Books are incredibly effective tools for teaching. Charlotte Mason homeschoolers certainly understand that fact as it pertains to subjects like history and science. But, did you know the math and literature connection can be just as powerful?
Why Math and Literature?
There are many reasons math and literature pair so well together:
- Books introduce math concepts in a non-threatening way and build interest.
- Good stories make math come alive and children find that math isn’t boring or inaccessible.
- Mathematics within stories provides context that illuminates the meaning of otherwise abstract concepts. This is especially helpful for struggling learners.
- Oftentimes, literature connects math to real life. This gives meaning to “why” math is important.
- Books build connections to math for linguistic learners who tend to think in words.
- Books connect math to other subject areas, which helps children innately learn that all subjects are intertwined.
- Some books offer sneaky ways to review math facts.
- Gifted mathematicians can benefit from literature connections, especially when books present concepts in new ways or dive deeper than the student has been before.
- Some books are excellent at presenting math as critical thinking. These are especially useful considering math textbooks aren’t the best at presenting logical thinking ideas.
Selecting Good Math Books
As with all my other discussions about choosing books for your homeschool, I’m going to stand firm that it’s important to choose living books for math. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of math twaddle out there.
What is a living math book? It will typically have an engaging story line, but it will always be worth your time spent reading. It will present math concepts clearly (and soundly) without spewing them out as mere facts. It will present nourishing ideas about math that are likely to be savored much longer than the book is in hand.
There is one other consideration beyond choosing living books. You will also want to make sure the stories are presenting “ability appropriate” math concepts. There’s no harm in reading math literature for the pure joy of it. However, if you plan to use the books to help teach math, the “instruction” will need to be in line with your child’s current understanding.
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For example, if your child is just beginning to understand geometrical shapes, you’ll more likely prefer to read The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns rather than The Sword and the Cone by Cindy Neuschwander. The first covers the concepts of 2-D shapes and how they vary from one another, while the second covers in-depth facets of 3-D shapes.
Examples of Living Math Books
Some top-notch examples of living books for math that come to mind right off the bat include the Warlord’s Series, the Sir Cumference Series, and other Charlesbridge Math Adventures stories.
By far, those are not the only examples of amazing literature for math! Here’s a very small sampling of some of my favorites. I’ve tried to choose examples that cover a variety of math concepts to show you just how many topics can be reinforced through books.
Warlord’s Puzzle, The (Warlord’s Series)Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
Multiplying Menace: The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin (A Math Adventure)
The Doorbell Rang
One Hundred Hungry Ants
The Greedy Triangle (Scholastic Bookshelf)
A Remainder of One
What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras?
Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale
Jim and the Beanstalk
How Big Is a Foot? (Rise and Shine)
Full House: An Invitation to Fractions
Spaghetti And Meatballs For All! (Rise and Shine)
Fractions in Disguise: A Math Adventure (Charlesbridge Math Adventures)
How to Use Math Living Books
I’ve provided a set of ideas for using literature alongside math lessons in Loving Living Math.
But let me share a quick example of how I might use Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs to teach a math lesson:
This story is a unique version of your typical Jack in the Beanstalk story. The boy, Jim, finds a giant who is somewhat depressed and Jim sets out to help the giant through a series of events that involve measuring the giant’s face for glasses, measuring his mouth for false teeth, and more.
The perfect follow-up activity to this book, then, is measuring real body parts.
I’ve done this activity two different ways in the past:
- Give students a tape measure with inches on one side and centimeters on the other. They measure various body parts twice (once in inches and once in centimeters) and note both measurements on a simple chart they create. Children love comparing measurements between themselves and others. This activity allows for length, width, and circumference measurements.
- Trace each child’s body on butcher paper. They measure the various body parts from the drawing and write their data directly on the paper. While children really love measuring their life-sized bodies on paper, this activity only allows for length and width measurements.
As you can tell, this lesson provides real-life practice in measuring. It gives meaning and purpose for the lesson, as well as teaching a great deal about the differences in inches/centimeters and making comparisons. And, it’s fun!
And to get you started…
Warlord’s Series Giveaway
I am SO excited that Pelican Publishing has partnered with me to give away FIVE books from their Warlord’s series authored by Virginia Pilegard. The Warlord’s Series is appropriate for ages 6-10 and will help you teach all sorts of mathematical concepts to your children through adventurous stories set in Ancient China.
One person will win a set of (5) hardcover books from the series: The Warlord’s Puzzle, The Warlord’s Beads, The Warlord’s Alarm, The Emperor’s Army, and The Warlord’s Messengers. These retail for $84.95! You won’t want to miss your chance to win!
