I am so excited about my new mini-series in collaboration with Workman Publishing. (All thoughts are my own.) In this series, I will bring you a selection of fun books for the family every season. For my fall reading list, I’ve put together 5 books I think are great for inspiring interaction and creativity. I hope you like what I’ve picked out! (Also, there’s a secret giveaway if you read all the way through!)

This new series is so exciting for me! Some of my favorite memories are spending hours in the bookstore with my Aunt Sharon and picking out new books to read. I also spent countless hours in the library and built up quite an extensive personal library that I enjoyed loaning to friends with my homemade library cards. My love for books has continued all through adulthood, although admittedly, I don’t always have the time to curl up with a good book like I used to. Life can sometimes be quite busy balancing work with family life and all other obligations. When curating my Fall Reading List, I specifically wanted to choose books that would inspire parents and kids to spend quality time together with hands-on activities that are so important. Making time for each other, making time to read, and creating are all things that I value and want more of in my life! So if you’re like me, I hope you’ll add a few of these books to your home!

1. Paint By Stickers Kids: Halloween:

I chose Paint By Stickers Kids: Halloween for some fun holiday activities with my kids. We had SO much fun planning a little family party complete with all the yummy treats, pumpkin painting, and more! You can check out our Halloween Party here to see all the fun!

If you haven’t tried a Paint By Sticker Book, I highly recommend it! Just like adult coloring books, the paint by sticker books are so relaxing. (They make them for adults as well). This particular series for kids features several major holidays, so now that Halloween is over, check out their Christmas book here!)

This book includes 10 Halloween-themed paint by sticker projects. The boys and I had so much fun working on them! To use: Choose a project page from the front of the book with a corresponding sticker page in the back of the book. You can find the picture in the top corner to make sure they match. Then, each sticker has a number. You will place it on the matching number on the project page until you’ve filled all the stickers up. It’s a bit of a fun challenge since the stickers are arranged by size, so on the project page, the numbers are all mixed up. This is a GREAT learning activity for kids to help them identify numbers, match, practice great hand-eye coordination, and fit the stickers inside the lines just like a puzzle. While they do all of these things, they’re creating art and as they progress, they get to see their picture come to life! I loved the boys getting so excited along the way and showing me their progress!

I think these books would be great for fun at home, in the classroom, on an airplane, or anywhere you need a quiet activity.

This book is intended for ages 5+ but younger kids may need a bit of help.

Buy it here!

2. Papertoy Monsters:

Papertoy Monsters is such a cute books that I couldn’t pass it up. I knew my boys would love it! This book contains 50 different pop-out 3D Monster projects. You can see the full collection on the inside book covers. The book is by Castleforte and 24 of the Top Papertoy Designers from Around the World. Each of the monster projects is pre-scored and in easy-to-fold templates. You’ll just need some glue. I used tacky glue and it worked perfectly!

There are lots of variations of monsters organized into 4 categories: Monster Legends; Earth, Ocean & Space Monsters; Mutant, Food & Thing Monsters; and Human Monsters.

We started out with the Icy Huggy monster, as seen on the cover of the book. The boys (and Avalynn) loved him! The assembly instructions were easy to follow and I’m so excited to make all of them with the kids!

This book is intended for ages 9+ but younger kids can definitely enjoy it with some grown up help!

Buy it here!

3. The Book of Terrifyingly Awesome Technology:

The Book of Terrifyingly Awesome Technology is by Sean Connolly and it includes 27 experiments for young scientists. This fun book puts the “T” (technology) in STEM. We love technology in our house, so it’s fun to get some ideas on fun things to do to teach the kids more about things we’re all interested in.

Topics include robots, space, the Internet, GPS, drones, and more! Each chapter includes a lesson with real life applications, stories, facts, and an experiment you can do with your kids using items you already have around home.

This is a great book to reach for on the weekend when you’re looking for some fun projects to do with your kids. The boys love doing experiments so I’m really excited to make some fun memories together!

This book is intended for kids age 9+, but with parents help, you can have some fun with younger kids as well. (Andrew has been into space since he was 4 years old and even had us at the planetarium watching documentaries about Black Holes, so for us, this type of book is right up our alley! )

Buy it here!

4. The Kids’ Book of Paper Love: Write, Craft, Play, Share.

The Kids’ Book of Paper Love: Write, Craft, Play, Share. is by Irene Smit and Astrid Vander Hulst, the creative directors of Flow magazine, and I’m so excited about it! Flow books are filled with amazing designs, surprises on every page, and tons of inspiration. This particular book is all about paper goodies and includes all kinds of fun like glitter stickers, metallic paper, foldout banner, notebooks, postcards, and more!

I’d say the design of the book has a more feminine feel to it, and everything is really so pretty! If you are crafty and love to make things, this book is for you! (And between us, even though this is made for kids, I think adults would love it, too!)

If you’d like to give this book a try and fold up, cut up, doodle on, and share the fun inside, you just may be in luck! I’m hosting a secret giveaway over on Instagram! I received two of these, so I’m going to be giving one to one of my YouTube subscribers.

Buy it here!

SECRET GIVEAWAY RULES:

1. Go subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

2. Watch this video.

3. Tell me in the comments of that video what you love about Halloween!

4. I will choose a subscriber randomly Friday evening, November 8th to win a copy of The Kids’ Book of Paper Love!

5. US only. Must have a parents permission if you’re under 18. Not affiliated with YouTube.

 

5.Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs:

The Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs book, by Mike Lowery, is the first book in the Doodle Adventures series where kids get to draw the story! The pages are filled with interactive prompts for kids to literally doodle, write, and draw all kinds of fun things along the way.

This book is intended for kids ages 8+ and Andrew is 7 and he absolutely LOVES it! I let him take a peek at the book when it came in and he immediately sat down and read through the first 40 pages. The book is an easy to follow, interactive adventure written in comic book style conversations with places to add your own personal touch. Andrew begun working on his drawings this weekend and he was so proud of his work.

To inspire a love for reading in my kids is SO important to me. Allowing my child the creative freedom to put himself and his own art into a real book is so cool! Not only will he get to draw and write IN THE BOOK, which is already such fun for kids, but he’ll get to save it and have a cool memento to remember this time in his life. If you have kids around the same age, I HIGHLY recommend this book series as a gift!

Buy it here!

Watch our Halloween Fun and Peek Inside The Fall Books Here:

In the second half of this video, I take you through each of my 5 Fall Reading List picks so you can decide if they’ll be a good fit for your bookshelf! You can also learn all the details for my giveaway to WIN a copy of The Kids’ Book of Paper Love!

Thanks for reading with me!

I hope you loved this fun new series! I really enjoyed picking out these books to share!

Be sure to look for my Winter Book List the first week of December, which will include a couple books for mom, your toddler, and a couple for elementary age kids.

Which book is YOUR favorite?

Leave a comment!