20 books of ideas and activities that will keep kids busy for hours
There’s no reason to turn on the TV or let them commandeer the iPad when there’s much better stuff for kids to learn and do while cooped up at home. Here’s 20 great books full of ideas, activities and inspiration.
Lifestyle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
EDDIE WOO’S MAGICAL MATHS
MACMILLAN, RRP $20
YouTube sensation Eddie Woo helps make maths fun, even for confused parents, with a collection of quizzes, memory games and code-breakers to help us learn maths and science in our everyday lives. Think about the Fibonacci sequence, DNA, how to draw a cube or even a fractal. Better google that.
BLUEY: EASTER FUN!
PUFFIN, RRP $10
Load up on Easter craft fun with every toddler’s favourite blue heeler and his mate Bingo. Keep busy with activities such as making masks, an Easter egg basket, a maze, dot-to-dot puzzle and more. There’s also Bluey: Time to Play!, with Bluey: Big Backyard out soon.
CARDBOARD BOX CREATIONS
LONELY PLANET KIDS, RRP $25
Let kids put all your cardboard boxes from online deliveries to good use, turning them into a suitcase and camera, London bus, hot-air balloon, space rocket, didgeridoo or even an aquarium. The book includes step-by-step instructions, a starter kit of cardboard sheets and cut-out template guides.
WOMEN ARTISTS A TO Z
MELANIE LABARGE & CAROLINE CORRIGAN
PUFFIN, RRP $25
Take an art class at home with this alphabet picture book paying tribute to creative women in genres including painting, drawing and sculpture. It highlights household names such as Frida Kahlo and Melbourne’s late Mirka Mora as well as lesser-known talents sure to inspire.
THE TREEHOUSE JOKE BOOK
ANDY GRIFFITHS & TERRY DENTON
MACMILLAN, RRP $13
Lots of LOL moments for the huge band of fans of the hit Treehouse series. Fun-loving Griffiths and Denton love telling jokes, so they’ve come up with what they’re certain is the world’s funniest jokebook. Perfect timing for a laugh in these scary times.
101 THINGS TO DO WHEN THE WIFI IS DOWN
RUBY ASHBY-ORR & KENNY PITTOCK
AFFIRM PRESS, RRP $15
When it’s time for some screen-free activities, this is your go-to guide. Find out how to build a fort out of cardboard boxes, communicate with other humans using only sounds, and invent a whole meal using what’s in your fridge. And no batteries are required!
THE BIG HISTORY TIMELINE WALL BOOK
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD
WALKER, RRP $27
This giant timeline book is your secret weapon for a home history class. It comes with a pocket magnifier to help kids track details from the rise of dinosaurs to the era of smart phones. Measuring close to 1.8m, the timeline includes more than 1000 pictures and captions. And there’s a 50-question quiz to decide the family history buff.
HEADS AND TAILS: INSECTS & MATCH-IT-CARDS
JOHN CANTY
BERBAY PUBLISHING, RRP $26.95 (BOOK), $17 (CARDS)
Melbourne designer John Canty keeps youngsters guessing what creepy crawlies they might spy in their home and garden. See the tail, then guess whose head is on the next page. Then try the card game matching heads and tails to practise memory skills.
THE WONDERFUL WISDOM OF ANTS
PHILLIP BUNTING
SCHOLASTIC, RRP $18
Take a cheeky, informative peek into the intriguing world of ants, their life cycle, how their hierarchy works and how they reuse, recycle and don’t waste anything. We can learn a lot from these smart little guys.
HUMANIMAL
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD & MARK RUFFLE
WALKER, RRP $28
Budding zoologists will be in their element learning how animals are like us in so many ways. Find out how rats tickle and laugh out loud, how elephants have funerals for their lost loved ones and how bees vote in elections to decide where to locate their nests.
JACK MAKES BANANA MUFFINS
LARA SOLOMON & STELLA HONG
STORY ANTICS, RRP $20
Bond with your junior masterchef while turning squishy bananas into tasty treats. Step-by-step instructions, simple text and fun illustrations make this cooking class a breeze. And parents will love that the recipe has no added sugar. The book can be personalised to include your child’s name, too.
WHAT A LOT OF NONSENSE
SHEENA KNOWLES & JONATHAN BENTLEY
HARPER COLLINS, RRP $25
Every kid loves an animal book, but this little menagerie also teaches about anagrams. Spot how ACT can become CAT, MASTER turn to STREAM and COULD switched around to make CLOUD, to name a few. It’s a fun way to encourage kids to experiment with language and spelling. And all the answers are in a handy list at the end.
THE PLASTIC PROBLEM
LONELY PLANET KIDS, RRP $20
Put coronavirus aside temporarily to keep kids thinking about another crisis – the world’s overuse of plastic. This little book challenges those aged 9-12 to discover 60 small ways to reduce waste and make a big difference to the planet, our oceans and our future, once this health emergency is averted.
ANIMALS
CHIHIRO TAKEUCHI
BERBAY PUBLISHING, RRP $20
I spy with my little eye … a boardbook in the style of Where’s Wally? to keep toddlers on their toes. The book is divided into geographic regions with each double-page spread listing five creatures to look for on the busy facing page. Find a bison in Europe, flamingoes in South America and Aussie favourites on the Oceania pages.
DR KARL’S RANDOM ROAD TRIP THROUGH SCIENCE
KARL KRUSZELNICKI
ABC BOOKS, RRP $35
Join Aussie science guru Dr Karl to answer some of the universe’s big questions. Why do wombats poo cubes? What nearly destroyed humanity on Halloween 2015? How do you use an incinerating toilet? And why does spaghetti always break into three pieces? With fact boxes, Q & As and bright illustrations, it’s made for home science lessons.
ILLUMINIGHTMARE
LUCY BROWNRIDGE & CARNOVSKY
WIDE-EYED EDITIONS, RRP $35
Use the enclosed three-colour lens to explore secrets and history from 10 haunted places around the world, including Salem, in the US, Egypt’s Giza Pyramids and even the Aussie railway town of Picton. Peer through the green lens to see the location, the red lens to see remnants from its history, and the blue lens to show supernatural things.
WHERE’S WALLY?
MARTIN HANDFORD
WALKER, RRP $18
Classic search-and-find fun that’s kept kids of all ages occupied for more than three decades. Spot Wally in his signature striped shirt at the train station, at sea or on the beach. Just not at Bondi.
FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, ACTIVITY BOOK
KATE PANKHURST
BLOOMSBURY, RRP $10
Celebrate strong women with activities based around high-achieving female role models. Write stories with Jane Austen, design fashionable PJs with Coco Chanel and follow the lead of palaeontologist Mary Anning to uncover dinosaur skeletons. Get busy with 200 stickers too. There’s also the Fantastically Great Women Who Made History, Activity Book.
THE ANCIENT WORLD IN 100 WORDS
CLIVE GIFFORD & GOSIA HERBA
WORDS & PICTURES, RRP $25
Take a short, sharp journey through ancient civilisations with the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Minoans, Greeks and Romans. Key characters, events and inventions of each era are summed up simply in just 100 words each. Perfect for kids with short attention spans. Capped off with a basic timeline and map too.
THE BIG WORLD OF FUN FACTS
LONELY PLANET KIDS, RRP $30 (BOOK), $21 (EBOOK)
While real-life travel is a no-go, kids can trek around the world from the safety of isolation with this treasury of facts and figures about countries, food, folklore, sport, flags and more. Which nation is ruled by a dentist-turned-dictator? Where do you find taxis shaped like coconuts? Even adults will add to their trivia banks.
MORE TO DO: