Distance learning has official begun for our school district and so far, so good. We’re off to a great start (knock on wood) and are enjoying the freedom of working and schooling from home.
If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll remember that I love to do children’s book round-ups from time to time. Today, I rounded up a list of great books that are not only for reading, but for staying busy, as well. Browse my suggested list of children’s books and activity books to add to your distance learning library.
Children's Books for your At-Home Library
Find Me! Adventures in the Forest
- Help Bernard sharpen his vision by searching for his friend playing hide-and-seek in the forest
- Over 100 hidden objects to find in each engaging puzzle page
- Colorful illustrations of adorable animals and outdoor environments will both delight and challenge children
- Develop observation skills by using context clues and drawing conclusions based on what you see
Bernard wears glasses, but still can't see very well. To sharpen Bernard's vision, help him find his friend, Michael the Squirrel, as he plays hide-and-seek deep in the forest.
Also included are additional fun activities for every visual puzzle to develop kids' observation skills, from finding the odd one out in the group to spotting who has an upset stomach.
With stunning illustrations and colorful pages that explore the beauty of the forest and its creatures, kids 7 to 9 will have hours of fun searching for over 100 hidden objects and animals inside Find Me! Adventures in the Forest!
Big Life Journal
Big Life Journal helps children develop strong Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and growth mindset skills through inspiring stories, colorful illustrations, and engaging guided activities.
In this illustrated journal, children discover:
- - how to believe in themselves
- - how to face challenges with confidence
- - mistakes are opportunities to grow
- - they can achieve anything when they're persistent
Big Life Journal incorporates the latest research in positive psychology, brain science, and youth development.
Peel + Discover: Space
Welcome to outer space!
Blast off with hundreds of stickers featuring colorful planets, swirling black holes, explosive supernovas, sleek spacecraft, and many brave astronauts—including Laika, the first dog in space! Plus go on a mission to Mars, create a constellation, orbit the sun in the asteroid belt, and float around the international Space Station as you explore the mysterious wonders of the universe.
How it works:
- Peel a sticker to reveal a fascinating fun fact
- Use stickers, markers, crayons, and more to decorate the activity pages—make them your own!
- Once all the stickers are peeled, remove the overlay for a Peel + Discover surprise
Peel + Discover: Cars ! Trucks ! Trains! And More
Welcome to the world of things that go!
On your mark! Get set! Go! With hundreds of stickers featuring vehicles of all shapes and sizes, from the space shuttle to the horse and buggy, muscle cars to pirate ships, ice cream trucks, submarines, Zambonis, and more. Plus, put on an airshow, build a train, win a boat race, and invent a brand-new vehicle as you learn about the machines that take us over land, across the water, through the sky, and all around the world!
How it works:
- Peel a sticker to reveal a fascinating fun fact
- Use stickers, markers, crayons, and more to decorate the activity pages—make them your own!
- Once all the stickers are peeled, remove the overlay for a Peel + Discover surprise
Peel + Discover: Oceans
Welcome to a world of watery wonders!
Discover the world’s oceans using hundreds of stickers featuring puffins and penguins, horseshoe crabs and clown fish, and mysterious deep-sea creatures like the Dumbo Octopus, the Vampire Squid, and more. Plus build your own coral reef, wade into tide pools, and explore water so deep that sunlight can’t reach it as you learn about the amazing diversity of life under the sea.
How it works:
- Peel a sticker to reveal a fascinating fun fact
- Use stickers, markers, crayons, and more to decorate the activity pages—make them your own!
- Once all the stickers are peeled, remove the overlay for a Peel + Discover surprise
Mega-Maze Adventure by Scott Bedford
The world's longest maze in a book! A-MAZE-ING.
Not just a maze––the book itself is a maze!
A portal opens on the front cover, and the maze continues through every page, making this the world's longest maze in a book.
Every spread is a journey through an imaginative world: there's Robot World and Butterfly World, Ski World and Underwater World, Dragon World and Skyscraper World. Filled with hypnotic details, hidden surprises, fun facts, and bright, swirling, richly-colored details, every page is a compelling adventure.
Think Big by Kat Kronenberg, Ill. by David Miles
In the third installment in her Live Big Series, best-selling, award-winning author Kat Kronenberg takes readers back to the wilds of the African savanna where the animals not only still struggle to find food, but now they face life-threatening situations. They must fight to survive and are terrified.
But when our beloved moody Baboon challenges Kudu on what to do, everything begins to change. One by one, Kudu, Giraffe, and Bee are faced with the dilemma of who they want to be. After watching Bee choose to do good, Baboon figures out a new secret: We can light the stars in our hearts, empowering our lives, once we smile big deep within, truly believing in who we are, our ideas, and the importance of caring for others.
The danger continues to mount and Baboon finally gets so scared that he cries out for help. Luckily, some fun animals and Baobab Tree come to the rescue! Will they try the new—SHHH—secret so their collective ideas not only help all the animals survive, but thrive together so that their dreams can come true?
