Children’s Books to Inspire Creative Thinking
― Matilda
But unfortunately somewhere along the way many kids begin to question their creativity, ability, and the comparison oneself to others creeps in. Creativity is a skill kids need to learn and they need to understand that the creative process isn’t always easy, it isn’t always perfect and that often the best artistic ideas come out of mistakes. In short, being creative takes confidence and sometimes kids get caught up the perfection of creating something that they don’t create anything at all.
I’m lucky that so far (touch wood) my kids have all loved reading. And so one of the ways that kids can develop their creativity is through the books they read or for younger children, you read to them. There’s so many amazing children’s books to help us get those creative juices flowing in our kids – here’s some our favourites……
These books have helped the whole family think creatively. “What are your favourite books to ignite creative thinking?” I’d love to know some we’ve missed in the comments below.
Children’s Books to Inspire Creative Thinking for Kids aged 4+
The Dot by Peter H Reynolds
This is currently my daughter, Orla’s favourite book. It tells the story of Vashti who thinks she can’t draw. But her teacher is sure that she can. She knows that there’s creative spirit in everyone, and encourages Vashti to sign the angry dot she makes in frustration on a piece of paper. This leads Vashti to create works of Art…..all from a dot. This is a great book for encouraging creativity but also for older children to consider what makes Art. It was a great book to read before visiting the Tate Modern to explain the concept of modern art to Kids.
Willow by Denise Brennan
Being creative is not just about developing an artistic ability, it’s developing the ability to see the world differently, to think outside-the-box, and invent new ideas. This book teaches us that creativity is about imagination and a little bit of magic. It’s about Miss Hawthorn’s, an Art teacher whose room is neat and tidy, not a pencil or paintbrush is out of place. And that’s how she likes it. And she likes trees that are coloured green and apples that are painted red. Miss Hawthorn does not like things to be different or out of the ordinary. That is, until Willow walks into her classroom…….
Roxaboxen by Alice Mclerran
This is a beautifully illustrated book about the importance of imaginary play for kids. A hill covered with rocks and wooden boxes becomes an imaginary town for Marian, her sisters, and their friends. This book sums up why it’s so important for young kids to play outside. It may even give kids their own ideas for creative play. The afterword is so poignant, I can’t imagine how that would feel going back and seeing the things she described after all that time.
Butterfly Park by Elly Mckay
Butterfly Park is a very sweet story about meeting new people and becoming comfortable in a new home, about how having a project or goal greater than ourselves is important. The illustrations are the most beautiful I’ve seen in any book. Like all of Ellie Mckay’s work, they are papercut but careful inspection will show the details and children and grown ups will appreciate the process taken to design them. After reading the book, my daughter and I took a look at her Etsy page and we were completely blown away. The cut paper and diorama background adds a unique look to the story and helps kids to learn how art adds magic to a story.
My Fairy Library – Make a Magical World of Miniature Books
This is an unusual book to include in this selection but it’s a totally beautiful one and has been a book that my 5 year old has spent lots of time creating and playing with so I felt it had a place. You open the box to go on an adventure into Fairyland and create a library of magical miniature books. The books are simple to make – just cut, fold and stick to make 20 tiny fairy books, from guides to Fairyland and its inhabitants to illustrated stories. The kit comes with tiny shelves to store your books and the box becomes a magical fairy playset! It helps develop creative thinking not just because you put the books together yourself but because you have blank books that you can use to create your own magical library! Certainly made my daughter think! This makes a wonderful gift!
The Adventures of Eggbox Dragon by Richard Adams
Eggbox Dragon may be made of recycled junk, but he’s brilliant at finding things – and breathing fire! This is a lovely book that will encourage kids to create and make and then have the self belief that their creation may come alive! We were introduced to this book by my sister in law and now crafts take on a special meaning!
Franklin’s Flying Bookshop by Jen Campbell
Franklin the dragon loves stories and loves reading stories to people too, but everyone is too scared to even look at him. One day he meets a girl named Luna who, far from being scared, is fascinated to meet Franklin, having recently read all about dragons in one of her books. This a book which expands young children’s creative minds, not only through the beautiful illustrations but also through the concept that your imagination is everything. Letting kids develop their imagination, take risks, and feel free to express themselves is super important for the strengthening of their self esteem for the future. This book was recommended to us by Love My Books which is full of books that inspire creative thinking with activities for kids to develop their creativity further.
Small World by Ishta Mecurio
This is a picture book about a girl dreaming of bigger and bigger things and eventually working hard and achieving bigger and bigger things. It’s a book which challenges kids to think beyond their currently ‘small world’ but it’s the illustrations that support developing creative thinking. Jen Corace’s illustrations are from a non-traditional art perspective, they are slightly folk-art and quirky so they are perfect for inspiring young artists. ‘Small World’ is a delightful book that will empower young readers to see that perspective, wonder and creativity play an important role in our lives.
Children’s Books to Inspire Creative Thinking for Kids aged 7+
If you’re kids love adventure books – try our list of Best Adventure Books for Kids aged 9+
642 Things to Draw – Young Artist’s Edition
This is a great collection of hilarious, wacky, and imaginative drawing prompts which provides endless quirky inspiration for young artists of all experience levels. Whether pondering how to sketch a zombie unicorn or filling the page with a magical (and delicious) field of cupcakes, this is a great way for kids to jump-start their artistic engines as they draw, sketch, imagine, and create!
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Love That Dog shows how one boy named Jack finds his voice with the help of a teacher, a pencil, some yellow paper, and of course, a dog. Written as a series of free-verse poems from Jack’s point of view, and with classic poetry included – this is an unusual narrative structure, the sense of voice in the book is an interesting writing prompt for kids to blur the lines between narrative and poetry.
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown
The Wild Robot Escapes is the sequel to Wild Robot but it’s not a struggle to read on its own. The premise is the creation of a robot that cares about the world. However, Brown manages to include many situations that will have children asking questions – where do I belong? what is my purpose in life? Where is home?The main character – Roz is a magical character with a special personality. A delightful little tale that exposes children to deeper topics, such as what it means to be human, man vs technology, identity/being yourself, kindness, empathy, loss, love, environment, loyalty, and sacrifice so it’s a perfect book for developing creative thinking skills. The chapters are short and many pages are illustrated, keeping children engaged and interested in the plot. Kids will love this sequel as much as the first!
If you’ve liked these – check out these other picture books for kids with big imaginations.
If you’re interested in toys that help develop kids creativity, you might like these STEM Educational Gift Ideas for Kids.
