Teachers are you introducing fractions to your students? It can be a tricky concept but it doesn’t have to be hard. Here’s an awesome list of Children’s Books To Teach Fractions to get you started and your kids hooked!
Teaching fractions to children can be a challenging task. Engaging children’s literature can be an effective tool to help them learn different fractions by introducing concepts such as halves and quarters through relatable narratives and interactive questions. Stories can capture students’ interest while simultaneously making it easier for them to grasp these mathematical concepts. For young learners, certain stories and art projects can captivate their attention while reinforcing foundational concepts like fractions.
Teaching Fractions with Picture Books
Picture books are an excellent way to introduce fraction concepts to students, especially in the early grades. They provide a visual representation of fractions and can help students develop a conceptual understanding of the concept through read-aloud sessions.
According to research, using children’s literature in math lessons can enhance learning for your kids! Children’s books in your classroom can help students see math concepts in real-life situations, which helps them build an understanding of a concept. Children’s books are also a great way to get kids interested or motivated about an otherwise boring concept.
Math certainly becomes more interesting when students can make a math connection in a story. By reading a book aloud to your kids, they will soon start to connect their prior knowledge to real-life math situations and feel more confident about learning math.
We love using children’s picture books to help engage learners, they make life so much easier for everyone! Here’s a list of Children’s books to teach fractions that will address a variety of fraction-related topics in a child-friendly way. I’ve found so many of these children’s books that will make learning fractions fun, hope you and your kids enjoy them too!
Let us know if we’ve missed any of your favourites in the comments below.
Charlie Piechart and the case of the missing pizza – With a dinnertime mystery and 5 hungry suspects, Charlie Piechart makes fractions fun.
Charlie Piechart has a pie chart for a belly, and it’s a belly that’s perfect for showing fractions. In his first mystery, perfect for little math enthusiasts, it’s pizza night at the Piecharts’ house.
How about veggies on top? “NO VEGGIES!” yell 4/6 of the pizza eaters. No one wants anchovies, either. They like Charlie’s idea best: pepperoni.
But with 6 pizza eaters, 3 sizes of pizza on the delivery menu, and 2 slices allotted for each person, it is no surprise when there’s a mystery! A scream from Charlie’s sisters reveals the issue: 1 out of 12 slices has gone missing. So who did it? Charlie counts the suspects and questions each one (except Mom!). But could he be forgetting someone?
This colorful, hysterical mystery adventure is perfect for both reluctant and enthusiastic math learners. Great for fans of G Is for Googol, Sir Cumference and the First Round Table, and Math Curse.
Whole-y Cow – Learning about fractions isn’t always easy, but who says it can’t be fun? Using one very entertaining cow, math teacher Taryn Souders has devised a very clever way of explaining fractions to beginning learners. One whole cow, calmly eating hay, decided to act differently on this particular day. One whole cow – what should we do? I know! Let’s paint one half blue! Prompted by a poem and a visual clue, students are asked to answer what fraction is illustrated in the cow’s antics, starting with halves and progressing into thirds, fourths, eighths, and tenths. What fraction of the cow is blue? Answer: ½ What fraction of the cow is white? Answer: ½ With the math problem featured as part of the artwork, students get an immediate sense of how to apply and understand the concept of fractions.
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Fraction Fun – Would you rather eat 1/4 of a pizza or 1/8 of a pizza? Find 3/4 of a dollar or 1/10 of a dollar? Confused? You don’t have to be! Fractions are made easy in this simple and hands-on math concept book. You’ll learn what the top and bottom numbers are called, and what they mean. You will also find out how to recognize and compare different fractions. Just follow the clear instructions and you will learn the most important thing of all — that fractions can be fun!
Full House: An Invitation to Fractions – Miss Bloom runs the Strawberry Inn, and she loves visitors. All through the day she welcomes a cast of hilarious characters until all the rooms are taken. It’s a full house! But in the middle of the night, Miss Bloom senses that something is amiss — and sure enough, the guests are all downstairs eating dessert. Readers will be inspired to do the math and discover that one delicious cake divided by five hungry guests and one doting hostess equals a perfect midnight snack at the Strawberry Inn. Piece of cake! (Free Lesson Plan)
This colorful, upbeat picture book shows fractions in a nonthreatening manner and lets children, teachers and parents decide if they want to use the story as a springboard to further instruction.
–Booklist
Twinderella – Cinderella had a twin sister, Tinderella. They each did half the housework, half the mending, and half the mean step-sister tending. But when they meet only one prince, what will they do? The whole story has twice the magic and double the fun! From the author The Three Ninja Pigs comes the fractioned fairy tale of Cinderella and her less-famous sister.
If You Were A Fraction -If you were a fraction, you be part of a whole. You could be part of a pizza or part of pie. You could be part of an apple or part of a pear. What else could you be if you were a fraction? This colorful picture book describes fractions in a way that makes learning math fun!
Peg & Cat: The Pizza Problem It’s lunchtime at Peg’s Pizza Place! Peg and Cat are excited to take their first order — from the Teens! — only to learn that some of their customers want a whole pizza while one of them wants half a pie. How can Peg and Cat make half a pie when they don’t know what half is? Luckily, Ramone and Mac are there to help, with a slice up the middle of the pizza. As more customers come in, things get entertaining, with Peg singing a jazzy song and Cat doing a dance. But soon there’s another problem: four orders, but only two and a half pizzas left. Peg is totally freaking out — until Cat reminds her that when it comes to halves and wholes, it’s all in how you slice it.
