Math Storytime

Submitted by Christine Turner on Wed, 04/28/2010 - 5:58pm

Children's books provide a fun and interesting way to reinforce basic concepts. In this week's Family Storytime (Atascocita Branch) we had fun with math.  I realized that the statement, "fun with math," may seem like an oxymoron to those of you who do not like math. However, it has been my experience, that children actually enjoy math when they experience it in a fun and relaxing atmosphere.

This week, children who participated in storytime listened to books, answered open ended questions and created a colorful frog graph. In case you were not able to attend, I have listed a few of my favorite math books below.  

I am very fond of Children's Author, Stuart J. Murphy.  I met him at a professional workshop several years ago and have been a huge fan of his work ever since. Please be aware, that some of Murphy's books are cataloged in nonfiction, but most are located in concept books. As always, please ask a staff member for help if you have difficulty finding an item.

The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more you learn, the more places you'll go."

 

Picture Books

The Greatest Gymnast of All Stuart J. Murphy

While performing an energetic gymnastic routine, Zoe demonstrates such spatial opposites as on and off, inside and outside, and over and under.

Over, Under & Through, and other Spatial Concepts Tana Hoban

Photographs demonstrate the spatial reasoning concepts expressed in twelve words such as around, across, between, against, and behind.

 3 Little Firefighters  Stuart J. Murphy

 

Three young firefighters must find matching sets of buttons to complete their costumes for a parade, but should they sort them by shape, color, or size?
 
Seaweed Soup (Juv Nonfiction 511.322 Mur) Stuart J. Murphy
As he asks more and more friends to join him for lunch, Turtle must make up sets of dishes to accommodate them.
 

100 Days of Cool Stuart J. Murphy

Four students arrive on the first day of school looking cool and their teacher challenges them to keep it up as they count down one hundred days to a cool celebration.
 
Equal Shmequal Virginia Kroll
In order to have fun at a game of tug-of-war, forest animals balance the teams by using a see-saw. Includes nonfiction math notes for meanings of equal.
 
Tyrannosaurus Math Michelle Markel

T-math deals with 15 math concepts with examples and clarity.  The author further explains this information at the back of the book.

How Many? How Much? Rosemary Wells

Timothy and his kindergarten classmates learn about counting, measuring, money, and other math concepts. Includes activities on directionality, spatial relations, and the days of the week.

Nonfiction 

The SandCastle 3-D shapes series are wonderful little books averaging only 24 pages. They provide an introduction to geometric solids for children.

What in the World is a Cube?  Anders Hanson

What in the World is a Cylinder?  Anders Hanson

What in the World is a Prism? Anders Hanson

 What in the World is a Pyramid?  Anders Hanson

What in the World is a Sphere? Anders Hanson

 Great Websites

Math is Fun

Illuminations

CoolMath4Kids