The books on this page are the full list of books recommended for Primary children to explore a variety of different mathematical topics. You can see other collections of books on our Bookcase Maths page.

Dear Zoo

Billy’s Bucket

One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab
This 'counting by feet' book offers opportunities to focus on counting and introduce multiplication with its entertaining illustrations.

Cook It!

Handa's Hen

The Doorbell Rang
Ma has made plenty of cookies for her children, but then the doorbell rings. And rings... And rings... This book is perfect for discussing sharing equally.

Five Minutes' Peace
Mrs Large the elephant wants five minutes' peace away from her three children... but they keep interrupting her!

One Gorilla: A Counting Book

The Shopping Basket
With Steven having to fend off various animals on his way back from the shops, he arrives home with fewer items than his mum requested. This book is a great context in which to count, and in particular to talk about 'one less'.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

The Bad-Tempered Ladybird
The bad-tempered ladybird tries to fight bigger and bigger animals throughout the day - but will it win a fight against the biggest animal of all?

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs

Handa's Surprise
Handa carries a basket of seven different fruits to her friend. As she makes her journey, seven different animals each steal a fruit from her basket! This richly illustrated book is an engaging context in which children can explore the concept of 'one less'.

Balancing Act
This book builds on children's experience of seesaws and balancing. Join the two mice who make a seesaw (or teeter totter) and see what happens as their friends hop on too.

Abigail

The Great Pet Sale
This book tells the story of a pet shop where lots of animals are for sale at a variety of prices - but which will the boy choose?

One to Ten and Back Again

How Big is a Million?
Pipkin is a small penguin who asks big questions. He wants to know how big a million is! He finds ten fish, a hundred penguins in a huddle and a thousand snowflakes... but will he find a million of anything?

Walter's Wonderful Web
Walter the spider wants to spin a perfect web, so he tries making webs of different shapes and sizes. Will he end up with a wonderful web?

Mouse Count

Anno's Counting Book
Explore how a village changes over twelve seasons in this beautiful watercolour counting book.

Ten Apples Up On Top
In this captivating rhyming story, a dog, a lion and a tiger all try to balance ten apples on their heads while tightrope walking and roller skating!

The Secret Birthday Message
On the night before Tim's birthday, he finds a secret message under his pillow! Can you work out what the different shapes in the message mean to help Tim find his birthday present?

Ten Black Dots

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
Pete the cat wears his favourite shirt with four groovy buttons. But what happens when one of the buttons pops off and rolls away? This story introduces children to subtraction number sentences.

Color Zoo
When we turn the page to remove a layer, what animal will the picture show now? And what shape will be removed? Have a look at the colour zoo to find out!

Maisy Goes Camping

Kipper's Toybox
Kipper counts out all of his favourite toys, but the number he gets isn't the number he was expecting... are all of Kipper's favourite toys in the box?

Grandpa's Quilt
Grandpa is so long and thin that his quilt doesn't cover his toes. This story tells of his grandchildren's attempts to change the shape of the quilt so he is toasty from head to foot.

I Spy Numbers

Dog's Colourful Day
Dog is white with one black spot on his left ear. Throughout the day, Dog gets very messy, and by the end he is covered with lots of different coloured spots! Can you count them all?

Lucy in the City
Lucy the raccoon is in the city one night looking for food with her family. But when they leave her behind by mistake, she has to find her way home with the help of a friendly owl who gives her directions.

Henry's Map
Henry the pig likes knowing exactly where everything is. But when he looks out of the window, the farm is a mess! Follow Henry's story as he draws a map to show where everything in the farm should be.

Rosie's Walk
This simple but captivating story uses positional language to describe Rosie the hen's walk. Rosie is wonderfully oblivious to the fact she is being pursued!

Titch

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Biscuit Bear

Who Sank the Boat?

Katie Morag and the Birthdays
In January there is a special day on the Isle of Struay - it is Flora Ann McColl's first birthday. Katie Morag is very excited, but she can't help asking, "When will it be MY birthday?" Follow the story through the different months of the year to find out when Katie Morag's birthday is.

Einstein, The Girl Who Hated Maths
Einstein is a girl who hates maths, but she likes cats - and it turns out maths can be useful in lots of situations, including calculating how many lives her cats have! This book contains a variety of different poems, both about Einstein and about lots of other mathematical ideas.

Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!
Mr and Mrs Comfort have a total of 32 people coming to their family reunion - but how should they arrange the tables so that there is room for everyone?

365 Penguins
On the morning of New Year's Day, a delivery arrives. When the box is opened, it turns out there's a penguin inside! Every day for the rest of the year, a new penguin is delivered, which causes the family some problems...

The Rabbit Problem

The Number Devil

The Phantom Tollbooth