100+ Living Math ActivitiesIndependent Math Explorations
Candy Math Lessons
Jennie says
October 30, 2017 at 9:05 amWe have a hershey’s chocolate bar book that is great!
Denise says
October 30, 2017 at 1:42 pmGreat books! There are so many new living resources for math, compared to back when our family started homeschooling.
Roxy says
October 30, 2017 at 5:52 pmOh, wow! We just finished reading Young Fu aloud and my kids would LOVE these books. We are also just starting our Middle Ages Morning Basket plans that include Sir Cumference so I’m excited about those, as well.
Kelly L. says
October 30, 2017 at 10:31 pmI am just starting to homeschool my son for Kindergarten. These books look so interesting. I like the sound of this approach. I will be looking into them further.
Wendi S says
October 30, 2017 at 10:42 pmLike the Sir Cumference books.
Vanda says
October 30, 2017 at 10:50 pmWe own and like Demi’s One Grain of Rice.
Crystal says
October 30, 2017 at 10:58 pmI’ve never seen these before! Thanks for sharing!
Holly says
October 30, 2017 at 11:01 pmWe like The 512 Ants on Sullivan Street
Amanda says
October 30, 2017 at 11:08 pmI’ve heard of the sir cumference, but not used it yet! We are doing Life of Fred.
Amy Mayronne says
October 30, 2017 at 11:27 pmWe are currently reading Math and Magic in Camelot, and my girls are really enjoying it.
Cheryl says
October 31, 2017 at 12:34 amI do CM for other subjects but have always wondered about living books for Math… These books look so interesting! I can see my kids enjoying them immensely
Cristy S. says
October 31, 2017 at 6:22 amMy favorite book was Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, my first living math book!
Amanda says
October 31, 2017 at 7:49 amWe enjoyed doing some simple math utilizing the Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday book. I can’t wait to be ready for the Sir Cumference books, but those seem to be for a little bit older children.
Tara Bailey says
October 31, 2017 at 8:03 amI’ve never used living books for math but the idea appeals to me.
Lauren Doty says
October 31, 2017 at 8:09 amOne of our favorite living Math books is Grandfather Tang’s Story by Ann Tompert, so we are extremely excited around here to learn about the Warlord series!
LaRee says
October 31, 2017 at 8:13 amWe love the Sir Cumference books.
Samantha says
October 31, 2017 at 8:21 amThis giveaway is perfect timing! I’m starting to add more math books to our home library!
Courtney says
October 31, 2017 at 9:45 amWe are love The Number Devil and The Adventures of Penrose, the mathematical cat.
Shanna says
October 31, 2017 at 10:12 amI’m not sure we really have a lot of living math books but we do like the Life of Fred books!
Laura A says
October 31, 2017 at 1:45 pmWe don’t have a favorite living math book yet, but enjoy some of the books by Anno at the library.
Seka says
October 31, 2017 at 1:58 pmNever tried these books before. They look interesting though!
Theresa Carr says
October 31, 2017 at 2:40 pmWe dont have any living mathbooks yet for our first grader and three year old. This series sounds like a great option to get started with!
Rachel Sapp says
October 31, 2017 at 3:47 pmWe have enjoyed Fun with Roman Numerals by David A. Adler!
Shawn M. says
October 31, 2017 at 3:47 pmI hadn’t seen most of these, we use the original Life of Fred series that has a narrative focus that my kids love.
kate says
October 31, 2017 at 4:28 pmWe don’t have any math stories, yet. But they read the ant one at a relative’s house and loved it!
Kathy Gossen says
October 31, 2017 at 4:55 pmMy girls are all about M&M math books! LOL. They like reading them with their daddy and enjoying the snacks afterwards. 😉
Cathleen J Cryer says
October 31, 2017 at 8:15 pmI love the Sir Cumference series
Beth says
October 31, 2017 at 9:05 pmMouse Count and other books by Ellen Stoll Walsh. But I don’t like real mice! 🙂
Amy Norton says
October 31, 2017 at 9:27 pmWe love Mathemagic from Childcraft.
JENNIFER CHANDLER says
October 31, 2017 at 10:19 pmMy kids have loved, Ten Apples Up on Top! This year I have been trying to incorporate more math living books.
Heidi P says
November 1, 2017 at 9:06 amWe have really enjoyed Life of Fred and Math and Magic in Wonderland.
Kelly Levesque says
November 1, 2017 at 4:37 pmWe don’t have any living math books. It would be great to win this set so we could get some!
Ava says
November 1, 2017 at 8:53 pmThis a wonderful post! I am a huge fan of math intersecting with story.
