I absolutely love watching my daughter’s imagination at work. I wish I could still see the world the way that she does. As we grow up, we lose some of that ability to imagine and be creative all the time. To help nurture that skill in our children, and to remind ourselves how to use it as adults, I decided to gather this list of kid’s books about imagination and creativity! I hope it helps to keep that spark of imagination alive for a little while longer.

Pippa’s Night Parade

Written by Lisa Robinson and illustrated by Lucy Fleming

Pippa is a young girl with a wild imagination, and at night it can run a little too wild. When the villains and bad guys from her favorite stories threaten her sleep at night, she tries everything to defeat them. But eventually she realizes that she will have to use her brilliant imagination and unique skills to win. Kids will appreciate the funny way that she outsmarts the bad guys, and parents will enjoy how the story encourages kids to use their imagination to problem solve. The illustrations are adorable, and they bring the story to life in hilarious ways.

Imagine That: A Hoot & Olive Story

Written and illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss

This follow up to Brave Enough for Two follows the continuing adventures of Olive and her stuffed owl named Hoot. One rainy day, Hoot and Olive are stuck inside, so they decide to have some imaginative adventures together. Olive comes up with lots of creative ideas, but Hoot just can’t get his imagination working. Olive tries everything she can think of to help her sad friend, but he just can’t imagine anything. Eventually she reminds him that you don’t just imagine with your head, but with your heart as well. The illustrations that pair with the story are absolutely gorgeous, tying the real world into their imagined one.

Check out my full review of the first Hoot & Olive story and the activities we paired with it!

The Cutest Thing Ever

Written by Amy Ignatow and illustrated by Hsinping Pan

This feel-good book encourages the reader to let their imagination run wild through adorable characters and silly situations. A cute bat character asks the reader if they want to see the cutest thing ever. Each turn of the page adds more cute characters doing silly things, culminating in a sweet ending that kids and parents will both love. The colorful illustrations bring the adorable ideas to life, and the reader will love turning the page to find out what other cute things are in store. (While I recognize I overused the word “cute” in this description, after reading it, you will agree it is the best word for it!).

Just Because

Written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

This imaginative story centers around a bedtime ritual that many parents and kids will recognize: the endless questions about the way the world works. As a young girl is being tucked into bed by her father, she starts asking him all kinds of questions. The father comes up with creative answers that build on one another and offer the little girl lots of places for her imagination to roam. As she continues to pepper him with questions (as kids tend to do), he finally tells her that it is time to go to sleep. When she asks why, he reminds her of the beautiful imaginings that we can create with our eyes closed. This story will resonate with parents and kids alike who often face off at bedtime, and everyone will appreciate the reminder that the dreams our imaginations give us can be something to look forward to.

It’s Not a Bed, It’s a Time Machine

Written by Mickey Rapkin and illustrated by Teresa Martinez

When one little boy is afraid to go to sleep at night, his stuffed bunny tells him that his bed is actually a time machine. You close your eyes, and suddenly it is morning! So the little boy closes his eyes, and he and Fluffy find themselves in the time of dinosaurs. As he romps and plays with his new dinosaur friends, he suddenly isn’t afraid anymore. And before he knows it, it’s morning! He rushes to tell his mother about his dream, but finds clues that maybe it wasn’t just his imagination after all. The illustrations in this book are so much fun, with adorable dinosaur characters transporting the reader into the young boy’s dream.

Ruby’s Sword

Written by Jacqueline Veissid and illustrated by Paolo Zakimi

This story follows a creative young girl named Ruby, who just wants to play with her brothers. When she discovers a group of sticks, she decides to share them. But soon her brothers are busy swordfighting without her, so Ruby goes off to find her own adventures. Using her imagination, Ruby finds all kinds of uses for her own sword, whether she is helping a family of ants, or fighting the wind. Eventually she comes up with a way to make a castle with her sword, and her brothers suddenly want to join her. This story not only celebrates imagination through all of Ruby’s creative uses of a single stick, but also encourages kids to see the benefits of working together and forgiving each other.

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How to Be on the Moon

Written and illustrated by Viviane Schwarz

While Anna and her friend Crocodile are playing one day, Anna decides that she wants to go to the moon. Crocodile tries to convince her that they cannot just go to the moon, but Anna is determined. As Crocodile offers up logical roadblocks to stop her plan, Anna has a creative solution to get around every one of them. Together they practice being patient, and they pack snacks and games to keep them occupied on their trip. They blast off for the moon and spend time playing and exploring together. The text is full of funny conversations between the two characters, which kids and parents will relate to, and the ending shows the pair starting off on even more imaginative adventures.

Snap!

Written by Hazel Hutchins and illustrated by Dusan Petricic

Evan is a young boy with a brand new box of crayons. However, when he starts to create his artwork, one of his crayons snaps. He tries everything he can to make it whole again, but nothing works. But when he starts to see the pieces as two crayons instead of one, his whole perspective changes. Suddenly his set of crayons isn’t meant to just draw simple shapes. Suddenly they can draw multiple lines, mix together to create new colors, or be ground into the paper or used for shading. The story celebrates the beauty of imagination and creativity, as Evan continues to create new artwork until his crayons are all gone. But that doesn’t stop him from creating something even better! The illustrations throughout the story grow wilder and more colorful as Evan’s creations become bolder and brighter.

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When Pencil Met Eraser

Written by Karen Kilpatrick and Luis O. Ramos, Jr and illustrated by German Blanco

In this creative tale, Pencil loves to draw on his own. One day, he meets Eraser, who loves to erase things. As Pencil continues to draw, Eraser finds ways to make the drawings “better” by erasing them. Soon Pencil starts challenging Eraser. But Eraser uses his imagination to find a way to prove that they can work even better together than apart. But what will they do when even more supplies want to join in the fun? The illustrations are made up of black and white pencil drawings, with Pencil, Eraser, and the other art supplies being the only part of the illustrations in color.

Experiment #256

Written and illustrated by Marty Kelley

This imaginative book follows a young inventor named Ian who decides to build a jet pack for his dog Wilbur. After putting the jet pack together, he realizes that he has a few spare parts, but decides that they probably weren’t that important. As Wilbur jets off, he leaves all kinds of destruction in his wake. Ian chases behind him, but eventually loses him as he shoots off into space. Luckily, Wilbur is able to get himself free and floats safely back to Earth. The text uses scientific notes from Ian’s journal to tell the story, sharing the pros and cons of the jet pack, and the lessons that Ian learns along the way. The illustrations are full of hilarity that will have kids laughing out loud. The combination of creativity and scientific note taking may inspire kids to run some creative experiments of their own!

What are your favorite kid’s books about imagination and creativity? Share in the comments below!

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