Monday Math Literature Volume 41

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If you missed last week's post about my favorite money books, check it out here!

This week I have been thinking a lot about multiplication.  As the school year draws to a close, I am always concerned about making sure my students are solid with multiplicative reasoning.  I have written before about my favorite You Tube songs for multiplication, the best teacher book for this idea and some of the fact strategies my students use.  Today I want to share with you my new favorite math literature book for teaching multiplication.  

You Can Count on Monsters: The First 100 Numbers and Their Characters

This book is beautiful.  I was first introduced to it by an art teacher I work with and immediately added it to my collection.  I have used this book in grades 2-6.

The main concept of this book is prime and composite numbers.  It also can be used to talk with kids about prime factorization.  It shows each number from 1-100 as a series of "prime monsters."  Each prime number is represented by a different monster.  Composite numbers are represented by several prime monsters. 

I have had adults I work with exclaim over this book and how well it helps them understand prime factorization and how prime and composite numbers are different.  The math is presented in such an artistic and easy to understand way that is is accessible to young children.  It is equally as useful with fifth and sixth graders who are learning about factor trees and factor diagrams to help them make the connection to prime factorization.

This has become one of my top 10 favorite math literature books.  It is a must have for anyone who teaches multiplication!

For more practice with prime and composite numbers, be sure to check out this print and play math center!