10 Best Kids Activity Books in 2022 (Pediatrician-Reviewed)
With the advent of gadgets, parents nowadays are faced with the dilemma of limiting screen time. Activity books are a great old-school solution! Activity books have improved over the years, and they are now more interactive, educational, and engaging. Their fun activities and colorful pages will grab the attention of the little ones!
Take Paint by Sticker, for example. Kids can create up to ten masterpieces by placing stickers according to the designated number, which reveals a collage-type animal picture. Watch them steadily add each piece and be amazed by the finished product! If you want to continue your search for other activity books, we've got you covered. There's also a buying guide included that will help you pick out the most age-appropriate and exciting book.
Quick List - Top Kids Activity Books
Upon completing a successful pediatric career that spanned 30 years, Dr. Lulu embraced her childhood dream of becoming an author. She now has 4 bestsellers and is an acclaimed motivational speaker, talk show host and certified life coach. She helps parents of LGBTQ+ kids understand, accept and support their children through their coming out process and beyond.
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Table of Contents
How to Choose a Kids Activity Book - Buying Guide
Choosing an activity book for kids is never an easy task. As parents or teachers, we want to ensure that the quality is top-notch. Plus, the content should age-appropriate, entertaining, and educational too. There are a few approaches to selecting an activity book that we've highlighted in the buying guide below.
Pick Out an Activity Book Based on Level
Activity books are created to suit specific age groups and offer varying levels of difficulty. We don't want to get one that's too challenging, which only pushes kids away, nor do we want something too easy that quickly becomes boring. Here are a few tips for choosing age-appropriate activity books.
Go for Colorful, Captivating Designs for Toddlers
Toddlers and early learners have shorter attention spans and are just starting to develop fine motor skills. Therefore, go for colorful, eye-catching, and bold activity books. If it’s a coloring book, then get one with distinct drawings and thick borders so they can begin practicing filling in something within the lines.
Activity books for this age group often incorporate learning key concepts such as the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors. They’re also thicker and more durable than other books, which makes them able to withstand a beating.
Toddlers love bright colors and large images, so the key is to go for bold and bright when it comes to activity books for toddlers. Activity books are a fantastic way for toddlers to interact with their environment and help them expand their horizons.
They are often just learning fine motor movements in their hands, so large crayons and the like will help them connect their tiny growing hands better with large pictures.
Mix Interaction and Education for Pre-Schoolers
For preschoolers, you can begin to mix more interactive and educational material. Continue with big and bold designs, but consider added concepts, like connecting the dots, tracing, solving easy mazes, matching, and so on.
You can also incorporate favorite topics, such as dinosaurs, unicorns, princesses, cars, and trucks, as themes in the book to make it more familiar and exciting to the child.
Preschoolers are becoming more independent, more vocal, and better able to appreciate some complexity. Therefore, their activity books should correspond to this new development and advancement.
Books with complex shapes like mazes can start surfacing at this point. Because these children are also more communicative, they can play with each other and can share experiences together.
Choose More Complex, Logic-Based Books for Older Kids
Those in grade school might find coloring books to be lacking in stimulation. Try choosing more complex and logic-based books for older kids. It can incorporate a mix of specific school subjects, such as biology, physics, or math, but with activity books often add a fun, non-classroom approach.
It could also feature their favorite video games, movies, or cartoons and require the child to solve the mystery, find the missing item, and more. Activity books for this age group should elicit more effort and interaction from the child.
As kids continue to get older, the types of activities they engage in become more complex. They can now solve puzzles and can figure out logic, and poetry, and science. They can now also create their own activities. They can engage in activities that can lead to more complex activities.
Go for an Activity Book Based on a Concept
There are three main types of activity books: arts and crafts, puzzles and trivia, and hands-on learning.
Consider an Arts and Crafts Book
Quite a number of activity books for kids incorporate arts and crafts. These books contain coloring, drawing, painting, cutting, pasting, folding, and sticking.
