The books in this list can be used across the Primary years to explore different aspects of number. You can see other collections of books, including the full list of books recommended by the NRICH team, on our Bookcase Maths page.
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'.
Explore how a village changes over twelve seasons in this beautiful watercolour counting book.
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?
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?
This 'counting by feet' book offers opportunities to focus on counting and introduce multiplication with its entertaining illustrations.
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.
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'.
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?
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?
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!
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.
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...
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.
