Craft Books for Kids

This craft book primarily uses items found around the house, making it easy for preschoolers to create simple paper animals, objects, and foods. As the title suggests, this book offers great scissors practice for little hands. Parents and teachers will especially like how each project includes full-color templates for children to cut directly out of the book. Preschool Paper Crafts is a perfect book that will keep preschoolers busy creating without elaborate setup or cleanup.

If your child loves collecting flower petals or crunching through fall leaves, The Big Book of Nature Art is a great choice. Part of the best-selling “Big Book” series, this guide to nature art helps kids get creative while exploring the great outdoors. When we checked this book out from the library, my daughter liked that every project had exactly four steps, and I liked that the author used simple language to guide the reader through the project. Another unique aspect of this book is that each project is created using a combination of natural objects and traditional art materials. This oversized book is beautifully designed, making it an ideal gift for any young nature lover.

This special picture book is the only one on our list that isn’t a guide to completing specific projects. Rather, To Make is the perfect read-aloud for young children just starting to explore their own creativity. Through engaging illustrations and rhythmic text, the book pays tribute to the creative process. Each page emphasizes patience and collaboration as essential components of “making” all sorts of things, such as poems, stories, forts, and even friends. This is a sweet, whimsical, and inspiring book for all young children.

STEAM Play & Learn introduces preschoolers to science, technology, engineering, art, and math through fun and age-appropriate projects. The book consists of 20 guided activities organized into three difficulty levels. The “easy” projects allow preschoolers to complete the projects (mostly) independently, the “medium” projects may require some adult assistance during the project, and the “difficult” projects are meant to be adult-led. Best of all, these are craft projects that kids will want to do, such as making a citrus volcano, designing a marble maze, and building marshmallow structures to learn basic engineering concepts.

Crafting doesn’t always mean getting out the scissors and glue! This first cookbook will help children and adults create delicious recipes together. This cookbook is perfect for young children who love to help out in the kitchen, with simple recipes like banana “nice” cream and turkey pinwheels that can be personalized to fit picky eaters or those with allergies. What sets this cookbook apart from many others is that it includes jokes, conversation starters, and space for your little ones to create their own recipes. Our family loves almost all the recipes in this book!

This classic activity book from acclaimed author and illustrator Ed Emberly shows how to make art by using only fingerprints, thumbprints, and a few letters! A step-by-step guide shows young kids how to create hundreds of characters: rabbits, dragons, knights, caterpillars, raccoons, and countless more. The book also encourages artists to use their imaginations and create stories for their characters. With minimal setup and cleanup, this is a perfect book for little kids who like crafts. A tip for buyers: this book does not include ink pads, but they are widely available online.

These 10-minute crafts are perfect for kids who want to create but don’t have the time (or the patience) for elaborate projects. No matter what your child is interested in making, this book probably covers it. From yarn caterpillars to tin can wind chimes, these are self-guided projects that 6, 7, or 8-year-olds can likely complete on their own or with just a bit of adult guidance. These simple projects would also be great for a classroom setting, perhaps as a transition activity between subjects.

Little Homesteader is a beautifully illustrated book that welcomes children to embrace the quiet and stillness of winter. The book takes readers through many classic winter-themed crafts, such as stringing a dried citrus garland, baking salt-dough ornaments, or making wreaths out of natural materials. Little Homesteader also emphasizes sustainable practices—the book itself is made from recycled paper—without feeling preachy. Readers can feel the author’s genuine love for nature and simplicity. We own this thoughtful book, and I’ve also given several as holiday gifts.

Trash Craft promotes using household items such as empty toilet paper rolls, cereal boxes, egg cartons, and even old socks to create sharks, dragons, snowmen, and pirate ships. The best part? These crafts promote reuse and recycling, encouraging your kids to get creative with what they already have. The instructions are easy to follow, and each project offers kids the chance to “go further” and build upon their creations. My daughter is the kind of kid who wants to keep everything–old shoeboxes, torn clothing, empty soap bottles—so this book is a perfect pick for her!

If you’re looking for books for kids who love DIY, science, and engineering, check out Build This Book. The pages turn into a literal workshop for kids to learn engineering principles while creating two types of bridges, a level, a car, a spinner, and more. Unlike most other craft guides, this book includes everything the maker needs to build each project—including extra pieces just in case! However, the best part about this book is the clever design: after building, the structures can be carefully disassembled, stored in the book, and created again.

