18 Picture Books that Make Math Fun for Kids

Turn counting practice into a delightful prehistoric adventure. As silly dinosaurs go about their day—stacking blocks, playing with toys, and snuggling in for bedtime—young readers count along from 1 to 10. Each page connects numbers to everyday activities and familiar objects, making math feel natural. It’s a good reminder that number practice doesn’t always need flashcards or drills, just a little curiosity and imagination. Parents can build on the story by counting toys, snacks, or steps together at home, turning ordinary moments into joyful learning.

Legendary author/illustrator Donald Crews shows us that counting and creativity can go hand in hand in this charming picture book. Across the pages, he transforms 10 simple black dots into wheels, suns, balloons, and so much more—using first one dot, then two, and so on up to 10. The minimalist illustrations and clean design let the numbers take center stage, proving that learning doesn’t have to be complicated to be powerful.

This bilingual picture book includes numbers and counting in both English and Spanish. It uses vivid illustrations and effortlessly rhythmic text to teach counting from 1 to 10, with each number connected to everyday items or scenarios. Best-selling author Pat Mora’s warm storytelling and Eleo Kaemmerer’s art create a culturally rich way for your little ones to learn their numbers and enjoy the rhythm of language.

This book is truly lovely. Anno’s Counting Book turns counting into a quiet adventure of discovery. It begins with an almost empty landscape, then slowly fills with life—one house, two trees, three children, and so on—until a bustling little town takes shape. Without a single word, kids get to spot new details, make connections, and count along as the seasons change. It’s part seek-and-find, part number story, and entirely enchanting. This classic counting book invites kids to look closely, count creatively, and see how numbers bring a whole world to life.

Newberry and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Patricia C. McKissack has made math and folktales a marvelous combination. When a boy named Hugh Thomas catches a “million fish,” he can’t wait to show them off—but along the way, his haul mysteriously shrinks, as curious creatures and tricky circumstances intervene. With its jolly exaggeration and rhythmic storytelling, this math picture book turns estimation, counting, and big numbers into pure fun. It’s a joyful blend of folklore and number sense, well-suited to kids who love a good story with a great twist.

What’s the biggest number in the world? Curious Pebbles the butterfly sets off on a whirlwind adventure to find out. Traveling across deserts, oceans, and even outer space, Pebbles meets animals who share enormous numbers—from grains of sand on Earth to stars in the sky. This lovable story helps launch children into the universe of large numbers, counting, and real-world math concepts, helping them grasp ideas that can otherwise feel abstract. In my own classroom, I’ve seen students argue over whose turn it was with Pebbles and the Biggest Number (something I’d never seen over a math book before). Kids are thrilled by the chance to articulate and understand huge numbers with confidence.

In Mitsumasa Anno’s well-earned second appearance on this list, Anno’s Magic Seeds introduces slightly older children to multiplication through addition in a magical story about growth and decision-making. When Jack, a poor man, receives two magical seeds from a wizard, he must choose: eat one to stay full for a year or plant both to grow more seeds. As the years pass, readers can watch how planting both seeds leads to an increasing harvest, illustrating early multiplication (and smart planning!) in a story format.

In 12 Ways to Get to 11, little readers explore 12 different paths to the same number, such as nine pinecones plus two acorns, or six spoons plus five bananas. With lively, detailed illustrations, this sweet book helps your budding mathematicians see that numbers can be flexible and creative, not just fixed answers on a worksheet. It includes addition and number decomposition in a way that feels like a game or scavenger hunt. An excellent choice for showing that there’s more than one way to solve a problem—and more than one way to get to 11!

This fun book series pairs knights and math, bringing geometry, measurement, and fractions to life through clever medieval adventures. Follow Sir Cumference, Lady Di of Ameter, and their son Radius as they solve puzzles and tackle challenges that sneak in important math lessons. Titles like Sir Cumference and the First Round Table and Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi introduce concepts such as circles, circumference (naturally), and the magic of pi, all wrapped in humorous storytelling. (Plus, later in the series you can learn about additional math topics like fractions or place value!)

