Mathematician Biographies

The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman

The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity by Amy Alznauer

Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain by Cheryl Bardoe

Of Numbers and Stars by D. Anne Love

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky

Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom by Teresa Robeson

Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine Laurie Wallmark

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne

Mathematicians Are People, Too by Luetta Reimer (volume 2 is also good!)

Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick

Other Books

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

A fun rhyming book for the early years. All my boys have loved this book and it helped them remember place value – hundreds, thousands, millions.

How Much is a Million? by David Schwartz

This book BLEW my boys minds, as well as mine! It puts million, billion, and trillion in perspective in a visual, interesting way. 

What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? By Julie Ellis and Pythagoras and the Ratios by Julie Ellis

Although these aren’t considered a biography or completely factual, they do introduce some math concepts that Pythagoras discovered. 

Sir Cumference and the First Round Table by Cindy Neuschwander (and other Sir Cumference books)

These are fun books that introduce geometry (and other math concepts). Fun story, fun illustrations!

The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

A fun book to introduce division. Even my youngest children love reading it. 

Bedtime Math Series by Laura Overdeck

These are short, fun story problems to get kids thinking about math application. And they aren’t just for bedtime; we like to take them on road trips or use them for Friday Fun Day. Once you’ve gone through the book, ask your children to make their own story problems. 

Life of Fred by Dr. Stanley Schmidt

These books present mathematical ideas through the life of a man named Fred. The series is meant to be ready in order, from the beginning. I wouldn’t say its meant to be a math curriculum, but it is an excellent supplement to a math curriculum. In my opinion, it is full of “captain ideas” that help children see the importance of math in everyday life. 

String, Straightedge, and Shadow: The Story of Geometry

I’ve read through this one and I’m excited for my boys to read this when they begin geometry lessons in middle school.