Children's books and activities

Art and Artists

Do you know any kids who love to draw, paint, make prints, and build things out of clay and paper? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about art and some of the famous artists who create it.

Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such as art and artists. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

Art and Artists

Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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""

1 2 3: I Can Make Prints!

By:
Irene Luxbacher

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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1-2-3 I Can Collage!

By:
Irene Luxbacher

Age Level: 3-6 years old

A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi

By:
James Yang

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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A World of Colors: Seeing Colors in a New Way

By:
Marie Houblon

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Animals: A First Art Book

By:
Lucy Micklethwait

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Art

By:
Patrick McDonnell
Illustrated by: Patrick McDonnell

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Begin at the Beginning: A Little Artist Learns About Life

By:
Amy Schwartz
Illustrated by: Amy Schwartz

Age Level: 3-6 years old

illustrated cover of Brush of the Gods showing Chinese children watching boy paint a horse on a wall.

Brush of the Gods

By:
Lenore Look
Illustrated by: Meilo So

Age Level: 3-6 years old

the yellow cover of Colores de la Vida showing a lion figure.

Colores de la Vida

By:
Cynthia Weill

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Colorful Dreamer: The Story of Artist Henri Matisse

By:
Marjorie Blain Parker
Illustrated by: Holly Berry

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Cooking Art: Easy Edible Art for Young Children

By:
Mary Ann Kohl
, Jean Potter
Illustrated by: Ronnie Roseman-Hall

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes

By:
Hena Khan
Illustrated by: Mehrdokht Amini

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Drawn Together

By:
Mihn Lê
Illustrated by: Dan Santat

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors

By:
Hena Khan
Illustrated by: Mehrdokht Amini

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Cover of Josefina showing young Mexican woman holding many clay figures.

Josefina

By:
Jeanette Winter

Age Level: 3-6 years old

painted cover of Lily Brown's Paintings showing a young girl with backpack and a blue hat painting.

Lily Brown's Paintings

By:
Angela Johnson
Illustrated by: E.B. Lewis

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Magritte's Marvelous Hat

By:
D.B. Johnson

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Making a Great Exhibition

By:
Doro Globus
Illustrated by: Rose Blake

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Maybe Something Beautiful

By:
F. Isabel Campoy
, Theresa Howell
Illustrated by: Rafael López]

Age Level: 3-6 years old

cover of "Mix It Up" showing overlapping circles of red, yellow, and blue

Mix It Up!

By:
Herve Tullet

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""

Monsters Love Colors

By:
Mike Austin

Age Level: 3-6 years old

cover of Painting the Wind showing boy with dog at the beach.

Painting the Wind

By:
Paticia MacLachlan
, Emily MacLachlan
Illustrated by: Katy Schneider

Age Level: 3-6 years old

""

The Dot

By:
Peter Reynolds
Illustrated by: Peter Reynolds

Age Level: 3-6 years old

illustrated cover of The Pot That Juan Built showing man in the desert holding a glowing pot.

The Pot that Juan Built

By:
Nancy Andrews-Goebel
Illustrated by: David Diaz

Age Level: 3-6 years old

illustrated cover of Visiting the Art Museum showing family in front of a painting of a lion

Visiting the Art Museum

By:
Laurene Krasny Brown
Illustrated by: Marc Brown

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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illustrated cover of The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon. It shows an astronaut on the moon using an easel to paint.

The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon: The True Story of Alan Bean

By:
Dean Robbins
Illustrated by: Sean Rubin

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of A Book About Design showing a brightly colored red, blue, and yeloow sun with a smiling face

A Book About Design: Complicated Doesn’t Make It Good

By:
Mark Gonyea

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

By:
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by: Melissa Sweet

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Action Jackson

By:
Jan Greenberg
, Sandra Jordan
Illustrated by: Robert Andrew Parker

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of An Eye for Color showing man and the letters of Color stand in for his ears, eyes, and nose.

An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers

By:
Natasha Wing
Illustrated by: Julia Breckenreid

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Art from Her Heart

By:
Kathy Whitehead
, Shane Evans

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins

By:
Michelle Meadows
Illustrated by: Ebony Glenn

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudí

By:
Rachel Rodriguez
Illustrated by: Julie Paschkis

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of Chasing Vermeer showing a boy holding a flashlight and a woman inside a museum.

Chasing Vermeer

By:
Blue Balliett
Illustrated by: Brett Helquist

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Creative Crafts for Kids

By:
Gill Dickinson

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of Diego showing boy sitting on a blank holding a paintbrush. Before him is a mountain with a moon on one side, the sun on the other.

Diego

By:
Jonah Winter
Illustrated by: Jeannette Winter

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Dreamer from the Village: The Story of Marc Chagall

By:
Michelle Markel
Illustrated by: Michelle Markel

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Easy-to-Make Pop-Ups

By:
Joan Irvine

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Edward Hopper Paints His World

By:
Robert Burleigh
Illustrated by: Wendell Minor

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Faith Ringgold

By:
Mike Venezia
Illustrated by: Mike Venezia

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos book cover

Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos

By:
Monica Brown
Illustrated by: John Parra

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of GuGu's House showing woman and child. The child is painting a figure like a zebra.

Gugu's House

By:
Catherine Stock

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Hand Art

By:
Rachel Tandy

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community

By:
Susan Verde
Illustrated by: John Parra

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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How Artists See The Weather

By:
Colleen Carroll

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of I Spy Colors in Art showing a pattern of circles in many colors.

