Launching Through Literature

Literature really can be a strategy for launching a math class! The children’s books described below will grip your students’ imaginations and involve them in working with real math, even though the scenarios are pure fiction.

Two professional books that use literature to help students improve their understanding of mathematics and provide sample lessons online are: Math and Literature: Grades 4-6 by Rusty Bresser ( sample lessons )and Math and Literature: Grades 6-8 by Jennifer M. Bay-Williams and Sherri L. Martinie ( sample lessons ). All lessons are presented in the form of an actual discussion between real educators and students. Teachers can then adapt these scenarios to their own classrooms.

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Count to a Million by Jerry Pallotta and illustrated by Rob Bolster

The book begins by focusing in on 10 grains of sand and continues by ingeniously representing the base 10 system as a means of understanding huge numbers. For example, it shows 10 ladybugs, then 100 ladybugs (10 groups of 10 ladybugs); 100 gumballs, then 1,000 gumballs (10 groups of 100 gumballs — a wonderful way to show 1,000!). In this way, the book methodically works its way up to 1 million, showing a patch of sand that represents a million grains of sand.

The Best of Times: Math Strategies That Multiply by Greg Tang and illustrated by Harry Briggs

As the title says, this book is about multiplication and a variety of strategies students can use to multiply numbers from 0 to 10. Amusing drawings and rhyming verses illustrate different ways to approach multiplication besides learning the standard times tables.

Afterwards: Folk and Fairy Tales with Mathematical Ever Afters by Peggy Kaye

A set of nine tales from many countries, from humorous stories to yarns of love and derring-do! Each is followed by related, thought-provoking problems that focus students on math strategies.

Counting on Frank by Rod Clement

Henry, accompanied by his dog Frank, investigates unique questions: How many Franks would it take to fill his room? How long a line can a ballpoint pen write before it runs out of ink? The end material explains how to find the answers and encourages asking more questions.

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan

This story, one of the many adventures of Sir Cumference, tells what happens when the good knight drinks a magic potion that turns him into a dragon. Radius, his son, must then search throughout the castle to solve a riddle that will reveal the amount of a second magic potion that will return his father to human form. His quest involves measuring the diameter and circumference of numerous circles, to eventually discover the fact that the circumference of any circle is approximately three and one-seventh times as long as its diameter. This is the amount of magic potion needed!

Guinness World Records

The most recent edition of this book belongs in every classroom. Middle school students find the data fascinating: the weight of the world’s heaviest man, the height of the shortest human, the area of the largest pancake, and so forth. The records immerse students in numbers!

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

This story of Eratosthenes, the man who calculated the circumference of the Earth more than two thousand years ago, shows him as a little boy, a student, and eventually a librarian. Always asking questions, he displayed an eager curiosity that led him to use geometry to find the Earth's circumference.

The King’s Chessboard by David Birch and illustrated by Devis

According to this ancient legend from India, a wise man asks as a reward for his service to the king only that he be given rice for as many days as there are squares on a chessboard — one grain on the first day, two on the second, and so on, with the amount doubling each day. The illustrations emphasize how the amount of rice grows exponentially.

Anno’s Magic Seeds by Mitsumasa Anno

Jack plants his two magic seeds; each produces a bush with two more seeds. As the crop increases over time, Jack and his family eat some of the seeds, store some, market some, and plant the remainder. Students are drawn into figuring the number of seeds eaten, sold, stored, and planted. The illustrations make the problem interesting and doable!

Cut Down to Size by High Noon: A Math Adventure by Scott Sundby and illustrated by Wayne Geehan

The adventure involves scale and proportion. Two barbers in a western town use scale drawings to create intricate, western-themed hairstyles. The story reaches its high point of suspense when the two barbers face off with scissors at high noon to see which can create the most magnificent haircut. The scale drawings used by the barbers are explained at the end of the story.

Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Masaichiro Anno and Mitsumasa Anno and illustrated by Mitsumasa Anno

A wonderful way to introduce factorials! The book begins with a blue-and-white jar that contains water, and in that water lies an island, on which are two countries, each with three mountains, and on each mountain are four walled kingdoms — and so the pattern continues. The pictures are essential to understanding the idea of factorials, which is explained in detail at the end of the book.

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Copyright December 2007 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.