Do you view mathematics as a useful subject? Do you believe that with consistent effort, you can solve difficult mathematics problems? Do you view yourself as a “math person”? Researchers and educators have used questions like these to guide their understanding of what it means to have a productive disposition in mathematics. Mathematical dispositions are important as they shape a learner’s view of what math is, impact motivation, and enable learners to persevere in more challenging problems. In this article, we offer a valuable framework for selecting children’s books through the lens of mathematical dispositions. By contributing a new structure for thinking about mathematical dispositions, we hope to provide teachers with a novel, manageable, and accessible tool as they aim to build productive dispositions with students using children's literature in math instruction.

Mathematical Dispositions

The National Research Council (2001) suggests that a productive disposition is one of five strands students must exhibit to successfully learn mathematics. They define productive disposition as “the tendency to see sense in mathematics, to perceive it as both useful and worthwhile, to believe that steady effort in learning mathematics pays off, and to see oneself as an effective learner and doer of mathematics” (p. 131). The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (NGA Center & CCSSO, 2010) describe productive disposition as one of the proficiencies used to create the Standards for Mathematical Practice, which are the habits and actions students should engage in when doing math. In 2025, nearly every U.S. state has endorsed the Standards for Mathematical Practice and/or productive dispositions as an essential component of doing mathematics.

Not only are positive dispositions in mathematics an important part of doing math, but they are also an essential aspect of teaching math (AMTE, 2017). The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (2017) put forth that well-prepared beginning teachers of mathematics should “exhibit productive mathematical dispositions” (p. 6). Moreover, they posit that high-quality math teaching involves “a commitment to sense making in mathematical thinking, teaching, and learning and to developing habits of mind, including curiosity, imagination, inventiveness, risk-taking, and persistence” (p. 9). In other words, teachers must value and model productive mathematical dispositions to be high-quality math teachers.

Why Use Children’s Trade Books in Mathematics?

Children’s books, or children’s trade books, that foreground math can bridge math content and skills to how students use and see math as useful in their worlds, both within and outside of school (Serafini, 2011). Trade books can cultivate students’ productive dispositions in math by fostering self-efficacy and confidence in mathematical abilities. Further, integrating these texts into the content areas is important, as children read informational texts beyond the literacy classroom (Moss, 2003) and develop reading skills using both fictional and informational texts in the math classroom. Finally, teachers’ intentions to include more equitable representations of backgrounds and identities in their classroom libraries benefit students in a myriad of ways (NCTE, 2018). Being equity-oriented in considering who and how they are presented in math texts is useful as teachers consider math trade book choices.

With these aforementioned considerations, we have moved from simply reading books in our math classes, primarily adding reading comprehension practice, to now shifting to more productive uses of the trade books in meeting disciplinary literacy goals. Disciplinary literacy goals make specific literacy connections to content and skill growth of that discipline. In math education, that means, how will selected texts help students think, read, and work like mathematicians do as they practice and build on literacy skills and goals primarily needed in math? We invite you to read the following excerpts and consider your own dispositions in encountering them.

“There once was a time when I was frightened by numbers. They scared me at school, and haunted my slumbers. My brain had some kind of allergic reaction to multiplication...addition...subtraction.” - The Monster Who Did My Math

“I just wanted to mean more than nothing,” he said. “And now I think I’ve finally found my place.” From then on, Zero played Addemup as happily as everyone else.” - Place for Zero

How did you feel as you read the above quotes from two children’s books? Which evoked more positive math dispositions, and which elicited negative dispositions? We utilize these excerpts to illustrate the wide variety of math dispositions that exist in children’s books.

While building a foundational understanding of math through conceptual and procedural knowledge is an important factor of math proficiency (NRC, 2001), an equally important factor of math proficiency is productive disposition (NRC, 2001). Usefulness, meaningfulness, and the relation to math and its purpose in students’ lives are factors that should be considered when choosing books. The belief that math is enjoyable and challenging should also be apparent in the selected math-related children’s literature, as productive dispositions in math are addressed.

Implications for Instruction

Grey House Publishing’s (2025) 57^th annual edition of the Children’s Book in Print catalog includes “250,000 children’s books from over 18,000 U.S. publishers.” Given the vast number of children’s books published each year, we wondered about the following: What components should be considered to support positive mathematical dispositions?  How do we begin to select books that support positive mathematical dispositions? One way to begin thinking about which children’s math books to use in a classroom is to start with a vetted list of high-quality books that underwent extensive review.

