We asked Erin Barker, a manager and buyer at Hooray for Books! in Alexandria, to recommend some books that can help pique a child’s interest in math. Here are her suggestions, by age group.
“Miss Lina’s Ballerinas” by Grace Maccarone. The eight dancers in this picture book are accustomed to arranging themselves in four lines of two, but when a new girl joins the mix, it throws off their lines. The ballerinas have to figure out how to arrange themselves in even lines now that they are a group of nine.
“Iggy Peck, Architect” and “Rosie Revere, Engineer” by Andrea Beaty. Humorous picture books about a boy and girl who are interested, respectively, in the math-based careers of architecture and engineering.
“The Puzzling World of Winston Breen” series by Eric Berlin. The three mysteries in the series focus on Winston, a boy who loves puzzles and finds them everywhere. The books include puzzles for children to work as they read.
“Nearly Gone” by Elle Cosimano. Nearly Boswell, a high-school junior, is trying to solve a murder mystery by deciphering math riddles and other clues in the personal ads of the newspaper.