Want to enjoy Mathical books with the children around you? Feeling uncertain about guiding them through the math-related parts of the book?
These reading guides are designed for parents, librarians, after-school caregivers, and educators of all stripes. You don’t have to be a math whiz to enjoy exploring math with the kids in your life. Just plunge in, and see where the story takes you!
Each reading guide includes both math-centric and narrative activities to start discussions and activities with one child, a handful of kids, or an entire classroom.
Let us know how it goes using #mathicalbooks on Twitter! We look forward to hearing from you!
Math Storybook Guides for Early Childhood (Pre-K and Grades K-2)
This set of reading guides for the Mathical Book Prize are created by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) and Development and Research in Early Math Education (DREME), a network of scholars across the country who collaborate to advance math teaching and learning in the early years (birth to age 8). They are available for free download on the Mathical Books website, as well as on DREME’s Reading Together guide on their Family Math website.
Download these reading guides as PDF files below. These guides are © Stanford University, DREME Network.
See upper right corner of guides for suggested age ranges. Updated Spring 2023.
Marta! Big and Small (Jen Arena, illustrated by Angela Dominguez)
Uma Wimple Charts Her House (Reif Larsen and Ben Gibson)
Bird Count (Susan Edwards Richmond, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman)
Lia & Luís: Who Has More? (Ana Crespo, illustrated by Giovana Medeiros)
One Is a Piñata (Roseanne Greenfield Thong, illustrated by John Parra)
Sheep Won’t Sleep (Judy Cox, illustrated by Nina Cuneo)
The Animals Would Not Sleep! (Sara Levine, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns)
Zero the Hero (Joan Holub, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld)
Baby Goes to Market (Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank)
Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant (Songju Ma Daemicke, illustrated by Christina Wald)
Count On Me (Miguel Tanco)
Counting on Katherine (Helaine Becker, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk)
Is 2 a Lot? (Annie Watson, illustrated by Rebecca Evans)
Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain (Cheryl Bardoe, illustrated by Barbara McClintock)
One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller (Kate Read)
Pigeon Math (Asia Citro, illustrated by Richard Watson)
Round (Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo)
The Girl with a Mind for Math (Julia Finley Mosca, illustrated by Daniel Rieley)
When Sophie Thinks She Can’t (Molly Bang, illustrated by Ann Stern)
3×4 (Ivan Brunetti)
Exploring Math through Stories Reading Guides (PreK-12)
First Book Reading Guides
This set of reading guides for the Mathical Book Prize were created by MSRI and First Book. They are available for free download on the Mathical Books website, as well as on the First Book Marketplace.
First Book is a national nonprofit social enterprise that provides books and educational materials for educators serving children in need.
Pre-K
Have You Seen My Dragon (Steve Light)
Grades K-2
Absolutely One Thing: Featuring Charlie and Lola (Lauren Child)
Grades K-2
Max’s Math (Kate Banks, illustrated by Boris Kulikov)
Grades K-2
One Big Pair of Underwear (Laura Gehl, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld)
Grades 3-5
Really Big Numbers (Richard Evan Schwartz) — This reading guide is geared for elementary students.
Grades 6-8
Really Big Numbers (Richard Evan Schwartz) — This reading guide is geared for middle schoolers.
Grades 9-12
Genius: The Game (Leopoldo Gout) — This reading guide is geared for middle school through early high school level.
Grades 9-12
Nearly Gone (Elle Cosimano)