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A Fraction’s Goal – Parts of a Whole – In this fun-filled look at fractions, Brian P. Cleary and Brian Gable demonstrate how fractions work by splitting whole objects into parts. The comical cats of the wildly popular Words Are CATegorical(R)series divide everything from pieces of pizza to groups of people into halves, thirds, tenths, and more. Peppy rhymes, goofy illustrations, and kid-friendly examples take the fear out of fractions.
The Wishing Club:A Story About Fractions –When Petey and his siblings only get a fraction of what they ask for after wishing on a star, the children have to find a way to combine their wishes in order to get the one thing they collectively want–one whole pet!
The Lion’s Share -When Ant receives a special invitation to dine with Lion, she is ready to be on her best behavior. During dessert, the other guests do not mind their manners, and by the time the dessert cake reaches Ant, barely a crumb is left for her to share with the King! Baking a cake seems like the perfect way to make it up to him . . . until the other guests turn her kind gesture into a contest. Exactly how many cakes are fit for a king?
Fractions in Disguise – Crack the case with George Cornelius Factor in this entertaining math adventure that introduces simplified and reduced fractions with equal parts intrigue and humor.
When a valuable fraction goes missing, George Cornelius Factor (a.k.a. GCF) vows to track it down. Knowing that the villainous Dr. Brok likes to disguise his ill-gotten fractions, GCF invents a Reducer—half ray gun, half calculator— that strips away the disguise, reducing the fraction to its lowest common denominator and revealing its true form. With the Reducer in hand, George seeks out Dr. Brok in hopes of retrieving the missing fraction.
Give Me Half – How do you share a pizza? You split it in half! Two siblings split a yummy lunch and discover that using fractions can be messy. This hilarious book written by Stuart J. Murphy and illustrated by G. Brian Karas introduces the simplest of fractions: 1/2.
This is a Level 2 MathStart book, which is perfect for kids ages 6 and up. The MathStart series uses funny stories and colorful art to show kids that they use math every day, even outside of the classroom! Each book features an activity guide to have fun with the math concepts presented in the story. Supports the Common Core Learning Standards.
My Half Day -The first two books in the series, One Odd Day and My Even Day, won a Learning Magazine s 2008 Teachers Choice Award for Children s Books. As with the series other books, the imaginative illustrations are sure to please young readers as they scour the pages for countless oddities hidden in the art!
The wacky fun continues in My Half Day as a young boy awakens to find a half-head of hair. After chugging down his glass of milk that s two-thirds gooey paste, he and his friend are off to camp for a day of fraction fun and an out-of-this world soccer game. Miss Dodd is the ref for our soccer today! Each goal counts FIVE- EIGHTHS, she said. Ready to play? For Creative Minds Section Includes: Fractions around us, Measuring and fractions in recipes, A special pizza party, Pizza recipe, The science of pizza dough,Pizza slices which is bigger? Thanks to Mary Santilli, Presidential Award Recipient for Elementary Mathematics (CT 1991); for verifying the accuracy of the information in this book.
Fraction Action – Your students will have so much fun learning from Miss Prime, the hippopotamus teacher, as she explains topics like fractional sets, dividing objects into equal parts, and comparing the value of fractions.
Fractions Decimals and Percents -Step right up! Come take part in the county fair, where you’ll see fractions, decimals, and percents everywhere. Gobble up a fraction of pie, boost your batting average in the arcade,and take a percent off the price of a toy. Learning about equivalent parts equals a whole lot of fun in this straightforward introduction to a challenging concept.
Sir Cumference & The Fraction Faire – Sir Cumference and Lady Di discover “Fraction numbers” while purchasing cloth and cheese at the Fraction Faire. While two-fourths may seem like the same as one-half, in truth it denotes two parts of one-half, or two quarters of the whole. But the real mystery is the fact that items at the fair keep disappearing, and Sir C, Lady Di, and the Earl of Fraction must set a numeric trap for the thief, teaching an important lesson along the way about the comparative size of fractions.
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Working With Fractions – Fractions are everywhere you look — on the playground, at school, even at birthday parties! When it comes to counting money, playing games, or making sure you get your fair share of the pizza, fractions are there to help you. Add David A. Adler’s handy text to Edward Miller’s lively art and you get not just a fraction — but a whole lot — of fun.
Pizza Counting -These pizzas have all the right ingredients. Pepperoni, cheese, and onions make a purr-fect pizza cat. Is it time for a clock pizza made of sausages and peppers? Count the toppings on these pizza masterpieces, then divide them up into filling fractions. Zesty pizza facts add to the flavorful fun
Usborne Lift -The -Flap Fractions & Decimals -An exciting guide to fractions, decimals and percentages with over 125 flaps to lift to discover what they are and how to use them. Topics include simplifying fractions, improper fractions, and converting to decimals and percentages. Children can also build a fraction wall, meet the fraction families and test their skills with a fraction challenge.
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Fractions = Trouble – If Wilson Williams thought multiplication was difficult, he is finding fractions impossible. And when his parents hire a math tutor for him, he is sure he’s the only kid in the history of Hill Elementary to have one. Wilson is determined to make sure that no one finds out, not even his best friend, Josh. At least his pet hamster, Pip, is sympathetic. Pip is going to be part of Wilson’s science fair project, because any project with hamsters in it is bound to be wonderful. But Josh has the coolest project of all: at what temperature does a pickle explode? Unfortunately, it looks as if Wilson’s secret may end up exploding their friendship.
Fraction Frenzy – How did the Egyptians write fractions? How do you make a snowflake out of triangles? How do banks keep our money safe? Readers (Grades 5-7) will learn all about fractions, factorials, combinations, and fractals.
A Plus Teaching Math Printables
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