Art is everywhere, and as children become more comfortable with their fine motor skills, there is more they can create. From finger painting to more delicate collage work and design, the possibilities shift and change over time. As children experiment with producing art themselves, it can be beneficial for them to learn about the many art forms in existence. This awareness can inspire further discovery and exploration both in reading about and in creating art. The books in this list are selected for readers and budding artists ages 5-7. Some titles can be used to inspire art projects directly, while other selections tell of famous artists and popular art forms that may be unfamiliar to young readers.
Contributed by: Mary Lanni
Art and Max By: David Wiesner Max wants to be an artist like Arthur, but his first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various media, leading them to unexpected consequences. |
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The Big Book of Art By: Hervé Tullet This spiral-bound, divided-page book with die-cuts encourages children to look at art from every angle, mixing and matching to create their own masterpieces. |
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Emily’s Blue Period By: Cathleen Daly Illustrated by: Lisa Brown After her parents get divorced, Emily finds comfort in making and learning about art. |
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The Iridescence of Birds By: Patricia MacLachlan Illustrated by: Hadley Hooper If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France, what would your life be like? Would it be full of color and art? Full of lines and dancing figures? Find out in this beautiful, unusual picture book about one of the world’s most famous and influential artists by acclaimed author and Newbery Medal-winning Patricia MacLachlan and innovative illustrator Hadley Hooper. |
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The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure By: Laura Joffe Numeroff and Nate Evans Illustrated by: Lynn Munsinger The Jelly Beans—four friends who like to do such different things as paint, play soccer, read, and dance—paint a mural on an outside wall of Mrs. Petunia Dinkley-Sneezer’s candy shop that depicts them each doing what they love best. |
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Kenya’s Art By: Linda Trice Illustrated by: Hazel Mitchell Instructed to get rid of all her broken toys, Kenya, with the help of her father, recycles them into art for her class project. |
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Let’s Make Art By: Bill Stich Explains what sort of supplies people use to create works of art, including pencils to draw, paper to make an origami bird, and a camera to take photographs. |
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The Little Hands Art Book By: Judy Press Arranged by such materials as paper, paint, clay, and markers, this book offers instructions for making over eighty art projects, including a paper car, Valentine mobile, clay snowman, and colorful kite. |
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Math Arts: Exploring Math Through Art for 3 to 6 year olds By: MaryAnn F. Kohl & Cindy Gainer In Math Arts, children will: learn shape recognition by creating a Living Shape Sculpture, explore patterns with a Sticky Dot Illusion, discover the whole and its parts through a Parts and Pieces Relief, practice early graphing with a Cookie Graph, and much more. |
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Max and Zoe: The Very Best Art Project By: Shelley Swanson Sateren Illustrated by: Mary Sullivan When Zoe has trouble drawing a self-portrait for the second-grade art project, she turns to Max for help. |
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Shapes in Art By: Rebecca Rissman Can you spot the shape? Read this book to find out about the different shapes you can find in art. Books in this series introduce children to different shapes in a range of situations. Each book uses simple, repetitive text to teach children basic vocabulary, and includes stunning photographs that show how shapes can be found in many places. In Shapes in Art, children have to find a selection of shapes in paintings, sculptures, and other works of art. |
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Viva Frida By: Yuyi Morales Photography by: Tim O’Meara The bilingual text explores the famous artist’s life and illuminates the laughter, love, and tragedy that influenced her work. |
After a long stressful school year, children can use something fun. Doing something you like is a mood booster and hobbies are just that! Whether you are into indoor or outdoor hobbies, want to learn a new hobby or increase your skills in a current hobby, our reading list provides plenty of hobbies to choose from. Books in this list are geared towards ages 8 through 13.
