Maths Stories

Stories with a mathemetical theme are an enjoyable way to show maths in action.

Ten Sleeepy Sloths
by Neil Griffiths, illustrated by Judith Blake
(Red Robin Books)
Rhyming text and funny illustrations combine here to give a fun way to practise subtraction number bonds. The book is designed to be sung to the tune of Ten Green Bottles, but each spread shows a different group of animals and often two or three drop out, instead of just one (as in the song). Good for bedtime or for class use.
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Spinderella
by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Liz Pichon
(Egmont)
Spinderella, the spider, is different from her mum and her brothers. She's interested in numbers but they're not. They are happy to just talk about 'lots' and 'loads', but it's hard to play football if you can't keep score and the teams are different sizes. Helped by her Hairy Godmother, Spinderella learns how to count and uses numbers to make football much more fun. A delightful story with completely non-scary spiders.
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All the Little Ones and a Half
by Mary Murphy
(Random House)
Seven little Ones and a Half live happily together in their house surrounded by their neighbours who are Twos and Threes. Then a big, bad Hundred comes along demanding their house because he is bigger. Luckily the Ones realise that if all the numbers get together (not forgetting the Half), they add up to more than a hundred so they can chase him away.
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