Fun times with innovative activity books
These super cool new books invite kids of all ages to engage their artsy and playful sides without using electronics.
“Flippin’ Awesome” by Sarah Doughty; Race Horse for Young Readers/Sky Horse Publishing; 64 pages; $14.99.
Bottle flipping is a captivating new feat for middle school kids. The act of flipping a water bottle through the air to achieve a perfect upright landing on a table is a test of physics and physical activity. This action-packed spiralbound book of water bottle fip games, tricks and stunts features 12 target games with sturdy fold-out game boards, winning techniques and tear-out score cards. Kids can learn how to do the “sailor flip,” how to “Flip or Flop” with a flip-flop challenge and make like a human spatula flipping burgers.
In part a return to old-fashioned games such as jacks and yo-yos with a new extreme sports twist, “Flippin’ Awesome” will get your 10- to 14-year-olds off their phones.
“Press Out + Color Butterflies” by Zoe Ingram; Nosy Crow/Candlewick Press; 20 pages; $15.99.
This lovely blue and pink spiral-bound book holds a butterfly menagerie inside. From the Monarch to the Painted Lady to the Tiger Swallowtail to the Red Admiral, 10 intricately detailed butterflies are here to create. Kids 10 and up — and adults — can color or paint them, and then pop them out and slot them together to make ornaments or a lovely mobile. Sparkly silver-and-white backgrounds make the pop-out butterflies beautiful as is, but this activity book makes an extraordinary gift for any butterfly or art fan.
“PaperCuttables: Build 15 Amazing Characters!” by David Landis; Cartwheel Books/Scholastic; 78 pages; $8.99.
Part adventure story, part paper crafts, this otherworldly incredibly fun book is packed with the Paper Cuttables, colorful aliens, robots and superheroes that are boldly digitally designed. The story invites kids to race against time in order to save their creatures from a dark mysterious force set out to destroy the land of the Papercuttables once and for all.
With polished three-dimensional characters liked Sweet Root, a sugar-loving plant, steampunk aviatrix Amy Airheart, a wacky barrel of monkeys and Lucky Pluck, the cheerful elf princess whose aim is always true, there’s never a dull moment.
An interactive book that tests hand-eye coordination and imagination, “PaperCuttables” is a wonderful alternative to video games — as long as your child works well with scissors!
“Dream It! Draw It! Think It! Do It!” by Courtney Watkins; Andrews McMeel Publishing; 92 pages; $9.99.
Subtitled “Activities to Ignite Creativity,” Courtney Watkins’ imaginative book equips parents and kids to engage in the world around them to improve memory, vocabulary, problemsolving, critical thinking and fine motor skills. Studies show that creative-thinking experiences help foster kids’ confidence, and this book makes any moment constructive and exciting. From scavenger hunts to obstacle courses to dares to nonsensical poetry and “personimating” (personifying and animating), this creative book rocks.
“The World: A Map Coloring Book,” illustrated by Natalie Hughes, from Henry Holt & Co., 48 pages; $12.99.
With sketches of countries and their landmarks, people and famous icons, this coloring book educates kids of all ages on geography and offers a fun trip around the world. Once colored or painted, the perforated pages can be torn out to put on display.
Super cool sketches and icons of Easter Island stone heads, Argentinians dancing tango, a Romanian Dracula, a tower of people in Spain and more make this map book truly fun.