The Art of LEGO Design By: Jordan Schwartz The Art of LEGO Design explores LEGO as an artistic medium, revealing rarely-known and creative ways to build impressive models with LEGO. |
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Making Books with Kids By: Esther Smith Making Books with Kids features more than 25 creative, kid-friendly projects in design, illustration, paper decorating, binding techniques and more. Book artist and author Esther K. Smith offers an exciting resource of easy-to-follow instructions supported throughout with step-by-step, full-color photographs and illustrations. Each sequence is accompanied by finished samples and variations as well as the inspiring work of a prominent book artist. |
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Paint it: the art of acrylics, oils, pastels, and watercolors By: Mari Bolte Step-by-step guides show how to create a variety of projects using acrylics, oils, watercolors, and pastels. |
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Trash to Treasure: fun, easy projects with paper, plastic, glass & ceramics, fabric, metal, and odds & ends By: Pam Scheunemann With easy step-by-step instructions, this book will help kids get creative and recycle and repurpose their trash into handmade treasures. All projects feature common everyday items to reuse in a fun new way along with step-by-step instructions and photos. |
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Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun By: Joshua Glenn Activities parents will remember from their childhoods are presented alongside bold new possibilities: science experiments, crafts and upcycling, board game hacking, code-cracking, geocaching, skateboard repair, yarn bombing, stop-action movie-making – plus tons of trivia, best-of lists, and forward-thinking ideas made accessible to kids. |
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Starting a Sport By: Harold T. Rober A simple guide for the different sports available to kids, explaining what equipment, if any, is required for each sport, what safety gear must be worn, and the special skills needed. A good start to guide children in learning about a sport before they start playing it. |
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Photography for kids!: a fun guide to digital photography By: Michael Ebert Keys to capturing exciting images range from advice on how to take photos of small things such as insects to self-portraits and pictures that can be taken on any trip. Kid-friendly instructions and photo shoot ideas make this a fine basic guide that displays the basics of what makes a photo composition great. |
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Cooking Skills By: Stephanie Turnbull Describes basic cooking skills and techniques, along with several easy recipes from around the world. Includes glossary, tips and tricks, and information on cooking careers. |
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Cakes By: Laura and Jess Tilli Each of the five sections in this book focuses on a different type of cake or skill with cake making. The table of contents provides difficulty ratings and symbols that show children when they will need adult help and each recipe has a delicious picture of the actual cake along with an ingredient and equipment list. Drawn illustrations of exactly how to do each step accompany the written directions below the picture. |
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Crocheting By: Gwen Blakley Kinsler Demonstrates the techniques of basic crochet, and uses step-by-step illustrated instructions to create six different projects. |
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Bewitching Bead &Wire Jewelry By: Suzanne Tourtillott These 40 fun projects–rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, cuffs–will inspire wire workers, beaders, and all types of creative crafters. |
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Garden to Table By: Katherine Hengel Presents six common garden vegetables that are easy to grow and explains how to give them their perfect conditions, whether inside or outside. Accompanied by clear, colorful photographs, the instructions for growing, harvesting, and cooking the food is perfectly suited to young readers. |
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Yoga By: Sarah Tieck This Move Your Body book is a fast, clear read for young people. Chapters include types of yoga, how to engage in yoga safely, and how yoga contributes to good health. |
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How to Play Guitar in 10 Easy Lessons By: Dan Holton Presents a guide to playing the guitar for young readers, explaining how to hold a pick, find each chord, and improvise. |
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Learn to Speak Music: a guide to creating, performing, & promoting your songs By: John Crossingham A guide to help young readers learn music by revealing every nook and cranny of how it’s made. Rather than just a guide to instruments and theory, it explores every aspect of the pop music world, from songwriting and artwork to promotion and setting up a practice space. Special features include: insider’s advice on choosing and buying an instrument, finding the right bandmates, setting up gigs, overcoming stage fright, emulating high-priced studio techniques at home, and much more. |
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So You Want to be a Comic Book Artist? By: Philip Amara Amara starts with the practical basic panels, gutters, and balloons before explaining what you’ll need for a home studio, including the gear to get started. Includes comics’ creator interviews, which are filled with extremely specific tips about influences, writing tools, and jobs. Includes similar profiles of young amateur artists. |
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1-2-3 Calligraphy!: letters and projects for beginners and beyond By: Eleanor Winters Teaches beginners how to do calligraphy by shaping letters from traditional and modern alphabets and also includes other projects. |
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Light Your Way: make a candle By: Carla Mooney Explores the history and science of candle making. Includes step-by-step instructions for making beeswax and milk carton candles. Other topics include decorating candles and candle safety. |
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Coding Projects in Scratch By: Jon Woodcock You can learn to create mind-bending illusions, crazy animations, and interactive artworks with this collection of Scratch projects! Woodcock shows you simple steps to becoming an expert coder, and helps you improve your coding skills so you can share games online. |
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Magic Skills By: Stephanie Turnbull Describes the types of skills needed to do simple magic tricks, and how to train and practice to become a famous magician. Includes instructions for preparing props and tips for making the tricks and illusions work the best. Readers learn card tricks, number tricks, science tricks, and more. |
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How to Play Chess By: Daniel King Whether you’re a complete beginner or a more experienced player looking to improve your game, this step-by-step guide will help you play like a champion. Plan your moves with amazing 3-D illustrations. Discover tactics and strategies that will add firepower to your attack and strengthen your defense. Learn tips and techniques to improve your skills and solve the toughest of chess challenges. Includes practice chessboard and press-out pieces, so you can play as you learn. |