Once again, Kronenberg creates a mythical evolution story of some of nature’s most fascinating characters to teach young readers foundational skills for life—in this case, helping them build a loving community that knows the joy of gratitude, giving, and going for the extraordinary. Through playful dialogue and beautiful illustrations, readers learn to take a deep breath, connect their heads to their hearts, and celebrate their best lives as they problem solve. As with Dream Big and Love Big, Kronenberg includes hands-on activities at the end of the book and on her website. Her dream is that the whole experience will inspire young readers everywhere to learn to think big together.
Fold-by-Number: Origami City by Taro Yaguchi
Fold it. Design it. Play with it. This amazing origami city, with 75 fold-by-number origami models, is yours!
Do you want an ice-cream shop right next to school? Or a limo waiting outside your driveway, ready to take you anywhere? Go for it! Created by certified origami genius, Taro Yaguchi––who has not only mastered the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, but now introduces his own innovation called Fold-by-Number––Origami City will have you building every part of a paper-folded city: an eleven-story apartment building, a town airport complete with a plane, cars, a train, an ice cream truck, trees, cats, dogs, a rabbit, and even little chipmunks that play in the park. And you’re in charge. It’s like being an architect, an engineer, a builder, an urban planner, and a mayor all in one.
The kit includes 75 models to fold (with step-by-step instructions), 104 sheets of specially printed origami paper with numbers and lines for folding, and a full-color foldout play mat with roads and more.
Mama Baby by Chris Raschka
Mama and Baby clap and play hide-and-seek and pat-a-cake. Mama and Baby . . . Mama? Where did Mama go? In a series of spreads, simple, bold illustrations show a mother on one side and a baby on the other, interacting in universally familiar ways — until Mama dips out briefly, then returns to her crying child to offer comfort again. With his usual flair, the redoubtable Chris Raschka offers a reassuring moment that will resonate with mamas and babies everywhere.
Guion the Lion by Rebecca Wilson Macsovits
Get ready for whimsical delights and discoveries! A pirate adventure, dinosaur sightings, a magical kingdom with dragons, and more await you in the new book, "Guion The Lion" by Rebecca Wilson Macsovits.
Guion's an imaginative little lion who sees things a bit differently from his friends. That is, until they learn to appreciate his unique perspective and shift how they look at the world around them.
Full of themes like empathy, curiosity, and adventure, "Guion The Lion" shows little readers (and bigger ones, too!) that appreciating differences and embracing others ideas can lead to unimaginable fun! There's beauty all around you if you open your eyes. Unlock your kids' and students' imaginations and give them the keys to find magic moments in the everyday.
Making Friends Is an Art (2nd Edition) by Julia Cook with K.D. Smith, Ill. by Bridget A. Barnes
A lack of friends can have a devastating effect on all of us, but especially a child. Children who struggle with making and keeping friends often experience mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. They are also more likely to get into trouble and drop out of school.
This second edition of Making Friends Is an Art! is an inspirational friendship tale that follows a coloring pencil named Brown. Multi-talented Brown is the luckiest pencil in the box! In this story, Brown learns that in order to make and keep friends, he needs to know how to be a good friend.
Brown must find a way to share his many talents with others. At first, that seems hard, but soon Brown realizes that to be a good friend, all he has to do is be himself! And to share all his special talents, like listening to others, being trustworthy, honest, and kind, and to have fun.
Included are tips for parents, counselors, and educators to help kids recognize their talents and be true to themselves.
Simpler Times Coloring Book by Jim Shore
- Over 30 folk art-inspired designs featuring birds, roosters, village scenes, covered bridges, farms, angels, and more
- Original artwork based on tradition, family, and love of country
- High-quality paper resists bleed-through and is great for watercolors, colored pencils, markers, crayons, gel pens, brush pens, and more
- Gatefold covers, both front and back, showcasing images of the author's original art
- One-side-only designs so you don't have to decide which pages to color and which to sacrifice
- Perforated pages so when your art is complete, it can easily be removed to hang up and display or give as a gift
From the legendary Jim Shore, an icon in giftware for his stunning figurines, Simpler Times Coloring Book is filled with original artwork celebrating tradition, family, and love of country.
This adult coloring book is filled with more than 30 of Jim's designs, inspired by folk art, that include birds, roosters, village scenes, covered bridges, farms, angels, and more. Unique quilt patterns are incorporated into every design as an homage to Jim's mother. The attractive, high-quality gatefold covers—both front and back—feature a gallery of Jim's stunning artwork.
A variety of art materials, including watercolors, colored pencils, markers, crayons, gel pens, brush pens, and more, will all look stunning on the extra-thick, high-quality paper. On the back of each design, you'll find an inspiring quotation and a place to write a little note. Each one-sided page is perforated, so when it's finished, it can easily be removed to hang up or give as a gift.
Jim Shore is an industry-leading gift designer and illustrator. He has produced thousands of heartwarming figurines and gifts, including commissioned work for Disney, Peanuts, Coca-Cola, and The Grinch, and his art is sold worldwide.
The Mountain and The Goat by Siamak Taghaddos
The Mountain and The Goat is a modern-day children’s fable designed to plant the seed of resourcefulness and take-action mentality in children. Parents can use Siamak’s book as a way to foster a healthy line of communication as well as build their kids' emotional intelligence and encourage them to always have creativity, curiosity, confidence, trust, and kindness.