Coffee Table Books for Kids

Created for kids, the books in this series pair famous works of art with prose perfect for read-aloud time. My Art Book of Happiness features photographs of paintings, drawings, and sculptures from artists like Henri Matisse and Diego Rivera, and an eye-catching cover makes this book a bright addition to any home decor.

While many coffee table books are large format, this little book is practically pocket-sized, perfect for little hands. Illustrations show readers how trees spread their seeds, how to distinguish between different types of leaves, and the unique features of trees all over the world. Hello Trees also includes ideas for easy nature crafts, such as leaf paintings, bark rubbings, and growing a tree from apple seeds or an avocado pit.

This large format picture book highlights a variety of professions and the clothes, tools, and accessories each person needs for that job. For example, the mechanic needs a screwdriver, toolbox, and “safety shoes”. The graphics are bold and colorful, and the minimal text makes this an ideal book for toddlers and young children.

Learn to say “hello” in more than 150 languages in this gorgeous guide to greetings around the world. Flaps and pop-ups make this book interactive and even more engaging for very young children, and the beautiful illustrations of different world alphabets highlight the vast diversity of people in our world.

Find Momo is the first book in this best-selling series from author and photographer Andrew Knapp. Momo is a border collie “hiding” in every photograph in this book, and kids will love searching for him on each page. If you like this book, there are six others in the series–kids can find Momo cleverly camouflaged in different places around the world! 

Wild Animals of the World is a beautifully and uniquely illustrated guide to animals all around the world. Minimal text and bold, vibrant drawings of diverse creatures like sea otters, pandas, frogs, and reindeer make this coffee table book perfect for any animal lover.

This gorgeously illustrated book brings earth science to life. This is truly one for the whole family: younger kids will love author/illustrator Rachel Ignotofsky’s meticulously detailed graphics, and older children and adults will appreciate her engaging, informative writing. The book explores diverse global ecosystems, nature cycles, human impact on the natural world, and how to protect our planet.

Whether you live in the mountains or just love to visit, this book takes a closer look at well-known ranges and peaks across the globe– from Mount Fuji and the Alps to Huang Shan and El Capitan. Kids will love the illustrations of all the animals that thrive on and around these mountains. They’ll also learn about mountain adventures like bouldering, skiing, and alpine climbing, and examine famous mountain sculptures such as Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial.

This illustrated guide is designed to introduce young readers to the wonders of the night sky, helping them learn how to identify and locate constellations, planets, and other celestial objects. Each chapter focuses on one of these “heroes” and combines scientific information with folklore and mythology.

This full-color art book features paintings of 40 adorable dogs in costume, perfect for young animal lovers with a sense of humor! Each page consists of a dog in costume and a caption, but no other text. Dogs are cleverly depicted as chefs, DJs, astronauts, military officers, superheroes, and much more.

While not technically a coffee table book, the Complete Calvin and Hobbes is a box set beautiful enough to display in any home. This timeless comic book series has been adored by tweens and teens for generations, and I guarantee it will be read through on repeat! This set contains every Calvin and Hobbes cartoon ever published in syndication and makes a perfect gift for any comic book lover.

This atlas blends history and myth to explore the lost kingdoms, phantom islands, and legendary continents once sought by explorers. Maps, manuscripts, and carvings give readers “clues” to where these lost kingdoms might be. Atlas of Lost Kingdoms was shortlisted for the 2023 Children’s Travel Book of the Year and is an excellent choice for kids who love mythology, geography, and travel.

Maps is an extra large book that will make a statement on any family coffee table. Each page features incredibly detailed, whimsical illustrations highlighting the cultures, animals, foods, architecture, and natural features that make every region unique. While not a complete world atlas, Maps contains information on over 50 countries–enough to pique the interest of any future explorer.

This unique book explores labyrinths and mazes throughout history and encourages readers to consider why we find these types of puzzles so fascinating. Packed with fun facts, historical tidbits, and challenging problems to solve, this book has something for everyone. Older children and teens who enjoy history and logic-based games will be especially drawn to this one. 

If you have a teenager who dreams of traveling the world one day, they’ll be captivated by this National Geographic best seller. Destinations is a pictographic tour of the spectacular places around the globe. Photos taken by Nat Geo’s expert photographers include ancient monoliths, classic artworks, rainforests, stately architecture, and national parks. 

This book is a fun and informative look at how some of the world’s greatest “feats of engineering” work, from suspension bridges to locomotives and skyscrapers to container ships. In addition to being packed with facts, the book contains step-by-step instructions to engineer and build your own LEGO models. 

This empowering book for tween and teenage girls celebrates the women who made their mark on the world by challenging convention and redefining the rules. Display this book on a coffee table so readers can be inspired by a diverse group of women, including Harriet Tubman, Mary Pickford, Junko Tabei, Coretta Scott King, Tina Fey, and Malala Yousafzai.

This coffee table book celebrates several famous US baseball parks, including Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Boston’s Fenway Park. Teens who enjoy sports, especially baseball, will love the stadium trivia and historic photographs found throughout the book.

2023 seemed like the year Barbie was everywhere, and this coffee table book celebrates the doll’s fascinating 65-year history. Tweens and teens might not know that when Barbie made her debut in the 1950s, she represented a woman with interests outside the home–something completely revolutionary in those days. The book explores how generations of girls have explored their own dreams through playing in Barbie’s world.

This latest book in the “Big Book” series, Blooms is a gorgeously illustrated guide to some of the most colorful and interesting flowers around the world. Readers will learn tons of facts about botany–including how to recognize different types of flowers. The book also covers the various habitats that flowers call home, and calls attention to which flowers are endangered, poisonous, and even carnivorous!