I Spy Colors in Art

By:
Lucy Micklethwait

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage

By:
Alan Schroeder
Illustrated by: JaeMe Bereal

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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It Jes' Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw

By:
Don Tate
Illustrated by: Gregory Christie

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Jacob Lawrence

By:
Mike Venezia
Illustrated by: Mike Venezia

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Let's Make It Pop-Up

By:
David Carter
, James Diaz

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Look! Body Language in Art

By:
Gillian Wolfe

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of The Magical Life of Mr. Renny showing dog flying in an airplane while holding art supplies.

Magical Life of Mr. Renny

By:
Leo Timmers

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of Masterpiece Mix showing articulating lamp with clippings of famous art on wall behind it

Masterpiece Mix

By:
Roxie Munro

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Museum Trip

By:
Barbara Lehman

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of My Name is Georgia showing a dark-haired girl looking down at orange flower in her hand.

My Name is Georgia: A Portrait

By:
Jeannette Winter

Age Level: 6-9 years old

black and white cover of My Pen showing a pen looking like it's drawing a boy in a boat holding a spyglass

My Pen

By:
Christopher Myers

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of Neo Leo showing a seated man with planes flying around

Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci

By:
Gene Baretta

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Piñata Maker/el piñatero

By:
George Ancona

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

By:
Javaka Steptoe

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Ralph Masiello's Ancient Egypt Drawing Book

By:
Ralph Masiello

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of Sandy's Circus showing man kneeling in front of an open suitcase. A flower is blooming inside the case.

Sandy's Circus: A Story about Alexander Calder

By:
Tanya Lee Stone
Illustrated by: Boris Kulikov

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World

By:
Susan Hood

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Shaped By Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez

By:
Anna Harber Freeman

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Sister Corita’s Words and Shapes

By:
Jeanette Winter

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee!

By:
Andrea J. Loney
Illustrated by: Keith Mallett

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of The Bluest of Blues showing a young girl outside and everything is in shades of blue and white, except red flowers.

The Bluest of Blues: Anna Atkins and the First Book of Photographs

By:
Fiona Robinson

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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The Book of Mistakes

By:
Corinna Luyken

Age Level: 6-9 years old

The Colors of Us

By:
Karen Katz

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

By:
Natashcha Biebow
Illustrated by: Steve Salerno

Age Level: 6-9 years old

The East-West House: Noguchi's Childhood in Japan

By:
Christy Hale

Age Level: 6-9 years old

cover of "The First Drawing" showing a caveman drawing on a cave wall

The First Drawing

By:
Mordicai Gerstein

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of The Great Art Caper showing splattered paint and a hamster with a paint brush

The Great Art Caper

By:
Victoria Jamieson

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane

By:
C.M. Millen
Illustrated by: Andrea Wisnewski

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

The Jumbo Book of Outdoor Art

By:
Irene Luxbacher

Age Level: 6-9 years old

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art

By:
Barb Rosenstock
Illustrated by: Mary Grandpré

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of The Secret Cave showing person holding lantern as they enter a cave.

The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux

By:
Emily Arnold McCully

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

The Sound of Colors

By:
Jimmy Liao
Illustrated by: Jimmy Liao

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of Vincent Can't Sleep showing boy asleep on hill with starry night sky

Vincent Can't Sleep: Van Gogh Paints the Night Sky

By:
Barb Rosenstock
Illustrated by: Mary GrandPre

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Viva Frida

By:
Yuyi Morales
Illustrated by: Tim O’Meara

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Wanda Gag, the Girl Who Lived to Draw

By:
Deborah Ray

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

What Can You Do With a Paper Bag?

By:
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Age Level: 6-9 years old

painted cover of Words With Wings showing two women in front of sunsets.

Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art

By:
Belinda Rochelle

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of World Make Way showing cat in bandana sniffing at the corner of a frame

World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from the Metropolitan Museum

By:
Lee Bennett Hopkins

Age Level: 6-9 years old

""

Yellowstone Moran: Painting the American West

By:
Lita Judge

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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photographic cover of Through the Gates and Beyond showing orange banner gates surrounded by snow and trees.

Andy Warhol: Prince of Pop

By:
Jan Greenberg
, Sandra Jordan

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Black Artists Shaping the World

By:
Sharna Jackson

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Through the Gates and Beyond

By:
Jan Greenberg
, Sandra Jordan

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Firebird

By:
Misty Copeland
Illustrated by: Christopher Myers

Age Level: 9-12 years old

""

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph

By:
Roxanne Orgill
Illustrated by: Francis Vallejo

Age Level: 9-12 years old

illustrated cover of Lives of the Artists showing a ring of small snapshot style drawings of artists.

Lives of the Artists: Masterpieces, Messes (and What the Neighbors Thought)

By:
Kathleen Krull
Illustrated by: Kathryn Hewitt

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Meet Matisse

By:
Jean-Vincent Senac

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Murals: Walls That Sing

By:
George Ancona

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Stone Giant: Michelangelo’s David and How He Came to Be

By:
Jane Sutcliffe
Illustrated by: John Shelley

Age Level: 9-12 years old

illustrated cover of The Inker's Shadow showing a graduate holding a diploma and throwing his cap in the air.

The Inker’s Shadow

By:
Allen Say

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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The Secret World of Walter Anderson

By:
Hester Bass

Age Level: 9-12 years old

You Call That Art?!

By:
David Carter
Illustrated by: James Diaz

Age Level: 9-12 years old