Chess Picture Books! Oh my!
- Chess Friends Books
- May 17
- 3 min read
Howdy! It’s the Chess Friends!
Today we would like to feature chess-themed picture books! It’s always fun to come across a good chess-related story. Here are our picks!
by Janet S. Wong (Author) and Stacey Schuett (Illustrator)
Back in my little kid days, this book was the only chess picture book in my school library, but it checked all the boxes! School chess club: check. Chess online: check. Chess with friends: check. Tournament chess: checkmate! I read it so many times. The kids in the story had similar tournament experiences I had (minus cheese puffs). Thank you, fellow Washingtonian Janet Wong!
by Tanitoluwa Adewumi (Author), Courtney Dawson (Illustrator)
If you are a chess kid, you probably know Tani. Tani is awesome. He even wrote a book about his perilous journey to the US and how he discovered chess, to becoming a New York State Champion. Be kind and play chess! Even if you don’t play chess, you have to read this book! Fun fact: We played in the same tournament as now International Master Tani last week: Supernationals VIII! Tani tied for first in the K-12 Championship section, along with our fellow Washingtonian homeschooler International Master Joseph Levine.
by Laurie Wallmark (Author), Stevie Lewis (Illustrator)
Grandmaster Judit Polgár doesn’t need an introduction. She is a legend, and this picture book biography follows her path, from her learning chess as a 5-years old kid to becoming the youngest Grandmaster in the world at that time. I would recommend this book to anyone who plays chess and wants to learn what makes a champion: being fearless, inventive, focused, while having fun!
by Jonathan Ferry (Author)
This is a unique chess book following a real chess game in a fictious way. Prunella the B-pawn has big dreams of becoming a queen, but she is only a pawn, and the path to promotion is dangerous with no guarantee of success. As she makes her way across the board, she realizes that with teamwork, anything is possible, and in the end, she ends up… what? You really thought I was going to tell you?! Read the book to find out!
by Jory John (Author), Pete Oswald (Illustrator)
You might ask why on Earth I included the book about cheese in my review of chess books? The story follows the main character, Cheese, from the time he was a little curd, to when he became the big wheel of cheddar. The Cheese is all about winning, and he goes through various competitions, with their ups and downs. Get this, in one of the competitions, the Cheese plays Chess! Ha! I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to stay calm when they lose or win. The hilarious series by Jory John and Pete Oswald, starting with The Bad Seed, is a must!
by Jenny Andrus (Author), Julie Downing (Illustrator)
This book is hot-hot-hot off the press, published less than a month ago! It follows a girl who takes her chessboard everywhere. Elsa’s life story shows how chess can transcend time, language, borders, and generational boundaries. All you need to do is to ask: “How about a game?”
by David Birch (Author), Devis Grebu (Illustrator)
This is a retelling of an old legend, as ancient as chess itself. It reminded me of Aesop’s Fables, but in addition to the many morals of the story, it also introduces the math concept of geometric growth. It goes like this: you put 1 grain of rice on the first square, 2 grains on the second square, 4 grains on the third square, 8 on the fourth, 16 on the fifth, and so on… you get the idea. How many grains will you have in total for 64 squares? Billions and quadrillions and gazillions!! Lol you do the math!
There are so many math puzzles hidden on the chessboard! In future posts, we'll talk about some of them! For now, read books and play chess! Let us know if we missed any chess-themed picture books you love!
Three Cheers, Fellow Future Master Chess Friends!
The Man Benji, The Myth Sarang, and The Legend Vivi
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