Amanda says
November 1, 2017 at 9:18 pmSo far we just have a wishlist. We do enjoy a book that we already have called Ten Little Ladybugs.
Lynette says
November 1, 2017 at 10:25 pmThe Doorbell Rang is great!
Kate says
November 1, 2017 at 11:24 pmWe love the Anno math books.
Cheryl Pilot says
November 2, 2017 at 7:29 amI have been looking for a great way to help my son with math. These books look great.
Christine Mast says
November 2, 2017 at 8:02 amWe have always loved Greg Tang’s books.
Deanna Sallee says
November 2, 2017 at 8:43 pmI love the Sir Cumference books and “math curse”, but some of these have been on my wish list! Thank you so much for the opportunity to win!
Justine Liebana says
November 3, 2017 at 12:12 amWe love “The Doorbell Rang”, which you have pictured. A new favorite is “One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab”. My oldest is 6yo so this giveaway would be awesome as all of my kiddos would get to enjoy them as they come up “through the ranks” 🙂
Nancy says
November 3, 2017 at 12:17 amJust recently found and fell in love with the sir Cumference series. My boys took to it as soon as I opened the package. I’d love to try this new set. Never heard of it!
Dorothy Boucher says
November 3, 2017 at 12:18 amYeah I don’t remember these books when I was younger but they all sound very wonderful and very interesting I do hope I get the chance to explore them all
@tisonlyme143
Christa Gregg says
November 3, 2017 at 12:20 amWe have a few of the Sir Cumference books, and as my youngest heads into K next year these would be fabulous additions.
Holli-Marie Taylor says
November 3, 2017 at 12:23 amI love all the Sir Cumference books!
Kryste Herring says
November 3, 2017 at 12:24 amWe have not used one yet. Will definitely be looking into them!
Piper says
November 3, 2017 at 12:25 amWe really enjoyed the book Infinity and Me, by Kate Hosford. It did a great job at depicting the concept of infinity for my 6 year old.
Jamie says
November 3, 2017 at 12:25 amWe have not tried living math books. I think we would enjoy them.
Danielle says
November 3, 2017 at 12:35 amWe love the Sir Cumference book and Life of Fred.
Raquel says
November 3, 2017 at 12:36 amI am still new to this journey so haven’t got any favorites yet, which is why you list is such an amazing resource – thank you!
Judith Martinez says
November 3, 2017 at 12:39 amI’ve never tried any living math books. I am on the email list but I hit enter before entering my entire email address. It is the same as the email for this comment.
Delia Jones says
November 3, 2017 at 12:47 amI have a few living math books. I need to pull them out and use them with my girls! There are some new ones that I need to check out as well.
Sarah M says
November 3, 2017 at 12:49 amThe Sir Cumference books and Apples (life of fred) would be tied.
Abigail Frazee says
November 3, 2017 at 12:52 amSir Cumference
Jackie says
November 3, 2017 at 1:26 amMy kids have enjoyed the Anno math books!
Gale says
November 3, 2017 at 1:33 amOne Grain of Rice is my fave. My son just loves it.
And, although it’s not primarily about Math, I do love Vote Duck for teaching kids how to say larger numbers.
Connie Y says
November 3, 2017 at 1:34 amWe just recently started incorporating living math books and loved Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens.
Liliek says
November 3, 2017 at 2:06 amWe love Greg Tang’s boom
Melissa says
November 3, 2017 at 2:07 amWe like Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday. It is a great book to teach children to save their money.
Wendi Billington says
November 3, 2017 at 2:52 amI love the Sir Circumference books!
Tracy Glockle says
November 3, 2017 at 3:57 amLove the Sir Cumference books and Life of Fred.
Ruth says
November 3, 2017 at 4:32 amMy sons love the Sir Cumference books. The Warlord books sound great!
CyndiN says
November 3, 2017 at 4:33 amOur all time favorite is One Grain of Rice!
Jessica Thompson says
November 3, 2017 at 4:59 amI enjoy Greg Tang’s books.
Pamela says
November 3, 2017 at 5:57 amOne Grain of Rice is a great one.
Lisa Whitlock says
November 3, 2017 at 6:23 amWe love One Grain of Rice. 🙂
Ariane says
November 3, 2017 at 6:45 amWe love the Sir Conference series and using Math Geek Mama’s lessons to go with it!