Arts and crafts-themed activity books are great for boosting a child's creativity. They can harness their inner artist as well as hone their fine motor skills.
As formerly mentioned, arts and crafts are a form of communication, as well as a form of dance and expression for children. As they grow up, we should add more fun and explorative books that encourage them to express themselves in ways that only children can. They should be allowed to have fun with it. Once it becomes a chore, it is no longer fun.
Throw in Some Brain Teasers
You can also get a lot of activity books that contain brain exercises. The mind is a muscle must also be trained! Puzzles, mazes, crosswords, trivia, and quizzes are a few popular examples of the activities in these books. The popular I-Spy or hidden picture books are also very entertaining and a worthwhile activity for kids.
As kids grow, their brains also grow, evolve, and become more complex. Brain teasers as activities should be added based on individual children's developmental stages, and not based on their ages.
Parents must also remember that while one child might love puzzles, the other might like mazes; while one loves word searches, the other might love watercolors and drawings of landscapes. In other words, parents should figure out their childrens' preferred activities.
Have Fun With Experiments
Then we have activity books that feature experiments. These can come in all sorts of subjects! Popular topics include biology, where the child explores the wonders of nature, and engineering, where they get to build inventions and learn about physics.
Through activity books that offer experiments, your child can get hands-on, real-life applications of what they're learning at school, which is a great way to solidify that knowledge.
Whether younger or older, children love experimentation. Parents should look for books that expose kids to sciences like chemistry, biology, and physics. While scientific experiments are awesome for learning, kids can also experiment with other activities like sewing, knitting, crafts, pottery, and more. The key is to approach them with curiosity and fun!
Consider an Activity Book for Educational Purposes
You can also get an activity book for educational purposes. More often than not, publishers boast of all the learning benefits their exercises offer.
There are activity books that introduce the alphabet, counting, and numbers to toddlers, while activity books for elementary kids focus on a particular subject such as math, penmanship, or science. These make learning fun and are excellent add-ons for learning outside school.
Activity books can make an intimidating and challenging concept more approachable. You can even get those that teach a specific skill, such as drawing and painting for aspiring artists, much like how-to books.
As mentioned above, books are the window into creativity and learning. Because children learn in different ways, parents should look for activity books that also double as educational materials. This will help children further understand concepts that were discussed in their classrooms.
Parents can check out math mystery books, books on the human body, gardening, or exotic animals. Homeschooling parents love to use this website as an example.
See What You Need to Complete the Activities
Since activity books are interactive, you will need supplies to complete them. Some may only need a marker, pen, or pencil, but others might require a whole array of materials. These are especially true for drawing and coloring books.
Some activity books may include the supplies already, but you'll likely have to provide some of your own items. Look at the book's package label or online listing to see if you need any extra supplies. For example, experimental activity books will need additional items, although these are often easy to find around the house or readily available at stores.
Activity books, as their names suggest, are interactive by nature. When parents choose books, they should ensure that they are also able to collect the necessary tools needed to complete the activities, be it paintbrushes, putty, or needles and threads. Children should be allowed to pick their own "tools" for the activities, which also adds another layer of fun for them.
Give the Reviews a Glance
The beauty with online shops, like Amazon, is that they come with a treasure trove of reviews. Here you can get critical information on the actual activity books, including photos. You can discover how interactive, age-appropriate, challenging, or worthwhile an activity book truly is.
Through the reviews, you can also get tips on which age group best enjoyed the book and confirm if it lives up to its product description.
When it comes to reviews, my take is: it goes both ways. It is always a great idea to read reviews about any items one wishes to invest in, but it is also very helpful for us as parents to endeavor to leave reviews of our own. I have found reviews to be extremely useful, and I actually like using them.
