Picture books with level 1 content

The Ministry is migrating nzmaths content to Tāhurangi.           
Relevant and up-to-date teaching resources are being moved to Tāhūrangi (tahurangi.education.govt.nz). 
When all identified resources have been successfully moved, this website will close. We expect this to be in June 2024. 
e-ako maths, e-ako Pāngarau, and e-ako PLD 360 will continue to be available. 

For more information visit https://tahurangi.education.govt.nz/updates-to-nzmaths

Level 1 number

Friends you can count on, by Debbie TipunaBy a New Zealand author.

Publisher: Raupo Publishing (NZ) Ltd      ISBN: 1869485386
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Activity based on this book.
Description A counting book featuring New Zealand animals.
Mathematics
Numbers to 10.

Pete the Cat and his four groovy buttons, by Eric Litwin

Publisher: Harper     ISBN: 9780062110589
Activity based on this book.
Description Pete the cat loses this buttons… or does he? Includes a very catchy song keeping track as the buttons pop off.
Mathematics Subtraction to 5.

Minnie's diner: A multiplying menu, by Dayle Ann Dodds

Publisher: Candlewick (2004)     ISBN: 9780763633134
Activity based on this book.
Description
Through the repeated refrain of “Make it a double!” a family of brothers reveals the power of multiplication as they order from the menu at Minnie’s Diner.
Mathematics Doubles.

Equal shmequal, by Virginia Kroll

Publisher: Charlesbridge     ISBN: 1570918929
Description A mouse explores what it means to be equal using the concept of balance.
Mathematics Meanings of equals.

100 things, by Masayuki Sebe

Publisher: Gecko Press     ISBN: 9781877467820
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Activity based on this book.
Description A series of large double page spreads depicting sets of 100 in different arrangements including groups of 5, 10, 20, arrays and lines.
Mathematics Groupings within a 100.

Each Orange Had 8 Slices: A Counting Book, by Paul Giganti, Jr.

Publisher: William Morrow      ISBN: 068813985X
Description A collection of maths puzzles which children can explore using counting, addition or multiplication.
Mathematics
Counting/Multiplicative thinking.

The very hungry caterpillar, by Eric Carle

Publisher: Puffin Books     ISBN: 0140569324
Description
Tells the story of a caterpillar's week, as it eats its way through various food, forms a cocoon and then turns into a butterfly.
Mathematics
Counting sequence to five.
Days of the week.

Ten apples up on top!, by Dr Seuss

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books      ISBN: 9780679892472
Description A dog, a tiger, and a lion, compete to see how many apples they can balance on their heads.
Mathematics
Numbers to 10.

How many kisses good night, by Jean Monrad Thomas

Publisher: Random House     ISBN: 067988226X
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description
In her bedtime routine the little girl asks “how many?”. Her questions will engage the reader.
Mathematics Number quantity.

How many kisses do you want tonight?, by Varsha Bajaj

Publisher: Koala Books     ISBN: 9780316067355
Description
The question “how many kisses do you want tonight?” is asked and answered by young animals and children.
Mathematics Numbers to 10.

One bear lost, by Karen Hayles and Jenny Jones

Publisher: Parragon Books     ISBN: 9781407591421
Description
Ten bears leave the group one at a time, until one is left on his own.
Mathematics Backwards number sequence from 10.

Bears on wheels, by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Publisher: Random House     ISBN: 9780385391368
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description
An adventure with bears stacking in different combinations as they ride bikes.
Mathematics Combinations of numbers to 10.

My Māori numbers, by Tracy DuncanBy a New Zealand author.

Publisher: Reed Publishing      ISBN: 9781869488390
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description NZ creatures, plants and children are used as contexts for matching terms to 10 using both Te Reo and English.
Mathematics Number identification.

Give me half!, by Stuart J. Murphy

Publisher: HarperCollins     ISBN: 9780064467018
Description Two children learn how to share one or two food items between them fairly.
Mathematics Halving, including fraction notation.

The most amazing hide-and-seek numbers book, by Robert Crowther

Publisher: Walker Books Ltd     ISBN: 9780763650292
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description A flaps and flags book that reveals groups of creatures to 100.
Mathematics Numbers to 100.

Little Quack's Hide and Seek, by Lauren Thompson

Publisher: Pocket Books      ISBN: 9781416903253
Description Five little ducks play hide and seek from their Mother. One at a time they hide linking in subtraction.
Mathematics
Subtraction.

Next Please, by Ernst Jandl and Norman Junge

Publisher: Red Fox      ISBN: 0099439336
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description The line up of toys wait their turns to visit the doctor.
Mathematics
Ordering, subtraction to 5.

Nigel's Numberless World, by Lucy Coats

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley (2000)      ISBN: 0751372285
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description What would happen if you wished all the numbers in the world away? Nigel does and spends his birthday finding out about the chaos he has created and how numbers help him make sense of his world after all.
Mathematics
Number sense.

123 with Millvy - Numbers in English

Publisher: InnovoNZ Limited      ISBN: 978-0473-54030-2
123 with Millvy
Description Follow Millvy as he gathers friends and food for a big New Year’s Day beach party, counting along the way.
Mathematics
Numbers to 10 and counting.