Each year, NCTM and NCTE work together to add books to the Mathical List, a list of award-winning “fiction and nonfiction books that inspire children of all ages to see math in the world around them” (Mathical, n.d.). We have chosen to use this already vetted list to narrow and guide examples of books to choose from as we address productive dispositions in children’s literature while prioritizing math concepts and skills. Moreover, vetted lists help to lessen the burden of teachers by providing a manageable selection of appropriate texts and ensuring that the texts are proper examples, providing accurate framing of the discipline. These books include illustrations and tones that support teaching math and building productive dispositions in students. As teachers navigate the terrain of selecting children’s math trade books for their classrooms, we wondered how they decide which books are worth using and what math dispositions they might consider when examining books. In the following section, we suggest some broad criteria educators can use to reflect on their selection of children’s math books and provide a decision matrix to help evaluate children’s math trade books.

While we have previously defined math dispositions to include habits of mind embodied when doing math, such as curiosity, imagination, inventiveness, risk-taking, and persistence, we want to emphasize that math dispositions are not solely a theory about how children should learn math but are also significant and powerful evaluation criteria that can be used to help select children’s books. For example, as teachers preview children’s math trade books, they might ask themselves:  

• Does the children’s math book I am considering frame math as useful and worthwhile?
• Does the book include representational characters who persist through challenges?
• Does the book showcase characters who have positive beliefs in their abilities as learners and doers of math?

To organize key questions and factors educators and administrators may weigh when evaluating a children’s math book, the decision matrix in Figure 1 serves as a rubric to guide the consideration and selection of a new book. Under each math disposition (e.g., “Useful/Worthwhile” and “Persistence”), we have included a short description as support for those who may be less familiar with math dispositions. We completed the matrix for two math books as examples, but encourage educators to add to this chart using children’s math books specific to their grade and contexts. Though many teachers already understand the power of including math trade books in math instruction, we believe that by providing a matrix, this gives teachers a more tangible way of thinking about the quality of those texts in connection to the more abstract idea of dispositions and attitudes toward math.

Figure 1

Children’s Book Math Disposition Decision Matrix

To consider how this matrix might be used when considering children’s math books, refer to the book Count the Monkeys by Barnett and Cornell in the first row of the matrix. While this mathematically rich book focuses on counting and utilizes engaging graphics to captivate students, there is no explicit emphasis on mathematical dispositions. Some sense-making is present, with the book calling on students to interact through statements like, “Raise your hand if you think it’s mongooses. Now raise your hand if you think it’s mongeese.” Otherwise, there is little evidence of mathematical dispositions being addressed in this book.

Now consider Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Becker and Phumiruk. This book centers on the ways Katherine Johnson identifies as a mathematician and the qualities that demonstrate that throughout her lifetime. Math is positioned as worthwhile and useful in her childhood and adulthood. Persistence is evident in her lifelong growth in mathematical thinking despite challenges. Efficacy is clearly demonstrated as Katherine identifies as a mathematician and believes math is her favorite subject. Habits of mind are explicitly stated in her description as curious, and in the way she applies math in inventive ways. This book is an exemplar of how mathematical dispositions are encouraged through a children’s book.

Closing Thoughts

In closing, we want to emphasize that utilizing mathematically rich and engaging children’s books like Count the Monkeys is a necessary and valuable teaching practice. The Mathical list contains hundreds of books that captivate and draw students into the world of mathematics, showcasing strong mathematical content knowledge while practicing skills. However, given the importance of developing mathematical dispositions in students, we believe it is also crucial to use children’s books that prioritize these dispositions to cultivate them in students at a young age. Echoing the words of James Russell Lowell, who in 1849 said, “Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind,” we, too, strongly believe books can be a tool to develop positive views and productive dispositions toward mathematics that are lasting and enduring throughout a student’s mathematical journey. Selecting books for elementary readers to use within math instruction is not a neutral act and has implications for the reader. These text choices will influence children’s conceptions of what it means to do math and in what ways math is relevant to their lives. Perhaps the next time you search for children’s math books, you might take into consideration what mathematical dispositions are present and how that book frames mathematics for children.

References

Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators [AMTE]. (2017). Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics. http://amte.net/standards

Grey House Publishing. (2025, October 10). R.R. Bowker's Children's Books in Print.https://www.greyhouse.com/Childrens-Books-In-Print

Mathical (n.d.). Mathical Book List. Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute. Retrieved October 22, 2025, from https://www.mathicalbooks.org/the-books/printables/

Moss, B. (2003). Exploring the literature of fact: Children’s nonfiction trade books in the elementary classroom. New York: Guilford.

National Council of Teachers of English [NCTE]. (2018). Preparing teachers with knowledge of children’s and young adult literature. Retrieved from https://ncte.org/statement/chiladollitguideline/

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices [NGA Center], & Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO]. (2010). Common core state standards for mathematics. Washington DC: Authors. http://www.thecorestandards.org/Math/

National Research Council [NRC]. (2001). Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics. The National Academies Press.

Serafini, F. (2011). Creating space for children’s literature. The Reading Teacher, 65(1), 30–34. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT65.1.4