The passage of time can be a challenging concept for many learners. This selection of books makes learning to tell the time fun and engaging. From telling time on the hour and half hour to exploring analogue and digital time, to exploring time zones, there is plenty here to captivate the beginner and more experienced mathematician.
How To Tell The Time
by Sean McArdale
Review: How To Tell Time is a wonderful way for readers to explore this concept. Its 20 pages are packed full of information, ranging from the calendar to units of time, to tools that have been and are used to tell the time. Beginning with an interactive digital clock face on the front cover, the accessibly written text is interspersed with plenty of flaps to lift. These enable students to easily make the connection between the 12-hour and 24-hour clock. Striking visuals enhance the content holding the reader’s attention throughout. This book presents a nice overview of time making it a perfect introduction to the topic.
Click below to see inside the book.
Suggested Reading Age: 2 to 8 years old. In my opinion, this is most suited to 4 to 6 and 7-year-olds.
Just A Second
by Steve Jenkins
Review: Readers of all ages will be amazed to discover what can take place in different amounts of time. Did you know, for instance, that a midge beats its wings one thousand times in one second or that an elephant’s heart beats about thirty times in one minute? Units of time addressed include fractions of a second, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and beyond. The end of the book features a helpful chart highlighting significant moments in the history of telling time and timekeeping. Packed full of facts, this beautifully illustrated book makes for compelling reading. Highly recommended.
Suggested Reading Age: 4 to 7 years old. In my opinion, this would also appeal to students up to the 10 and 11-year age bracket.
Telling Time
by David A. Adler (Author), Edward Miller (Illustrator)
Review: Readers will enjoy exploring time along with a group of interested, cartoon astronauts. Edward Miller’s bold illustrations feature clear representations of clock faces enabling children to easily make connections with the information contained in the text. David Adler introduces units of time, telling time on the hour, half-hour, quarter past and to the hour, for example, in an easy-to-understand manner. Simple problems involving the passage of time are included towards the end of the book, encouraging readers to try out their new learning. Adler’s step-by-step instructions detailing how to read digital and analogue clocks make this a perfect reference tool for learners as they practise this important skill.
Suggested Reading Age: 6 to 9 years old. I feel this would be most appealing to readers in the 6 to 8-year bracket.
It’s About Time
by Pascale Estellon
Review: Immediately inviting, this colourful book makes learning about time a fun and enjoyable experience. Readers are engagingly introduced to the calendar, months, weeks, days and units of time, as well as reading clocks. They are encouraged to carry out tasks to develop their awareness of the passage of time, such as baking a cake that takes an hour or counting up to the number 60 which takes a minute. Rhymes and anecdotes along with colourful illustrations add to the charm of the book, ensuring it is one that learners will enjoy returning to over and again.
Suggested Reading Age: 5 to 8 years old.
Lift-The-Flap Telling The Time
by Usborne
Review: This vibrant, interactive book makes telling the time an exciting journey of discovery. With over 125 flaps to explore, readers will be keen to return to this book time and again as they learn this life skill. The book begins by introducing the clock face before progressing to introduce hours, telling the time past the hour and to the hour, minutes, digital clocks, A.M and P.M, 24-hour time and calculating the passage of time, for example. Throughout, readers solve time problems and the last pages feature a time challenge where they can apply their new learning. The inclusion of a page where readers can make a clock with moving hands is a nice additional feature.
Look below for a flip-through of the book.
Suggested Reading Age: 6 years and above.
About Time: A First Look At Times And Clocks
by Bruce Koscielniak
Review: About Time provides readers with a more detailed look at time, the origins of telling the time and the different tools that people have used to read the time. This informative text is accompanied by visually appealing watercolour illustrations which bring the information to life. As they read, children will learn about water clocks and sundials as well as the mechanisms found in analogue watches. Beautifully drawn end pages, feature examples of timekeeping across the ages. This book will appeal to readers interested in time, machines and mechanisms. Worth a look.
See inside the book below.
Suggested Reading Age: 9 years and upwards.
Time Zones
by David A. Adler (Author), Edward Miller (Illustrator)
Review: This book makes a perfect introduction to the concept of time zones. David Adler addresses common questions such as, “Why do we have time zones?”, “What is daylight savings time?” and “What is Greenwich Mean Time?” in a clear manner. Edward Miller’s illustrations and use of colour further help learners understand and identify time zones on maps. Time Zones would make a perfect accompaniment to David Adler’s Telling Time book (see above).
Watch this book trailer to get a better impression of the book.
Suggested Reading Age: 6 to 9 years old. In my opinion, this is better suited to learners in the 9 to 11-year age bracket.
Happy Reading!
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Do YOU know of any great books about telling the time to add to this list? If so, please leave a recommendation below .