Level 1 algebra

The doubling duo, by Calvin Irons

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Australia      ISBN: 0732726182
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description Number patterns are introduced in many ways. Here two performers introduce doubling.
Mathematics Number patterns.

Level 1 geometry

Nanny Mihi’s treasure hunt, by Melanie DreweryBy a New Zealand author.

Publisher: Reed      ISBN: 1869486811
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Activity based on this book.
Description Nanny Mihi enlists the help of her visiting mokopuna to find a misplaced box of treasures.
Mathematics 3-shapes and geometry vocabulary.

A lion in the night, by Pamela Allen

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton      ISBN: 9780140509397
Description A lion steals a baby from the castle and takes her on a wild ride through the night. The members of the court have to follow the lion's path.
Mathematics Directions and pathways.

Pepetuna, by Denise WhitmoreBy a New Zealand author.

Publisher: Penguin      ISBN: 9780143504962
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Activity based on this book.
Description The life cycle of a Pepetuna moth in relation to the life of a child.
Mathematics
Symmetry (Level 1), timelines (Level 2).

Perfect Square, by Michael Hall

Publisher: Greenwillow      ISBN: 9780061915130
Description A square reinvents itself over the week as it changes shape through a series of misadventures.
Mathematics
2D shape.

They all saw a cat, by Brendan Wenzel

Publisher: Chronicle Books      ISBN: 9781452150130
Description This book follows the adventures of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see. 
In this case, how cats look very different depending on your point of view.  
Mathematics
Position and orientation, and spatial awareness.

Level 1 measurement

Ernest, by Catherine Rayner

Publisher: MacMillan     ISBN: 9780230712553
Activity based on this book.
Description Ernest the Moose is TOOO big to fit in this regular size book and after many attempts to squish in, he and his friend come up with a solution: increase the area of the book. Now he fits perfectly.
Mathematics Area and size.

Guess how much I love you, by Sam McBratney

Publisher: Walker Books      ISBN: 9781406342864
Description Little Nut Brown Hare discovers it is difficult to measure love using his experiences with length and height.
Mathematics Length and non standard units.

Twice my size, by Adrian Mitchell

Publisher: Igloo Books      ISBN: 0747541884
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description
A comparative exploration of a series of friends, each one “twice the size” of the previous one.
Mathematics Size, comparison, vocabulary.

Good Morning, Good Night, by Erin DevlinBy a New Zealand author.

Publisher: Reed (2007)      ISBN: 9780143503842
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Activity based on this book.
Description Exploration of the concepts of night and day and how "the day unit" is divided up by nocturnal and day time creatures - especially kiwi.
Mathematics
Time.

Little giant, by Simone Lia

Publisher: Gullane Children's Books     ISBN: 1862334935
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description
The girl is the smallest in the family, but in her imagination she can be as big as she wants.
Mathematics Relative size.

Tall, by Jez Alborough

Publisher: Walker Books      ISBN: 1406301736
Description Comparison of height of animals.
Mathematics
 Relative size.

How Big is Big? by Gretel Watson

Publisher: ABC Books      ISBN: 9780733323812
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description Mrs. Watson and her class decide to explore how big is big? This question leads them on a journey of discovery.
Mathematics
Length, volume, mass.

Diary of a Baby Wombat, by Jackie French

Publisher: Harper Collins      ISBN: 9780007351756
Description The daily life of a baby wombat.
Mathematics
Time.

How Big was a Dinosaur? by Anna Milbourne

Publisher: Usborne (2011)      ISBN: 9781409506775
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description Pipkin the Penguin explores the dimensions of dinosaurs by travelling back in time. Includes a large poster to illustrate the comparisons.
Mathematics
Length, time, scale.

How High is the Sky? by Anna Milbourne

Publisher: Usborne (2008)      ISBN: 9781409583202
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description Pipkin the Penguin explores the concept of height by following his curiosity up to the sky. Includes a large poster to illustrate the concepts.
Mathematics
Length.

How Deep is the Sea? by Anna Milbourne

Publisher: Usborne (2009)      ISBN: 9780746096086
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description Pipkin the Penguin follows his curiosity to explore the measurement idea of depth by diving into the sea and finding the creatures at different depths. Includes large poster.
Mathematics
Length.

Time to Sleep, by Annemarie FlorianBy a New Zealand author.

Publisher: Reed (2004)      ISBN: 1869486749
This book may no longer be available for purchase.
Description Kiwi has trouble sleeping during the day because all the other animals are making too much noise. But when night comes it is kiwi's turn to be loud!
Mathematics
Time.

Level 1 statistics

That’s A Possibility, by Bruce Goldstone

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company      ISBN: 0805089985
Description Introduces children to the ideas of something being possible, probable, or impossible. Each spread features an easy-to-understand scenario such as dice rolling, with questions about probable outcomes and simple explanations.
Mathematics Probability, vocabulary.

Probably pistachio, by Stuart J. Murphy

Publisher: HarperCollins      ISBN: 0064467341
Description Over a day Jack discovers the meanings of certain, likely and possible.
Mathematics Probability, vocabulary.