Has your child ever tried to build the tallest tower or coolest fort by fitting together variously shaped blocks? In this book, Puppy faces a similar challenge: figuring out how to fit different shapes together to make a perfect bed. His trial-and-error adventures introduce children to geometry, spatial reasoning, and problem-solving—ideas they can relate to their own block-building experiences. Perky illustrations keep the story lively, while the narrative encourages kids to think critically about how shapes fit, stack, and balance. Well-suited for ages 4 and up, this book makes early geometry tangible and familiar, showing that math isn’t just numbers on a page. It’s something they can touch, explore, and play with every day.

This book turns learning about shapes into a cheeky romp. A group of inventive mice use triangles, squares, circles, and rectangles to build houses, forts, and hideouts—until a curious cat shows up! Through brightly colored illustrations and straightforward text, kids get to see how shapes fit together in everyday objects and imaginative creations. The story makes geometry tangible and interesting, showing that learning shapes can be an adventure rather than a lesson.

This book is a quick, simple read that introduces young children to early math concepts in a unique way. The story follows Brazilian-American twins Lia and Luis as they compare snacks to figure out who has more—using counting, volume, and weight. Wonderfully relatable to anyone who has a sibling. What’s more, kids are introduced to Brazilian Portuguese words and traditional snacks like tapioca biscuits and chicken croquettes. It’s a great way for parents to spark curiosity, math talk, and cultural appreciation, all in just a few pages. A delightful and educational read-aloud!

This book is an engaging read that introduces little ones to ideas like size, volume, and spatial reasoning through a culturally rich story. Ideal for ages 3 to 6, the book follows Bo, a Cherokee boy, as he searches for the perfect container to display his marbles at a local festival. In addition to exploring volume, Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! introduces Cherokee language and culture to children from other backgrounds and gives Cherokee children a chance to see and celebrate kids like themselves in a book.

Ever wondered how much a ladybug weighs? In this brilliant book, children compare animals of different sizes—for example, 10 ants weigh as much as one ladybug, nine ladybugs weigh as much as one grasshopper. Along the way, they slowly build an understanding of weight, comparison, and early multiplication. Giving kids real-world examples helps them make sense of weight and size comparisons that might otherwise feel too abstract. Families can discuss, guess, and imagine together, connecting numbers to creatures they recognize.

This delightful introduction to measurement and scale invites children to explore the world by comparing it to themselves. Through intriguing questions and imaginative visuals, kids discover just how tall, wide, fast, or heavy various animals and objects are—using recognizable references like their own thumb or footsteps. Whether it’s contextualizing the length of a whale or the speed of a snowflake, the book encourages curiosity and wonder about the world around us. Your kiddos will love seeing themselves reflected in the learning process, making complex ideas feel easy and approachable. It’s a joyful, thought-provoking read that turns measurement into an adventure.

When a student wakes up to realize that everything can be seen as a math problem, ordinary moments—from counting cereal boxes to measuring the distance to school—suddenly become challenges to solve. The clever text and quirky illustrations make concepts like estimation, measurement, probability, and problem-solving entertaining and approachable. Math Curse is a great pick for kids 7 and up who are ready to laugh, think creatively, and see the world through an unusual, mathematical lens.

The books in this series turn the nightly bedtime routine into a cozy, educational ritual. Each volume pairs short, playful stories or scenarios with math problems designed for kids to solve in a relaxed, snuggly setting. From counting and addition to puzzles involving logic and shapes, the series offers challenges for a range of ages and abilities. By weaving math into bedtime, Overdeck makes learning feel like a natural, comforting part of winding down, giving families a chance to explore numbers together without pressure at a time many already spend together.

In this adorable book, a group of animal friends discovers a ripe peach and each argues they should take the first bite. Each of the larger animals think they deserve to go first, but the tiny caterpillar suggests the best solution of all. Through this story, kids are introduced to measurement, comparison, classification, and logical reasoning, all while following the antics of interesting characters. The book encourages kids to think about how different attributes can be measured and compared, making abstract math ideas tangible.