Why should we constantly search for books for our kids? We all know reading to our children is important. It’s essential for encouraging early literacy and an eagerness to read later in life. But did you know it’s important to developing creativity too?
Even as early as infants, children benefit from seeing the colorful illustrations and how lines shape that one-dimensional world. As their vocabulary expands, they will begin to hear descriptive words that add vibrancy to the subject of their imagination.
Imagination and Creativity
Speaking of imagination, favorite story characters will soon start to appear in pretend play and they will begin developing stories of their own to act out. Developing imagination and storytelling is huge for developing creativity!
Besides reading the book itself, there are loads of ways to get creative with story time. You can make a popsicle stick bookmark or word pointer like we did in another post. Or you can craft with characters or scenarios from the story. Most recently we read Leaf Man, then created leaf people of our own! You can see the leaf crafts in this post.
5 of My Favorite Books for Kids and Developing Creativity
Here’s a short list of some of my favorite books with beautiful illustrations and themes of imagination and creativity.
*Disclaimer: Amazon Affiliate Links ahead. The small commission I may receive does not affect my recommendation of these books. See my full disclosure here*
1.) The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Anything illustrated by Eric Carle is a stunning display of colors and shapes. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is no exception.
2.) Leaf Man
As I mentioned above, we loved making leaf people after reading Lois Ehlert’s Leaf Man. I loved how it creates people, animals, and other characters from leaves throughout the story to give children practice representation art.
3.) Harold and the Purple Crayon
Harold creates and entire moonlit adventure using only a single purple crayon in Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.
4.) I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More
If you are a parent or caregiver of a budding artist, you have likely had to deal with the mess of their painting creations. I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by David Catrow follows a child trying hard not to paint and make a huge mess, but of course, does!
5.) Not A Box
The character in Not A Box by Antoinette Portis uses his imagination to explain why his box is in fact NOT a box.
More Books
Even if you don’t read a book about creativity or imagination, your child will still benefit from the story-telling and illustrations. Here are some more great book suggestion lists for ideas to add to your library!
The Dashing Dad
This father has a list of seven books for kids. The best part is they are all under $10!
I love this mom’s summaries of each book in this list for preschoolers!
Sweetie and Geek has a list of 7 books to teach age appropriate values to kids. Her review includes and summary of the moral of the story.
https://coffeeandcarpool.com/must-have-books-to-raise-kind-kids/?fbclid=IwAR1BfnE7DWgzqb0HI3SN8X-TVcxdWwk5R4e2G3MtX_OkwQsZNDj1eZNJiOM
Each book in this list helps to teach kindness to your children. I especially like the list of questions the author of the blog has included to ask you children to really make the messages stick.
This book list is designed for encouraging happy kids. Not only do the books have happiness themes, but other things necessary for overall happiness like fitness, goals, and emotions.
https://organizingchaos101.com/2018/11/18/5-must-have-board-books-your-toddler-will-love/?fbclid=IwAR0cUa_xQ-Z8uPL0lepuR2boX3RQUOfdm-V0Wsh_1_tYsL-wA1wKLsGmrfk
Toddlers love to read, but there is always a concern they will tear their favorite book. This list has toddler approved board books so that worry is gone.
https://www.tootsmomistired.com/personalized-books-babies-toddlers/?fbclid=IwAR2yr6C6w5F5aayKz15EzWcaxh2vFQ5j2OlrWuue_wRnC3u_-SV6uxNvVBo
I love the idea of a personalized book! Each of the stories in this list replaces the main character’s name with your child’s.
With the winter season upon us, curious toddlers will love books that explain this season in a fun and interactive way. This blogger has 5 that she recommends!
Finally, this is a huge list of 40 Christmas themed books for kids.
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