Early Math Literacy Books and Resources

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Early literacy is a common topic of conversation, but we often forget how important it is to cultivate a love of math and the various topics it encompasses. Children who are entering kindergarten should be able to count, sort, recognize numbers and basic shapes, and understand the concepts of size and measurement. Here is a list of books and resources that will help children prepare for kindergarten, explore different math topics, and foster a love of math.

Books:

1 What Will Fit? by Grace Lin



Recommended for ages 0-3

This book explores spatial sense and offers further activities to explore spatial sense in the back of the book. If you are a fan of this one, make sure to check out the rest of this series!

2 Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill



Recommended for ages 0-3

This book focuses on spatial reasoning and features cute animals and interactive flaps.

3 Pete the Cat and the Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin


Recommended for ages 2-5

This book counts backwards while teaching a great lesson to children about positivity as Pete the Cat loses a button at a time.

4 Bears on Chairs by Shirley Parenteau



Recommended for ages 2-6

This adorable rhyming book includes themes of sharing and problem solving while also featuring the math-based themes of counting and size relationships.

5 Pitter Pattern by Joyce Hesselberth



Recommended for ages 2-6

This book has fun with patterns and where you might find them in daily life.

6 100 bugs! A Counting Book by Suzanne Kaufman



Recommended for ages 3-6

This is a great book that helps teach counting, addition, and number bonds.

7 Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris



Recommended for ages 3-6

This is a super fun book that gets kids excited about various patterns including sizes, shapes, and numbers.

8 One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller by Kate Read


Recommended for ages 3-6

This is a very simple and fun counting book that allows adults to build conversation about how readers think the story might develop with an unexpected twist at the end.

9 City Shapes by Diana Murray



Recommended for ages 4-8

Rhyming text and colorful art introduces readers to various shapes you can find throughout the city, but it is fun to challenge kids to find other shapes on each page too.

10 We Are One: How the World Adds Up by Susan Hood


Recommended for ages 4-10

This book has something for readers of all ages. Rhyming prose introduces children to the concept that parts make up a whole, but footnotes allow older readers to delve deeper into topics. This book also has beautiful art with a meaningful message.

 

Further Math Resources for Kids:

Beyond books, there are great free resources available for kids building math skills.

1. Young Mathematicians 

This is a nonprofit organization that promotes early math. Their website provides great games that you can play with little to no materials. Instructional videos and printable books are also available in multiple languages.

2. PBS Kids

PBS Kids offers some fun math-based computer games on their website.

3. Library Programs

Worcester Public Library's programs also serve as a great resource for exploring math. For example, for children 0-5, there are storytimes like Math Storytime and STEAM & Stories that incorporate early math into stories, songs, and activities. For school-age children, Saturday Drop-In STEM Activities offers kids a chance to try new activities and learn about science, technology, engineering, and math. Make sure to check out our online calendar to explore the various programs offered each month!

I hope these books and resources help you explore math through books, games, and more!

-Alyssa

at March 15, 2025 0 comments

Women's History Month Book Recommendations

Saturday, March 1, 2025

March is Women's History Month. In celebration, we have made a list of inspiring books and podcasts featuring strong women.

Picture Books

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

This rhyming picture book follows a very curious girl named Ada who has the heart of a scientist. If you enjoy this book, it is the first in a series!

Bunheads by Misty Copeland

This is a book about ballerina Misty Copeland and her friends working hard to achieve their goals while encouraging one another.

Under My Hijab by Hena Khan

This book depicts different members of the narrator's family, discussing their personalities, hobbies, and jobs and showing them wearing different hijabs in public and then taking them off in private. It is an empowering story about how girls can do anything they like.

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures by Julia Finley Mosca

Told in rhyming prose, this book discusses Temple Grandin, an American scientist and inventor diagnosed with autism at a young age. This book depicts how Temple Grandin used her unique mind and visual thinking to help achieve her goals.

Oona in the Arctic by Kelly DiPucchio


In this fun picture book, Oona finds a baby beluga whale and goes on an adventure to help it return home to the arctic.

Ambitious Girl by Meena Harris



This is a beautiful and inspiring picture book dedicated to encouraging young girls to be ambitious and unapologetically themselves.