Beth G. says
November 3, 2017 at 7:05 amHonestlg, living math books is a new concept to me, so I don’t yet have a favorite. But being that all our kids are in the target age for this book series, I’m interested in checking it out. 🙂
Chiana Sanderson says
November 3, 2017 at 7:05 amOne grain of rice
Stacy says
November 3, 2017 at 7:26 amMy book wish list just keeps growing and growing. My 7 year old would enjoy these books. Thank you for sharing.
Lynna says
November 3, 2017 at 7:35 amWe love the Sir Cumference books!
Kristin G says
November 3, 2017 at 7:37 amI love One Grain of Rice. Thank you so much for all of these suggestions! I had no idea there were so many living math books
Amy Harter says
November 3, 2017 at 7:57 amRight now we are enjoying How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? But, we also love the Sir Cumference series.
Gayly says
November 3, 2017 at 8:11 amWe have “and the doorbell rang” which has been a favorite for years. I haven’t seen this series but it looks awesome. I really liked this post, my 2nd grader really loves living books and I am never sure how and what to use for math in this area.
Thanks!
Nicole says
November 3, 2017 at 8:30 amWould love the books! Thank you
Julia Blake says
November 3, 2017 at 8:33 amWe love the Sir Cumference series. I am excited to read about these other living math books. The Warlord series is new to me. It looks great! Thanks for this list.
Kristin Holmes says
November 3, 2017 at 8:42 amThe Sir Cumference series is a favorite here!
Nicky says
November 3, 2017 at 8:43 amMy kids LOVE the Life of Fred Series!
Heather says
November 3, 2017 at 8:48 amWe love, love, love Count Worm. Maybe it’s because we always use gummy worms to make the numbers along with Count Worm. 🙂
Melanie says
November 3, 2017 at 8:52 amWe love the Greg Tang series, and Life of Fred is a fun one for us as well. But as math is one of our most difficult subjects we definitely need to look into more of these 🙂
Tammi says
November 3, 2017 at 8:53 amWe love Sir Cumference books! Very excited about this give away!
Monica says
November 3, 2017 at 8:59 amOur very first living Math, was the Sir Cumference series. Can’t wait to check some of these other ones out!
Leesa says
November 3, 2017 at 9:02 amThese look great!
Meredith Hall says
November 3, 2017 at 9:08 amWe love the Sir Cumference series!
Kendra White says
November 3, 2017 at 9:12 amThese are all really great resources for living math! Love the list.
Julie says
November 3, 2017 at 9:15 amI have never heard of the Warlord books. My kids like the Sir Cumference series and One Grain of Rice.
Melissa Fernandez says
November 3, 2017 at 9:28 amWe love Life of Fred
Hiedi says
November 3, 2017 at 9:54 amWe love the Warlord series! The Warlord Puzzle is a favorite.
Sara L says
November 3, 2017 at 9:57 amI don’t think I’ve ever read a living math book before! Thank you for this list!
Patsy Foy says
November 3, 2017 at 10:05 amWe have the Hershey book & a Sir Cumference book & love them. I haven’t been able to increase our number of math living books yet. This is a great giveaway. Thank you!
Sandy says
November 3, 2017 at 10:10 amWe have always wanted to try this series! Unfortunately they don’t have any of these books at our library. Thanks for the chance to win!
Pamela says
November 3, 2017 at 10:48 amThe Sir Cumference series is our favorite!
Crystal says
November 3, 2017 at 10:50 amWe are pretty new to loving math books, but we love The King’s Chessboard by David Birch.
Amberley says
November 3, 2017 at 10:54 amWe love the Sir Cumference books and One Grain of Rice.
ROBIN GUERTIN says
November 3, 2017 at 11:37 amWe own many of the Sir Cumference and Annos books, I don’t know if we could pick a favorite. We just discovered the Warlord series and my son really wants them, he is into everything connected to Asia. Thanks for the chance to win!
Laura O. says
November 3, 2017 at 12:24 pmWe’ve enjoyed Life of Fred.
Jennifer Mathesz says
November 3, 2017 at 1:16 pmnot sure if Life Of Fred counts, but we like that.
Sarah says
November 3, 2017 at 2:22 pmI am new to living math books, but I’m very interested in adding them to our library! Both the Warlord series and the Sir Cumference series look terrific!
Wendy N. says
November 3, 2017 at 3:30 pmThese sound interesting, we’ve read some Sir Cumference books already. Nice idea
Liz says
November 3, 2017 at 5:55 pmM & M counting book, chocolate and math!
Heather Mischke says
November 3, 2017 at 7:05 pmWe love Life of Fred and the Sir Cumference books.
Loren Warnemuende says
November 3, 2017 at 11:30 pmWe really enjoy the Sir Cumference books! It’s great to see that there are more good math stories out there.