Explore, Build & Tinker
Do you have a curious kid with lots of questions? Does your reader love to learn about how things work, take things apart, build, crash and rebuild? These books are just for them!
The books below encourage exploration, inspire curiosity, and support early S.T.E.M/S.T.E.A.M learning.
I hope you love the books I’ve shared. Please note, as an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small commission from books purchased through my affiliate links.
How Things Work: Facts and Fun, Questions, and Answers, Things to Make and Do - another awesome book for curious kids with lots of questions! Full of colorful diagrams and explanations, this book explains how water goes in an out of our homes through plumbing, how energy powers our homes, how homes are built, and more! With lots of fun activities and fascinating descriptions, this book is great for kids who like to explore, tinker, and learn about how things work.
Inner Workings - The most perfect book for your curious kiddo! Step inside and learn all about how things work, the gumball machines and bowling alleys, to ant colonies and hair hockey tables. Explore the wires, gears, buttons, and science inside of ordinary objects all around us. My kids loved learning how vending machines work!
The Amazing World of Video Game Development - This book is truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and we’re absolutely loving it in our house. Do you have a gamer? or a tinkerer? an explorer? a scientist? this book is for YOU! With cool video game-style illustrations, your little reader will learn about the different stages of game creation, as well as the jobs of all of the people involved in the process.
48 Grasshopper Estates - Sicily Bridges is the ultimate inventor. She can make just about anything using discarded scraps, and odds and ends that she finds around her apartment building. But when it comes to making friends will she find the right person? I love the way this book inspires children to use their imaginations to create, dream, experiment, and care for others.
Scrap Metal Swan: A River Cleanup Story - I love books with a story and practical activities, so this book was great for us. Follow one community as they embark on a mission to clean up their riverfront. Young makers will find inspiration as adults and children work together, repurposing the scrap metal into beautiful art.
So You Want to Build a Library - I don’t think there’s anything better than a book about books! As my kids and I read this book, we laughed and our imaginations went wild. What would you put in a library made by you? Would you make it 1000 stories tall? Would you add a self-service sundae bar? The possibilities are endless in this book.
Old Tracks New Tricks - In this fun rhyming book some old wooden train tracks find new ways to have fun. After reading this, your little one will be inspired to take their train and STEAM play to new heights!
Dreaming Up - I’m in LOVE with this book! It features illustrations of kids building in many different ways alongside famous architectural structures from around the world. For example, building with mud, boxes, popsicle sticks, pillows, cups and Lego, with photos of the Guggenheim, the Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater House, and the Montreal Biosphere. I love that this book features diverse children from all around the world too. This book is sure to inspire you and your family to build, create, construct and experiment in new ways.
Boxitects - a fabulous book featuring positive messages about girl power, cooperation, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math), and teamwork! Meg is a “boxitect” and creates amazing structures. In Maker School she meets kids who create all kinds of buildings. But what happens when she meets another boxitect with big ideas? Will they be able to work together?
What We’ll Build - Books by Oliver Jeffers are full of adventure and inspiration! Join this dad and daughter duo as they build things big and small, full of love, for themselves and for others together. My favorite section from this book reads: “what shall we build you and I? I’ll build your future and you’ll build mine. We’ll build a watch to keep our time.”
Made By Maxine - Maxine is an inventor. She loves making new things out of old things. Follow Maxine and her pet fish Milton as her engineering skills are put to the test.
The Book of Mistakes - I’m in love with this book! What happens when this drawing doesn’t turn out as planned? This simple but powerful book shows young readers all of the wonder and unexpected magic that can happen when we make mistakes. Books like these are so important because they inspire resilience and creativity in our kids. When we teach children that it’s ok to make mistakes, we create an environment for fearless exploration and growth.
Fort-Building Time - If you have a little one who loves building forts and play structures, this book is for you! Follow along as the seasons change, bringing inspiration for new kinds of forts, and never-ending creativity.
The Very Last Castle - What’s inside the very last castle in town? Is it monsters? snakes? giants? Follow Ibb, our brave hero, as she knocks on the door and finds out what’s inside. This adventure reminds readers not to “judge a book by its cover.”
Georgia’s Terrific, Colorific Experiment - Prepare to fall in love with everything about this book! From the gorgeous illustrations to the fantastic science terminology sprinkled throughout the story. Join Georgia on her journey to create her own unique experiment, you and your little reader might just find some artistic inspiration of your own.
Frankenslime - Do your kids love all things gooey and slimy? This book is for you! Victoria Franken is a slime scientist. She spends her days in her lab, mixing, measuring, and experimenting with new kinds of slime. But what happens when one of her experiments turns into a living, breathing creature?
Show and Tell! Great Graphs and Smart Charts: In Introduction to Infographics- I’ll be honest, I never would have thought that learning about graphs and charts would be fun, but this book is a game-changer. With bold, bright illustrations and kid-friendly explanations, this book has all you need to explore pie charts, bar graphs, pictographs, line graphs, and more.
Nerdycorn - Fern is a brilliant unicorn who loves math and science. While her friends prefer splashing in shimmering waterfalls, she loves experimenting in her lab. The unicorns tease her for being different but still come to her for help when they need it. Will she keep helping them when all of their gadgets break down? Or will she stand up for herself?
Fairy House: How To Make Amazing Fairy Furniture, Miniatures, and More From Natural Materials - I am absolutely loving this book and am so excited to share it. Perfect for crafters, tinkerers, collectors, and kids who love to spend their days outdoors. This book is packed with all you need to get started with creating magical fairy houses, from guidance on finding the right tools and gathering the perfect natural materials to building every inch of your house. Step into the world of fairy house building, just add your imagination!
Why Humans Build Up - coming soon!