Islandborn by Junot Diaz

After a teacher asks her class to draw a picture of where they are from, Lola talks to her community to learn more about the island, its culture, and why people left. This colorful picture book is a beautiful discussion of community, identity, and memory. 



This picture book empowers women and encourages us to see everyday people as special. It has amazing representation and discusses people on all walks of life.

Middle Grade 

Ann Fights for Freedom: An Underground Railroad Survival Story by Nikki Shannon Smith

This story follows twelve-year-old Ann who is a slave in 1854. When Ann learns that her master is planning to sell her and her brother, separating them from each other and their parents, she knows she and her family must run away on the Underground Railroad and journey to the North where they can be free. When Ann's father is separated from the rest of her family, Ann must become the leader. 

Gloria Takes a Stand: How Gloria Steinem Listened, Wrote, and Changed the World by Jessica M. Rinker

This illustrated book tells the story of Gloria Steinem's life, how she fought for equal rights, and how her work impacts today.

Someday is Now by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

This powerful book introduces Clara Luper, a teacher and Civil Rights activist who fought against segregation in the 1950s through methods including education and demonstration like sit-ins. 

Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson

This graphic novel series follows a group of five friends - Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley - who are determined to have a great time at summer camp and they won't let magic quests or supernatural beasts get in the way.

Melissa by Alex Gino

George has always known that she is a girl, even though her family has always seen her as a boy. This novel follows George as she advocates for herself, both in school and at home.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 

This book follows Ada, a beautifully courageous character who boards a train with her brother in an evacuation from WWII Germany. Ada had grown up abused by her Mam due to her untreated club foot, and in her escape to the country, she learns the healing powers of respect and love.

Isla to Island by Alexis Castellanos

This historic graphic novel has very few words. It tells its beautiful, empathy-building story mainly through pictures that use color as a powerful tool. The story follows Marisol, who has to leave her home in Cuba in 1961 for safety, as she builds a life in New York.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tola Okogwu

Follow Onyekachi, a British Nigerian Girl who learns that she is a Solari with special powers. This series follows Onyekachi as she attends a boarding school and learns about her powers. 

Just Roll with It by Lee Durfey-Lavoie

This graphic novel follows Maggie, who a middle schooler with OCD who just joined her school's role-playing game club. Following Maggie and a great team of secondary characters, this book discusses friendship, family, and mental health.

 Middle Grade Podcasts:

The Magic Sash

This podcasts is both a fun adventure story and an educational resource. The story follows two children who time travel learning about the history of women's rights and meeting historic figures like Susan B. Anthony.

She Sounds Like Me

This is an unscripted talk show hosted by a mother-daughter duo discussing a variety of complex topics from anxiety and friendship to systemic racism and body image.

Rebel Girls: Growing Up Powerful

Join Asha and Jestine in talking about important topics from managing money and handling emotions to learning languages and loving yourself. This podcast has sometimes features expert guests and includes themes of self compassion, empathy, and communication.

Parenting

Sexism & Sensibility: Raising Empowered, Resilient Girls in the Modern World by Jo-Ann Finkelstein, Ph.D.

In this book, Finkelstein uses a wealth of research to highlight the challenges young girls face, including misogyny, body image, sexual development, and more, and provide advice to parents to help navigate raising daughters, encouraging them to think for themselves and recognize their worth. 

Parent Like It Matters: How to Raise Joyful, Change-Making Girls by Janice Johnson Dias, Ph.D.

Johnson Dias presents this four part book as a program for "raising self-realized girls," using research from psychologists and pediatricians along with her tips and guidance.

Anything But My Phone, Mom! : Raising Emotionally Resilient Daughters in the Digital Age by Roni Cohen-Sandler, PhD

Cohen-Sandler's research-based guide discusses how technology is transforming teens' experiences, helps teens develop skills and habits to handle challenges technology presents,  and coaches readers through other relevant challenges such as dating, parental divorce, and college preparation. 


I hope you found something on this list that sparks your interest. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or topics that you would like me to write about!

-Alyssa
at March 01, 2025 0 comments
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