Are you looking for great activity books for your children? These titles are packed with fun and engaging ideas to keep your children occupied – and best of all – they won’t feel like yet more home learning! This list of activity books for primary and secondary school children aged 3-14 (KS1, KS2, and KS3) contains lots of practical ideas and projects to complete at home, in the garden, or outside in the countryside. This list of reading suggestions is revised regularly and includes titles by Fiona Watt, Dawn Isaac, Julia Donaldson, Thomas Pavitte, and Miro Tartan.
Our recommended activity books for children
Paper Adventures by Aya Watanabe
Paper Adventures is an exciting tear-and-glue activity book that will spark the imagination. Two explorers encounter wild animals and search the depths of the sea for treasure. Each adventure is told through pictures, but on each page there’s something missing! It’s up to child readers to use the patterned art paper at the back of the book to finish each scene. It’s an irresistible blend of storytelling, collage and fine motor skills that’s perfect to enable 7-9-year-olds to express their creativity.
365 Things to Make and Do (Usborne Activities Art Ideas) by Fiona Watt
Can’t think what to do? This book is full of so many ideas you will be spoiled for choice. No expensive equipment is required! There are year-round activities to make that will appeal to boys and girls – from pirate masks and hats to jelly bean monsters!
Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes by Julia Donaldson
A wonderful way to introduce children to cooking. With easy to follow instructions on how to make irresistible snacks, pizzas, and puddings, who could resist owl ice cream, roasted fox, frog muffins and of course, Gruffalo crumble!
How to Draw Dinosaurs: Doodle With Duddle by Jonny Duddle
Join Jonny Duddle on an exciting dinosaur-drawing adventure! This interactive book teaches children how to sketch dinosaurs and characters from Gigantosaurus. With engaging step-by-step guides, drawing tips, and fun dinosaur facts, it’s ideal for readers interested in art and dinosaurs. There’s also an imaginative “draw your own story” section. This winning combination of easy-to-follow dino drawing and quickfire jokes is ideal for children aged 5-7 to read and explore at home. Read our full review.
Children’s Book of Baking Cakes by Abigail Wheatley
A step by step guide on how to succeed in making big cakes, little cakes, and tray bakes. With fantastic illustrations on decoration and presentation, children can begin to channel their inner Mary Berry!
Usborne Rainy Day Book by Alastair Smith
A superb compendium of ideas to keep children occupied. The activities range from simple to more advanced. The pages are scattered with jokes and have clear, easy to follow instructions. Craftwork, art projects, and cookery burst from the colourful layout.
RHS Let’s Get Gardening by RHS
Full of eco-friendly ideas for simple gardening at home, in a pot, on a window ledge, or in a garden. With lots of ideas, there are facts about plants and insects and how to get your hands dirty.
This is Not a Maths Book: A Smart Art Activity Book by Anna Weltman
A book that will absorb and surprise. Create designs from the instructions, using a ruler and pencil, and be amazed by what you can achieve. Parabolic curves, impossible triangles, tessellations, and snowflakes are just a few. An award-winning book.
How to Create Your Own Gig Posters, Band T-Shirts, Album Covers, & Stickers by Ruthann Godollei
This book will start your creative juices flowing! A superb guide to many different techniques you can use to produce individual t-shirts, posters, CD covers, and more. All the information you need is found here, presented in step by step photos.
The Rainy Day Toddler Activity Book: 100+ Fun Early Learning Activities for Inside Play by Krissy Bonning-Gould
Full of entertaining and fun ideas to occupy your toddler and increase their developmental skills. Activities designed to further motor skills, problem-solving and sharing, combine with useful guides to messiness and clear up time!
The 1000 Dot-to-Dot Book: Cityscapes: Twenty exotic locations to complete yourself by Thomas Pavitte
Bigger and better than the average dot to dot book, each page reveals a new view of the distinctive skylines of famous cities around the world. An absorbing activity, with a finished product that could be framed for posterity.
Space Activity book for kids: Ages 5 – 10 years old | Children’s 76 fun learning activities about Space Science
A book for learning through fun activities – colouring space themes, word searches and scrambled words, sudoku puzzles, and more. For those puzzled by the puzzles, the answers are included!
101 Things for Kids to Do on a Rainy Day by Dawn Isaac
A book that’s full of amazing ideas that will stimulate and cause creative fun. Play balloon stomp, have an indoor snowball fight, or play hands-free ping pong – or best of all – make green gloop! A guaranteed winner.
The Brilliant Recycling Project Book by Sara Stanford
No new materials needed! Using everyday household objects, this book gives step by step instructions on how to make over 20 exciting projects. Make an octopus or build a rocket or even a rocket-powered octopus!
My Virtual Museum: A kids’ workbook for art exploration and appreciation | Draw your own collection of the world’s most famous masterpieces by Honeybee School Press
A unique approach to learning about art, artists, and where to see the world’s great masterpieces. Using the list of museum websites, and viewing their collections, the book gives you a framed page to draw and colour your favourite artwork. Brilliant for expanding the general knowledge of those who love art.
101 Things For Kids To Do Outside by Dawn Isaac
A book that is overflowing with exciting ideas to occupy the inquisitive – with easy to follow instructions and photographs to guide you. Build a human sundial, make natural inks, make a kite to fly, or play torch tag. Great fun for the whole family.
The Stick Book: Loads of things you can make or do with a stick by Fiona Danks
How many things can you do with a stick? This book will amaze you with 70 ideas of things to do with a stick. Bushcraft, den building, catapults, and magic wands are just a few of the activities to enjoy. Stretch the imagination and start collecting sticks!
National Trust: Go Wild in the Woods: An Adventure Handbook by Goldie Hawk
A handy pocket-sized book that has all the ingredients to make a walk in the countryside an adventure. Full of sound advice (and first aid), games, how to track animals, make tools, and build a safe campfire. How to beat Bear Grylls at his own game!
Tiny Explorers: Into the Wild: Outdoor activities, play ideas and fun by Miro Tartan
A spellbinding collection of 33 activities to engage young children with outdoor life. It includes lots of activities for parents to tackle with their children, including wind chimes, wormeries, bug hotels, flower mosaics, and leaf plasticards.
Business for Beginners by Laura Bryan
If your child is interested in how a business is set up and run, this is a great guide for 9-13-year-olds – breaking down key principles into easy to understand and inspirational chunks and activities. Perhaps the next Jeff Bezos will read this book?
Usborne Book of Paper Engineering by Fiona Watt
A timeless and stunning book comprised of cut out and stick together paper automata that follow and expose children to engineering principles. Make a working cam, build a spectacular snapping crocodile, and construct a working jack in the box. Fantastic for children interested in STEM.
Bird House by Libby Walden
Not so much an activity book as a beautifully realised lift the flap picture book, this stunningly illustrated guide to bird boxes is fantastic to read to and inspire younger children to build, look after and watch a bird box. A great book to encourage discussion and ideas.
To buy all the books on this activity books for children list, see our bulk order page.
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