10 Best Kids Activity Books
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Workman Publishing Paint by Sticker Kids | | Sticker-Filled Zoo Animals Activity Book | |
2 | Highlights Jumbo Book of Hidden Pictures | | The Ultimate Search-and-Find Puzzle Book | |
3 | Crayola Epic Book of Awesome | | A Giant Coloring Book by the OG Coloring Brand | |
4 | School Zone Big Preschool Workbook | | The Activity Book That Hones Pre-Writing Skills | |
5 | Kim Andrews Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids | | An Activity Book That Makes Exploring Nature Interesting | |
6 | Busy Hands Books Jumbo Activity Book for Kids | | An Activity Book in a Jumbo Size for More Fun | |
7 | Christina Schul Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids | | The Activity Book for Aspiring Engineers | |
8 | Ph.D., Katie Stokes, M.Ed., Human Body Activity Book for Kids | | Fun Ways for Kids to Learn About Human Anatomy | |
9 | Gameplay Publishing Amazing Activity Book For Minecrafters | | A Minecraft-Themed Activity Book | |
10 | Jennifer A. Ericsson and Beth L. Blair The Everything Kids Puzzle Book | | The Activity Book for Elementary School Students With Every Kind of Puzzle |
Sticker-Filled Zoo Animals Activity Book
This craft activity book keeps the kids engaged in the slow process of achieving something magnificent. It teaches number recognition, matching, and patience. When the kids are done with their masterpiece, you can easily tear it out to frame or share.
A few reviewers noted that one or two pages weren't perforated properly, which required manual cutting and careful removal to avoid destroying the finished product. Many parents shared that they were pleasantly surprised at how engrossed the kids got in the book.
Users also commented that the book was well-made, with thick pages and stickers. The stickers were also perfectly-sized for little hands. Parents also use this activity book on road trips since it can keep everyone busy!
The Ultimate Search-and-Find Puzzle Book
This book includes 175 puzzles where kids have to spot the listed objects. This engaging activity boosts a child's attention to detail and vocabulary as they learn each word and search for the corresponding image. Furthermore, they learn to persevere and concentrate on overcoming challenges.
This book is in black and white, which a few parents overlooked. It was challenging for younger children due to the lack of color. On the bright side, the activity book doubles as a coloring book, making it more worthwhile.
Satisfied parents said that this book definitely put little one's brains to work for a while. Children loved it and spent hours looking for all of the hidden items! Many older kids liked the lack of color, which made the puzzles more challenging.
A Giant Coloring Book by the OG Coloring Brand
Crayola is known to produce all things arts and crafts related. In this "awesome" product, you get over 200 pages of coloring material, from unicorns to dinosaurs, all guaranteed to provide countless hours of fun. What's more, there are two pages filled with stickers to add some glam to each page.
A few reviewers noted that the coloring book paper was thin, causing watercolors or markers to bleed. Many didn't mind, however, and liked the bold images it contained.
Parents confirm that this activity book has everything! Young artists enjoyed the number of pictures they can fill in with any color of their choice. This coloring book is also great to bring on the go, they added.
The Activity Book That Hones Pre-Writing Skills
This activity book introduces the crucial skill of handwriting in a fun and non-intimidating way. Children are also taught early math skills, the alphabet, shapes, and colors. The research-based content has been designed by educators to ensure top-notch quality.
A few parents mentioned that the concepts were repeated too close to one another, which made some activities boring for the kids. Others liked that it had activities of varying levels of difficulty for a child to tackle.
Parents said that the activities aren't overly complicated and show the educational approach provided by professionals. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. Parents noted that the pages are bright, colorful, and filled with a ton of activities.
An Activity Book That Makes Exploring Nature Interesting
This book has over 50 creative activities that will make kids keen to understand everything about nature. They get to study plants and rocks, identify animal tracks, grow their own plants, and more. Exploring the outdoors has become more fun!
The only critical review parents had with the book was that some activities require parental assistance. Many raved about the book being well-thought-out, engaging, and educational.
This book is kid-approved according to parents who finally got their kids away from the tv or smartphones. Plus, there are many activities for them to go through in more than one sitting.