This book is packed full of fun science experiments that introduce kids to chemistry in an engaging and exciting way. Most of the projects use easily accessible household materials and require some adult supervision. Kids will learn about how different substances react together by making bath bombs, coin batteries, self-extinguishing candles, crystal solutions, and much more. They’ll also begin to understand why these materials react in a certain way. To teach kids basic chemistry terms, unfamiliar words are bolded and then defined in a glossary at the end of the book. A great choice for curious kids.

If your tween is passionate about using eco-friendly materials, give them your leftover cardboard boxes and this book, then watch what they create. Cardboard Box Engineering teaches kids that different types of cardboard serve different purposes, and shows them how to safely cut cardboard with household tools. The book also suggests different types of glue, tape, or fasteners to make working with cardboard fun, and not frustrating. The crafts in this book will appeal to kids with varying interests: a wind-powered tractor, homemade spin art, and tabletop straw soccer are just three examples from this creative guide.

This illustrated guide is a step-by-step manual that teaches kids helpful skills, many of which have been “lost” over time but are still relevant today. The book gives clear instructions on almost two dozen skills, including how to make a bird feeder, wrap a gift with brown paper and string, and start quilting. In addition the the illustrated instructions, the authors share fascinating facts about the history of that particular craft or skill. The authors share with kids that although you can’t travel back in time, you can enjoy the pastimes of another era.

This craft book is a celebration of all the holidays that take place in the winter months—not just the ones in November and December! Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, and Mardi Gras are some of the other holidays this book highlights. The crafts range in difficulty and the number of materials required, but should be manageable for most 9-12-year-olds with a bit of adult assistance. Young readers will learn about the winter solstice and make their own frozen luminary, create a paper mache lantern for Chinese New Year, craft a real working confetti popper to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and more.

Harry Potter-obsessed tweens will love Crafting Wizardry, a book inspired by the Harry Potter films. Kids can choose from over 25 crafts, such as making a Hedwig letter mobile, potion bottles, or house-themed Christmas crackers. Each project has clear instructions and a difficulty rating: beginner, easy, intermediate, advanced, or complex. The book includes templates, stencils, and stickers needed to complete the more difficult projects, and is filled with fun facts about each of the films. Crafting Wizardry will challenge and inspire kids to make their own magic.

If your reader is interested in architecture, this book is an excellent introduction to the foundational skills and building terms every aspiring architect needs to know. Tweens will learn about different types of buildings and explore famous examples from around the world. Kids will love the creative prompts and the ability to begin their own portfolio right in the pages of the book. My 11-year-old son is taking an architecture class at school, and I researched to find the most engaging guide that presented essential terminology in an engaging, accessible format–this book is the best I’ve seen yet.

Project Teen: Handmade Gifts Your Teen Will Love is a great book for any crafty teen who already knows how to sew but is looking for inspiration. Teens (and the people who sew for teens!) will learn how to make tech accessories, bags, pouches, pillow patterns, headbands, fleece blankets, and more. The instructions are detailed and clearly communicated, so teens with prior sewing knowledge will be able to jump right in and start creating. The book also includes patterns, supply lists, extra resources, and sewing technique tips and tricks.

At first glance, this slim picture book might look like it is for younger crafters. However, Creating with Ceramics is definitely geared toward teens and young adults who are considering a career as a craftsperson. The book introduces readers to the different types of ceramics, the history of the art form, and the different uses for these materials. It also highlights the importance of ceramic art in many cultures. Aspiring artists will learn the various tools and techniques for working with clay, in addition to a few basic construction methods. Step-by-step projects allow teens to practice their skills.

If your reader is interested in architecture, this book is an excellent introduction to the foundational skills and building terms every aspiring architect needs to know. Tweens will learn about different types of buildings and explore famous examples from around the world. Kids will love the creative prompts and the ability to begin their own portfolio right in the pages of the book. My 11-year-old son is taking an architecture class at school, and I researched to find the most engaging guide that presented essential terminology in an engaging, accessible format–this book is the best I’ve seen yet.

Besides giving yourself a French manicure, have you ever thought about what else you can do with nail polish? This inventive guide teaches that nail polish is the perfect inexpensive art supply to use for a variety of painting techniques on anything they want to decorate. The book highlights different painting styles that work well with nail polish–from marbling and paint pouring to masking and stenciling–each of the 20 projects is simple enough for a beginner to master.