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Measurement is one of those skills we teach our students that is best done with hands-on activities and real-world connections. Let’s be honest, all skills are best taught this way, but with measurement being such an important skill used in everyday life, it’s even more important to help students connect the learning to the real world. One of my favorite ways to help students make math-to-world connections is by incorporating relatable books into my lessons. Read on for 15 children’s books about measurement that are both fun and educational, that your students will love!
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If you’ve visited my blog or YouTube channel, you may have noticed that I LOVE sharing my favorite math read alouds for every skill. You can check out my blog post on The Ultimate Roundup of Math Books for Elementary Teachers to see all of my math book blog posts in one place.
You can find all of these children’s books for measurement in my Amazon storefront HERE.
Steve Jenkins brings the concept of non-standard measurement to life in this story with stunning pictures illustrating the actual size of animals, both big and small. Some of the animals illustrated in this measurement book are a crocodile, tiger, and spider. Students will be so curious to learn more about the animal with a two foot long tongue and the animal with an eye bigger than your head! This book shows just how important seeing things for yourself in their true size is.
Steve Jenkins does it again in this story all about the actual size of prehistoric animals. This book helps students visualize what it would be like to see prehistoric animals and dinosaurs in real life. It brings in measurement concepts and standards of measurement, with the big focus on comparing these animals to themselves and each other.
Have you ever wondered if a blue whale is the biggest creature on Earth? In this story by Robert E. Wells, students use non-standard measurement skills when the book reveals the wild fact that a hollow Mount Everest could hold BILLIONS of whales! This brings into perspective for kids how vast and large Mount Everest is, even though it’s so small compared to planet Earth. Size, proportion, comparison, and non-standard measurement are all covered with this book about measurement!
One of the key skills taught with non-standard measurement is COMPARISON. And that brings me to one of my favorite relatable books about measurement! This silly story is full of wacky comparisons that kids will love! In the book, How Tall?, students discover how tall certain things are, like a giraffe, a redwood tree, or the Statue of Liberty, by making wacky comparisons to things they already know about. This is a great book for tapping into prior knowledge and making math-to-world connections.
What do you get when you mix mischief and measurement? A hilarious story that ties in non-standard measurement concepts and unique measurement facts about the animals featured in the story! From beavers to clams, bull-frogs, and more, students will love learning about measurement as they watch beaver get tricked by his smaller bull-frog friend!
Rulers and yardsticks aren’t the only things you can measure with. In fact, you can measure with all kinds of things! This story is a great companion to your non-standard measurement lessons as well as your lessons on units of measurement as kids see just how the ancient Egyptians and Romans used to measure things – with their fingers, hands, arms, legs, and more as measuring tools! This book makes measurement relatable for kids while also breaking down the differences between customary and metric systems of measurement.
If you’ve checked out any of my other math book blog posts, you know how much I LOVE Stuart J. Murphy’s Math Start Series books! They are the perfect blend of fun, silliness, and math, all wrapped up into the best relatable books for kids!
This story is perfect for teaching measurement skills to students in 1st-3rd grade. In the book, 3 friends decide to have a sand castle contest, but as the tide rises and the castles get bigger, they have to measure with non-standard measurement tools until their friend arrives with a tape measure and surprises them all! This book makes the concept of measurement concrete for students and brings in the skills of both non-standard and standard measurement.
In this story about both non-standard and standard units of measurement, Lisa sets out on a mission to complete her homework assignment of measuring something in many different ways. She chooses to measure her dog, Penny, with units like inches and centimeters and non-standard units like paper clips and dog biscuits to determine her height, width, length, weight, volume, temperature, and time! In this heartwarming story, Lisa learns a lot about measurement (and Penny!). This would be a great story to read to get students thinking about all the ways they can measure objects. I can just imagine the great math conversations that will be spurred after reading this book!
This book about measurement is perfect for teaching students about area and perimeter. In the story, Mr. and Mrs. Comfort are preparing spaghetti and meatballs for a family reunion. After preparing 8 tables and 32 chairs for all the guests, their plan goes awry when the guests arrive with their own seating plans! This story encourages students to think critically about the concepts of area and perimeter to see how they can make the seating arrangement work for everyone!
This measurement book is perfect for kids in 2nd and 3rd grade learning about perimeter, area, and volume! This story helps students grasp the differences between 2 and 3D objects and explains length, width, and height in kid-friendly terms. Plus, students will love seeing all the different ways we apply those skills in the real world and how changing the dimensions of an object affects its size.
I love that this book brings in key math vocabulary words in a developmentally appropriate way with several concrete examples. The movie star monsters in this book will model to students how to calculate the perimeter of the movie set, the area of the movie screen, and the volume of their box of popcorn.
This children’s book for measurement brings to light the vastness of things to measure and ways to measure them in the world! If you’ve ever read the book “How Much is a Million?,” you’ll recognize the main character, Mavelosissimo the Mathematical Magician! In this measurement book, he takes kids on a journey to explore the invention of length, weight, and volume before diving into the world of metrics and the basic pattern of meters, liters, and grams. With the detailed, engaging illustrations, students will have a blast learning about all things measurement!
One of the most important life skills that requires a deep understanding of measurement is BUILDING. In this book, ant engineers build a roller coaster while introducing students to different units of measurement, such as inches and centimeters. It also incorporates skills such as problem solving, comparison, and data visualization as the ants work to build a roller coaster big enough for all the bugs that will ride on it. This book brings the bugs and their creations to life with fold-out pictures that come together in a giant roller coaster big enough for all the bugs to enjoy together!
Looking for a basic introduction to the concept of measurement? This book is it! It introduces children to the concept of quantifying the things in their daily life as well as the tools and language used to measure and express their findings. Students will learn about rulers, scales, pencils, cups, and more while also answering questions about measurements and sizes. This is an ideal story for students in 1st and 2nd grade.
Brian P. Cleary is another one of my favorite math book authors for kids. His books always have a sense of humor while bringing the math concepts to life in a kid-friendly way. In this book about measurement, rhymes and hilarious examples showcase how to use and compare both metric and customary units of length. It also introduces students to important tools for measurement, such as rulers, meter sticks, and more! This is the perfect book to read before busting out your own measurement tools and experimenting with measurement!
This award-winning book follows a brave and clever little worm as he shows off his skill of measuring anything and everything! From a robin’s tail to a flamingo’s neck and a toucan’s beak, he can measure it all. That is, until one day he’s threatened by a much larger bird and given the task of measuring his song. This story ties in the concept of inches and measurement in a classic story that kids will love!
I hope you can incorporate some of these children’s books for measurement into your math lessons and bring the concept of measurement to life for your students!
You can find all of these measurement books in my Amazon storefront HERE.
If you’re looking for more measurement resources and lesson plans, check out these guided math units below!
If you have other children’s books for measurement that you love, share them with me in the comments below!
Math should be fun, not stressful. Ditch the timed math fact tests and replace them with math games that will help your students learn and retain information more effectively.
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