Whenever I have the opportunity to tie a picture book into a lesson or a new skill, I take it! Picture books are fun, engaging, and a great way to break up the monotony of everyday lessons. That’s why I searched for division picture books that would make a sometimes tricky math concept more engaging and easier to understand.
Whether you’re reviewing division or introducing how to interpret remainders, these three books help students see math concepts in action. I’ve also included simple, hands-on activities you can use with whichever read aloud you choose.
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The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
In The Doorbell Rang, Victoria and Sam are excited to share 12 freshly baked cookies. But just as they’re about to enjoy them, the doorbell rings! More and more friends arrive, and the children must figure out how to share the cookies equally.
Best for Teaching: Equal sharing, equal groups, and basic division concepts.
Hands-On Division Activity
Give each student 12 pieces of Cookie Crisps cereal to represent the cookies in the story. As you read, have students divide their cereal into equal groups each time more children arrive.
Pause throughout the story to let students model each new division problem. Have them determine how many cookies each child will receive before continuing to read.
After reading, challenge students to explore what happens when the cookies cannot be shared equally. For example, what if there were 13 cookies to share among four children? How many cookies would each child receive? What could they do with the leftover cookie?
Teacher Tip: Give students a small paper plate or work mat to keep their cereal organized. This helps minimize mess and makes cleanup easier.
Bean Thirteen by Matthew McElligott
In Bean Thirteen, Ralph warns Flora, about the unlucky thirteenth bean. When Flora pick it anyway, the two bugs try to find a way to divide their beans equally. They even invite friends to dinner, hoping to solve their problem. But no matter how they arrange the beans, one always seems to be left over!
Best for Teaching: Division with remainders and understanding leftovers when dividing into equal groups.
Hands-On Division Activity
After reading, give students 17 dried beans or counters. Have them divide the beans equally among three friends, keeping each being whole.
Ask students how many beans each Friend receives and how many remain. Then, have them write a division equation to represent the problem.
Discuss what the remainder tells us and why the two leftover beans cannot be shared equally among the three friends
Divide and Ride by Stuart J. Murphy
In Divide and Ride by Stuart J. Murphy, eleven friends spend the day at an amusement park. As they lineup for different rides, they discovered that some rides seat, two people, while others seat, three or four. The friends must figure out how to divide themselves into groups, so everyone can enjoy the rides.
Best for Teaching: Division with remainders and applying division to real-world situations.
Hands-On Division Activity
After reading, present students with a few amusement park scenarios involving different numbers of riders and seats.
For example, 17 students want to ride a roller coaster that seats four people per car. How many cars will they need so everyone can ride?
Have students use counters or drawings to model the problem. Then, ask them to explain why four cars aren’t enough, even though 17 ÷ 4 = 4 R1.
Challenge students with another scenario: If 17 students are divided into groups of four, how many complete groups can they make?
Discuss why the same division equation can lead to different answers depending on the question.
Extend the Lesson: Interpreting Remainders
Once students understand division with remainders, the next step is learning what to do with those remainders when solving word problems.
Depending on the situation, students may need to use the remainder as their answer, round up, ignore the remainder, or express it as a fraction or decimal.
The Interpreting Remainders resource helps students practice these four strategies. It includes a visual anchor chart, and interactive notebook organizer, and practice worksheets.
When I taught this skill, I started by reviewing the four strategies with the anchor chart. Students then added the organizer to their math notebooks. We practiced together before moving onto partner work and, eventually, independent practice.
It’s a great way to follow up on the division concepts introduced in these picture books.
Frequently Asked Question About Division Picture Books
What division picture books work well for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students?
Division picture books that present real-world problems work especially well in upper elementary classrooms. Even if the story is simple, teachers can extend a lesson with more challenging division problems. Look for books that encourage students to model division explain the reasoning, and interpret remainders in different situations.
How can picture books help students understand division with remainders?
Picture books give students a visual way to understand division with remainders before solving more challenging word problems. Stories involving sharing objects or arranging people into groups help students see what a remainder represents. Teachers can then extend the lesson with hands-on activities that encourage students to explain what to do with leftovers.
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