An Activity Book in a Jumbo Size for More Fun
A jumbo activity book is always a hit among young learners! The pages of content hold their attention for longer. This has over 100 different activities, from coloring, tracing, solving mazes, matching, and more.
A few parents noted that the pages were quite thin and recommended steering clear from using markers. Meanwhile, many reviewers loved that the kids now had something to preoccupy them at home or on the road.
Parents mentioned that the activities weren't designed like schoolwork, making them fun and educational at the same time. They also weren't disappointed with the number of activities their kids could do.
Christina SchulAwesome Engineering Activities for Kids
The Activity Book for Aspiring Engineers
This book is filled with a wide range of activities for kids who love to explore the world and how things work. It's also a great way to get them interested in engineering-related concepts. Using inexpensive and readily available household items, they can create inventions and learn the related STEM concept.
A few parents were disappointed with misprints in the book; however, many received theirs with no issues. The experiments were also quite straightforward and easy to do.
Reviewers loved that most of the materials needed could be found somewhere in the house while the rest were common items at the store. The book has a lot of photos to guide their children, and they thought that it was well-written.
Ph.D., Katie Stokes, M.Ed.,Human Body Activity Book for Kids
Fun Ways for Kids to Learn About Human Anatomy
What you get in this book are activities, such as crosswords and mazes, that teach kids about the human body. It's filled with tons of fun facts and trivia as well as brightly-illustrated chapters to make learning interesting. Kids can even engage in experiments at home, such as a sensory test.
A few parents noted that the activities and facts would bore very young learners. Many reviewers advised that young kids would need parental assistance.
In general, reviewers say that it is a great learning tool with accurate information and that's very easy to comprehend. Their kids enjoyed the activities, learned something new in the process, and got to try different real-life applications of the concepts.
Gameplay PublishingAmazing Activity Book For Minecrafters
A Minecraft-Themed Activity Book
This one is for the avid Minecraft fan! Each page has characters or images that kids will be familiar with, making the activities more enjoyable. They can solve puzzles, unscramble secret messages, and even color in the pages when done.
The book is not official Minecraft merchandise, so the drawings aren't accurate, noted parents. Many had no problems with it, however, and said kids who like the game still enjoyed the book.
Reviewers commented that the puzzles were just right: not too challenging and not too easy. The book also accompanied their children on road trips and kept them preoccupied.
Jennifer A. Ericsson and Beth L. BlairThe Everything Kids Puzzle Book
The Activity Book for Elementary School Students With Every Kind of Puzzle
This activity book has everything: pizza mazes, secret messages, tic-tac-toe, hangman, matching tasks, spotting Mervin the Mouse on every page, and more. It's guaranteed to keep kids busy and entertained for hours.
According to reviewers, the book might be too complicated for younger kids, and they recommend it for those eight years old and above so they can fully enjoy the content. Many confirmed that the activities do keep the children engaged.
Satisfied parents said that their kids love the book; it's loaded with fun, provides entertainment, and is enough of a challenge to be engaging. The topics don't become boring or repetitive, they added.
More Expert Tips from Dr. Lulu
In closing, Dr. Lulu says, "Children learn through play. They should be allowed to play. They should be allowed to learn. They should be allowed to learn and play. Adults and children around the world must have the same dreams and vision, and that is to push exploration and discovery beyond limits.
Fun is the key when it comes to activities for children. Even teens and young adults should be allowed to experience the fun aspects of the activity books. And that means that once it is no longer fun, it should be discontinued."
Other Activities to Engage Kids
There is always something engaging and educational for kids to do! You might be interested in the best kid's musical instruments, science kits, or educational games to start.
Top 5 Kids Activity Books
No. 1: Workman Publishing｜Paint by Sticker Kids
No. 2: Highlights｜Jumbo Book of Hidden Pictures
No. 3: Crayola｜Epic Book of Awesome
No. 4: School Zone｜Big Preschool Workbook
No. 5: Kim Andrews｜Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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