Do you need a picture book to teach multiplication in your upper elementary math class? Here are some of the best multiplication read alouds for 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade. These math read-alouds would be great to introduce multiplication, teach basic multiplication concepts, practice fact fluency, and make multiplication visual. Click on the links below to see the books on Amazon (affiliate links).
Written By: Greg Tang, llustrated By: Harry Briggs
This story is a cute read aloud that gives rhymes for each of the different multiplication facts. This would be a great read aloud for students who are trying to get better with their multiplication fact fluency.
Great For: Practicing basic multiplication fact fluency.
2. 2x2=Boo!
Written and Illustrated By: Loreen Leedy
This is another picture book with cute stories broken down by each of the different multiplication fact families. This has a Halloween theme which students love especially in the fall. This book would be a great introduction to creating math stories and students could create their own multiplication math story.
Great For: A Halloween (or spooky) math read-aloud and fun stories to learn basic multiplication facts.
Written and Illustrated by Lily Troy Hong
This story is a great introduction to multiplying by two. I loved using this story in 4th grade to have students start thinking about doubling and how we could use doubling to multiply by 4 or by 8.
Great For: Introducing doubling or introducing the strategy of doubling to multiply by 4 or 8.
Written By: Greg Tang, Illustrated By: Harry Briggs
This book has some great rhymes and vivid illustrations that are engaging for students. This book is wonderful to have students notice visual patterns with multiplication and is a great book to start mathematical discussions about what students notice or wonder.
Great For: Introducing multiplication as groups and showing multiplication as a visual array.
Written By: Cindy Neuschwander , Illustrated By: Liza Woodruff
This is a cute book to discuss what multiplication is. It shows different ways that multiplication can be visual by describing multiplication as groups, rows, or columns. This would be a great book to introduce arrays and what multiplication is.
Great For: Introduction to arrays and why multiplication is helpful
Written By: Judith Stamper, llustrated By: Chris L. Demarest
This book is a story about two children helping out at a diner where they encounter a whole lot of multiplication! This book is a great story for students to look for the math within the story, and to see the real-life application of multiplication.
Great For: Showing real-life applications of multiplication
Written By: Joy N. Hulme, Illustrated By: Carol Schwartz
This book has beautiful illustations and is a great introduction to squared numbers. It has a different animal and example for each squared number.
Great For: Teaching squared numbers
Written By: Pam Calbert, Illustrated By: Wayne Geehan
This creative story tells a tale of Rumpelstiltskin….but with multiplication! This book is fun because it gives a lot of opportunities for the teacher to pause and ask students to solve the problems in the book and predict what will happen.
Great For: A fun multiplication story that you can ask students to predict what will happen as you read.
Written By:David Birch, Illustrated By: Devis Grebu
This is another creative story that shows the benefits of knowing how to multiply and how quickly doubling can increase the amount of something.
Great For: Showing the power of doubling
Written By: Paul Giganti Jr., Illustrated By: Donald Crews
This is a great book for an introduction to multiplication and how we might see multiplication in a word problem. Each page has a different scenario that shows multiplication and asks students a few questions about “how many in all” which you can answer together as a class.
Great For: Very basic introduction to multiplication and word problems
Written and Illustrated By: Demi
This book is a mathematical folktale about the power of doubling. This book would be great to show students how doubling can quickly grow a single item.
Great For: Introduction to doubling or using doubling to multiply by 4 or 8.
Written By: Trisha Sue Speed Shaskan, Illustrated By: Sarah Dillard
This book talks about what multiplication is and what the times sign is. It has practical math vocabulary mixed with a few word problems that your students can solve.
Great For: Introducing math vocabulary terms for multiplication.
Written By: Jean-Luc Fromental, Illustrated By: Joelle Jolivet
This is a funny book about penguins continually showing up to a family’s house. The family gets so many penguins that they have to figure out how to keep track of them all! This book is great to introduce arrays or grouping numbers to multiply.
Great For: Introducing Arrays
Written By: Jerry Pallotta, Illustrated By: Rob Boleter
This is a classroom favorite because it combines math and chocolate! The book has some great visuals and even shows students how a Hershey’s candy bar is an array.
Great For: Introducing basic multiplication concepts
Written By: Kathi Appelt, Illustrated By: Melissa Sweet
This is another picture book that has beautiful illustrations that show students arrays and
how they relate to multiplication.
Great For: Introducing Arrays