Children’s Books About Creativity

Creativity makes the world a more interesting and innovating place to live.  These children’s books will inspire your kids to tap into their creativity and use it to make the world a better place.

“You can’t use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have.”  – Maya Angelou

Here is a sneak peek at what you’ll find in this post.

1. Favorite books that focus on the theme of CREATIVITY including a FREE printable book list.
2. A list of discussion questions/conversation starters about the character strength- CREATIVITY which you can also print.
3. Resources for families to hold a Family Dinner Book Club on the CREATIVITY theme including menu ideas, activities, and a family service project.

BOOKS ABOUT CREATIVITY

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Based on a true story, Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy shines a light on how creativity can have a great impact on a community.

Metal Man by Aaron Reynolds is the story of a young boy who visits the Metal Man’s workshop each day to watch his firey work. The young boy is so excited when he is allowed to create his own metal piece one day.

Everything You Need for a Treehouse by Carter Higgins will have your kids daydreaming about the most fantastical treehouse their imaginations could create. Emily Hughes does an amazing job with the illustrations.

The Big Orange Splot by D. Manus Pinkwater is one of my childhood favorites. It’s the story about a man who decides he doesn’t want his house to look exactly like the others. Instead, he wants his home to reflect who he is. The neighbors across start to talk, but gradually when they listen to the man’s story, they start making their homes reflections of themselves too.

Kids will meet a creative thinker in Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller. Arnie gets picked up at the doughnut store and is so happy for his new adventures until he discovers he’s been purchased only to be eaten. He needs to do some quick creative thinking. You might also enjoy watching this story performed on Storyline Online.

Check out Peter H. Reynolds Creatology series including Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot. All of the books will inspire and encourage creatives.

When a young boy has trouble communicating with his grandfather due to a language barrier, they find that their creative talents can bridge the barrier. Drawn Together by Minh Le teaches us that we don’t need words to find common ground.

Any adult knows that kids tend to play longer with the box a present comes in rather than the gift itself. Not a Box by Antoinette Portis is about all the things a box can become with just a little imagination.

Speaking of boxes, you’ll also want to check out the older book, Christina Katerina & The Box by Patricia Lee Gauch. A little girl rescues a box and turns it into many fantastic things.

What If…by Samantha Berger and good friend, Mike Curato, team up together to show that no matter the circumstances your creativity can prevail.

Our imaginations are wonderful. In Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu, two children plant seeds before going to bed. In their dreams, a magical world grows. This is a wordless book allowing kids to use their creativity to tell the story.

For more creative wordless stories, check out our Must Have Wordless Books List.

Creativity abounds in children’s books from the creative minds who write the books to those that bring the words to us as a visual feast. Two books that really push that creativity up a few notches are Press Here by Hevere Tullet and They All Saw a Catt by Brendan Wenzel. Press Here pushes the boundaries of the pages of the book and encourages the reader to interact. They All Saw a Cat lets us see from the perspective of others as they each view a cat. There are oodles of other super creative books out there, let these two just take you down a rabbit hole.

If you are looking for a middle school chapter book option, try The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection by Colby Sharp.

Get your downloadable printable list of all the books on this list below. Take it to the library or copy it for families.

CREATIVITY DISCUSSION STARTERS

Whether you pick one book to read on the list or many, you can use these conversation starters to talk about the character strength of CREATIVITY. You can also print the list out below.

How can creativity make the world a better place?

Think of someone that you know that is creative. Tell us about him or her.

How can you practice creativity?

How does creativity help solve problems?

Think of a problem in our neighborhood. Now, let’s think of some creative ways to solve it.

What was the last creative thing that you did?

PRINT THE CREATIVITY BOOK LIST AND DISCUSSION STARTERS

Print out the book list and discussion starters. Take it to the library or copy it for families.

CREATIVITY FAMILY DINNER BOOK CLUB

This book list and theme make a great start for families to hold their own Family Dinner Book Club.

What is a Family Dinner Book Club?

Each month:

• On the first of each month, we provide all the details for your dinner.
• Sarah from Chef Sarah Elizabeth shares a themed menu to compliment the theme for the month.
• Laura from Sunny Day Family shares an activity and a family service project.
• And, I share a book list that compliments the themes plus conversation starters.

For our theme of  CREATIVITY,  you have found the book list and discussion starters on this page.

Check out the themed menu from Chef Sarah Elizabeth.—> MENU

And, visit Sunny Day Family for a family service project idea and more activities.—> BIG OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

For even more ideas, like our Family Dinner Book Club Facebook Page.

And, check out our other book lists about building strong character traits.