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.
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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?
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Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
This book offers a context in which to count to 10 using pictures of children from all over the world, as well as the reader's own fingers and toes.
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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.
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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?
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Ten Terrible Dinosaurs
Ten terrible dinosaurs standing in a line, soon began to mess about, until there were... nine! Find out what happens as the dinosaurs leave, one by one, until there is just one dinosaur left.
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Titch
Titch is smaller than Mary and Pete, and everything he has is smaller than theirs too. But then Titch plants a seed...
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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!
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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?
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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?
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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.
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Anno's Counting Book
Explore how a village changes over twelve seasons in this beautiful watercolour counting book.
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Biscuit Bear
When Horace bakes a biscuit in the shape of a bear, it comes alive in the night! Then Biscuit Bear decides to bake some friends...
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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.
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Abigail
Abigail loves to count. She tries to count the dots on the ladybug and the zebra's stripes, but they won't stay still! Will Abigail find something she can count?
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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?
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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!
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10 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!
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Dear Zoo
This humorous lift-the-flap book provides opportunities for conversations about size as the perfect pet is sought.
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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.
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Who Sank the Boat?
In this book, five animals get into a boat - but which animal causes the boat to sink?
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The Rabbit Problem
This picture book looks at the number of rabbits in Fibonacci's field as they have more and more babies throughout the year!
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One to Ten and Back Again
The colourful pictures in this book tell the story of two friends, Nick and Sue, who show us all their favourite things by counting them from one to ten and back.
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Billy's Bucket
Billy can see all kinds of amazing things in his bucket, including seven sea lions and a walrus. His parents think he just has a big imagination - but when they borrow his bucket, they're in for a surprise!
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Maisy Goes Camping
Maisy and her friends put up a tent to go camping in. But how many of them can fit in the tent at once?
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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...
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Mouse Count
One fine day, ten little mice took a nap in a meadow. Along came a hungry snake, who counted the mice into a jar for his dinner. How will the mice escape?
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Cook it!
What's for dinner? Will you help me choose? Follow the story of one family cooking dinner, all the way from making a list and going to the shops to putting the food in the oven and eating it.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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'.
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Ten Black Dots
What can you do with ten black dots? Lots of things! Follow the pictures and count the dots in each one, all the way up to ten.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In this engaging classic picture book, children are invited to use their fingers to explore the numbers up to five.
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The Number Devil
Robert hates everything to do with numbers. Then one night, he meets the number devil in his dreams, and he learns that numbers can be much more interesting than he ever imagined...
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I Spy Numbers
In this book, each photograph contains a big numeral from 1 to 9 surrounded by lots of small objects. Can you see how each object is related to the number in the middle?
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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?
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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'.
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Infinity and Me
Uma wonders about the idea of infinity. What does it mean? How can we imagine infinity? This book talks about the idea of infinity in lots of different ways.
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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.
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Handa's Hen
Handa's hen has gone missing! While she's looking for her hen, Handa finds lots of groups of animals that she can count - two butterflies, three mice, four lizards...
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The Phantom Tollbooth
In this story, Milo goes on an adventure to the strange lands of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis - but can he rescue Rhyme and Reason so that everything starts making sense again?
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One Gorilla: A Counting Book
One gorilla, two orangutans, three chimpanzees... This counting to ten book focuses on members of the primate family.
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Five Minutes' Peace
Mrs Large the elephant wants five minutes' peace away from her three children... but they keep interrupting her!
book
Ages
3-5
Who Sank the Boat?
In this book, five animals get into a boat - but which animal causes the boat to sink?
book
Ages
3-5
Billy’s Bucket
Billy can see all kinds of amazing things in his bucket, including seven sea lions and a walrus. His parents think he just has a big imagination - but when they borrow his bucket, they're in for a surprise!
book
Ages
3-5
Handa's Hen
Handa's hen has gone missing! While she's looking for her hen, Handa finds lots of groups of animals that she can count - two butterflies, three mice, four lizards...
book
Ages
3-5
One Gorilla: A Counting Book
One gorilla, two orangutans, three chimpanzees... This counting to ten book focuses on members of the primate family.
book
Ages
3-5
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
This book offers a context in which to count to 10 using pictures of children from all over the world, as well as the reader's own fingers and toes.
book
Ages
3-5
Ten Terrible Dinosaurs
Ten terrible dinosaurs standing in a line, soon began to mess about, until there were... nine! Find out what happens as the dinosaurs leave, one by one, until there is just one dinosaur left.
book
Ages
3-5
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!
book
Ages
3-5
Anno’s Counting Book
Explore how a village changes over twelve seasons in this beautiful watercolour counting book.
book
Ages
3-5
Abigail
Abigail loves to count. She tries to count the dots on the ladybug and the zebra's stripes, but they won't stay still! Will Abigail find something she can count?
book
Ages
3-5
One to Ten and Back Again
The colourful pictures in this book tell the story of two friends, Nick and Sue, who show us all their favourite things by counting them from one to ten and back.
book
Ages
3-5
Mouse Count
One fine day, ten little mice took a nap in a meadow. Along came a hungry snake, who counted the mice into a jar for his dinner. How will the mice escape?
book
Ages
3-5
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?
book
Ages
3-5
Dog’s Colorful 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?
book
Ages
3-5
Titch
Titch is smaller than Mary and Pete, and everything he has is smaller than theirs too. But then Titch plants a seed...
book
Ages
3-5
Ten Black Dots
What can you do with ten black dots? Lots of things! Follow the pictures and count the dots in each one, all the way up to ten.
book
Ages
3-5
Biscuit Bear
When Horace bakes a biscuit in the shape of a bear, it comes alive in the night! Then Biscuit Bear decides to bake some friends...
book
Ages
3-5
Maisy Goes Camping
Maisy and her friends put up a tent to go camping in. But how many of them can fit in the tent at once?
book
Ages
3-5
Dear Zoo
This humorous lift-the-flap book provides opportunities for conversations about size as the perfect pet is sought.
book
Ages
3-5
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In this engaging classic picture book, children are invited to use their fingers to explore the numbers up to five.
book
Ages
3-5
I Spy Numbers
In this book, each photograph contains a big numeral from 1 to 9 surrounded by lots of small objects. Can you see how each object is related to the number in the middle?
book
Ages
3-5
Cook it!
What's for dinner? Will you help me choose? Follow the story of one family cooking dinner, all the way from making a list and going to the shops to putting the food in the oven and eating it.
book
Ages
3-5
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'.
book
Ages
7-11
The Number Devil
Robert hates everything to do with numbers. Then one night, he meets the number devil in his dreams, and he learns that numbers can be much more interesting than he ever imagined...
book
Ages
7-11
The Phantom Tollbooth
In this story, Milo goes on an adventure to the strange lands of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis - but can he rescue Rhyme and Reason so that everything starts making sense again?
book
Ages
7-11
Infinity and Me
Uma wonders about the idea of infinity. What does it mean? How can we imagine infinity? This book talks about the idea of infinity in lots of different ways.
book
Ages
7-11
The Rabbit Problem
This picture book looks at the number of rabbits in Fibonacci's field as they have more and more babies throughout the year!