133] video
    PBS Parents
  • girl holding up containers of berries
    Farmers Market Math [134] video
    PBS Parents
  • diagram of measuring the height of a tree by its shadow
    How Big Is Your Tree? [135]
    Project Learning Tree
  • close-up of baseball and bat on the grass
    Pitch and Hit Graphing [136]
    Education.com
  • child making a distance scale model of solar system with paper
    Solar System Scale Model (Distance) [137]
    Start with a Book
  • model of solar system
    Solar System Scale Model (Size) [138]
    Start with a Book
  • drawings of different planets
    Solar System Stat Cards [139]
    Start with a Book

Summer Writing

Give kids a chance to flex their writing muscles all summer long. Try one of these prompts, selected from our writing contest archives and other literacy organizations.

  • Favorite Family Recipe [140]

Great Websites for Kids

Dive deeper into topics of interest with these media-rich and interactive sites.

  • 2020 Census Challenge [141] video
  • archKIDecture [142]
  • Bedtime Math [143]
  • Brain Pop: Math [144]
  • Engineer Girl [145]
  • Gizmos: Measurement [146]
  • Math Science Music [147]
  • Maths Chase [148]
  • Measure Yourself [149]
  • Sizing Up the Universe [150]
  • U.S. Census: Getting an Accurate Count [151] video
  • U.S. Census: We Count Everyone in the U.S.A.! [152] video
  • U.S. Census: We Count Everyone in Your Neighborhood [153] video
  • U.S.Census Quiz for Kids [154]

Great Podcasts for Kids

Listen and learn with these podcasts especially for kids. These podcasts are free and easy to listen to from any device via Apple Podcasts [155] or Stitcher [156] — or from Listen Notes [157], a podcast search engine.

  • Do the Math! [158] audio
    Wow in the World (NPR)
  • Numbers [159] audio
    Brains On!
  • The Scientific Buzz on Bees and Math [160] audio
    Wow in the World (NPR)

Educational Apps

Educational apps recommended by Common Sense Media and other trusted reviewers.

  • Multi Measures HD [161] $
  • My Measures & Dimensions [162] $
  • Numbers League [163] $
  • Playground Physics [164] video $
  • Ruler Pro [165]
  • Shiny Circus [166] $
  • Toca Builders [167] $
  • Toca Store [168] $

More Themed Resources

Growing Readers Tip Sheets

Simple activities for parents and kids to do together to build reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Read online or print the PDF.

  • Creating Bar Charts [169]
  • IF kids code, THEN...what? [170]
  • Making Predictions [171]
  • Measure Up! [171]
  • Meet the Author

    Light years away. Science writer Seymour Simon [172] (Stars) explains how he uses analogies to make gigantic numbers comprehensible to young readers.

Our Summer Blog

Our Summer Blog

  • The Reading Connection [173]
  • What to read when it’s Hot, Hot, HOT out! [174]
  • Songwriting with Kids [175]
  • Sun versus Shade Experiment [176]

See more blog posts > [177]

Washington DC for Kids

Places

  • National Museum of American History [178]

See all DC Places > [179]


Source URL:https://www.startwithabook.org/summer-reading-learning/math-and-measuring

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https://bookshop.org/a/24266/9781541579149 [120] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1541579143/readingrockets-20 [121] https://bookshop.org/a/24266/9781570917745 [122] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570917744/readingrockets-20 [123] https://bookshop.org/a/24266/9780062662378 [124] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062662376/readingrockets-20 [125] https://bookshop.org/a/24266/9781626720770 [126] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1626720770/readingrockets-20 [127] https://bookshop.org/a/24266/9781101932902 [128] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1101932902/readingrockets-20 [129] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1625310803/readingrockets-20 [130] http://teachmama.com/fun-kid-friendly-learning-at-baseball-games/ [131] http://www.startwithabook.org/content/pdfs/keepingscore_baseball.pdf [132] https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/big-and-small.pdf [133] https://www.pbs.org/parents/measuring [134] https://vimeo.com/74988783 [135] https://www.plt.org/family-activity/how-big-is-your-tree/ [136] http://www.education.com/activity/article/pitch_and_hit_data_second/ [137] https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/reading-rockets-space-rangers-solar-system-model.pdf [138] https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/reading-rockets-space-rangers-solar-system-size.pdf [139] https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/solar-system-stat-cards.pdf [140] https://www.startwithabook.org/sites/default/files/favorite-family-recipe.pdf [141] https://www.census.gov/library/video/2019/the-2020-census-challenge.html [142] http://archkidecture.org [143] http://bedtimemath.org/ [144] https://www.brainpop.com/math/ [145] http://www.engineergirl.org/ [146] https://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspResourceExplorer&browse=Math/Grade%203-5/Measurement [147] https://mathsciencemusic.org/ [148] https://www.mathschase.com/ [149] http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/kidsite/portfolio/measure-yourself/ [150] http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/idealabs/universe/index.html [151] https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/videos/getting-an-accurate-count.html [152] https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/videos/we-count-everyone-in-the-usa.html [153] https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/videos/we-count-everyone-in-your-neighborhood.html [154] https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/games/quiz.html [155] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/apple-podcasts/id525463029 [156] https://www.stitcher.com/ [157] https://www.listennotes.com/ [158] https://www.npr.org/2020/04/21/840538165/two-whats-and-a-wow-do-the-math [159] https://www.brainson.org/shows/2013/12/06/numbers [160] https://www.npr.org/2019/03/01/699541145/1-2-3-just-ask-a-bee-the-scientific-buzz-on-bees-math [161] https://edshelf.com/tool/multi-measures-hd/ [162] https://edshelf.com/tool/my-measures-dimensions/ [163] http://www.commonsensemedia.org/mobile-app-reviews/numbers-league [164] https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/playground-physics [165] https://edshelf.com/tool/ruler-pro/ [166] https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/shiny-circus [167] https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/toca-builders [168] http://www.commonsensemedia.org/mobile-app-reviews/toca-store [169] http://www.readingrockets.org/article/43814/ [170] http://www.readingrockets.org/article/59790/ [171] http://www.readingrockets.org/article/40745/ [172] http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/simon/ [173] https://www.startwithabook.org/blog/reading-connection [174] https://www.startwithabook.org/blog/what-read-when-it-s-hot-hot-hot-out [175] https://www.startwithabook.org/blog/songwriting-kids [176] https://www.startwithabook.org/blog/sun-versus-shade-experiment [177] https://www.startwithabook.org/blog/summer-adventures-read-talk-explore [178] http://americanhistory.si.edu/ [179] https://www.startwithabook.org/dc-for-kids