Four Book-Themed Art Projects for your Family
Book-themed art projects have always added a spark of fun in our home. Have you ever read a children’s book to your child and thought, “Hmmm…this inspires a fun art project!” In our family, four book-theme art projects really stand out. You can read all about them in the descriptions below, which include supply lists to get you started:
Book-Themed Art Projects
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#1. Farmhouse Collage Art
Have you, too, fallen in love with the children’s book Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall? I love that it is based on a true story, retold in one long entertaining sentence.
The best part for me was the history behind the delightful, brightly-colored illustrations, the details of which are found in the page-long Author’s Note at the end of the book.
The creative process that went into creating this book is so inspiring! So much so, that I had my young students use the author’s method of layering different items to create a fun page of their own. They used their imagination to envision a room in their house, or the dream room they have envisioned in their mind, to replicate it on paper using a variety of materials.
It was such a fun activity that I happily recommend doing with your children or students.
Art Project Instructions
- Purchase Farmhouse book by Sophie Blackall
- Read the Author’s Note, found in the book, to gain an appreciation of the story and illustrations
- Read the story
- Create your own illustrated page based on a personal memory.
Recommended Supplies
Other items can be used, such as tin foil for windows, adhesive gems for sparkle, fabric for bedding and curtains, etc.
Additional resources
- The book also inspires a love for family history research, which can be done for free here.
- Discover more family-friendly books here that might inspire more art projects
#2. Sing-a-Song-of-Seasons Art Project
Several years ago, I felt impressed to create a year-long poetry project for my family. We used the book Sing A Song Of Seasons due to its simple but beautiful selections of children’s poetry and illustrations. This book is a gem!
Perhaps the best part of this project is that moms (and dads!) and even friends are invited to join in on the fun. I memorized poetry, wrote a poet report, and created a piece of artwork right alongside my children. We invited some of our friends to join along.
“Oh, this Poetry Project is most definitely first-rate,
as, you and your children share what you memorize, write, and illustrate.”
Art Project Instructions
- Purchase Sing a Song of Seasons book
- During our first poetry tea party of the month, have your children select a 2-page spread from the book Sing a Song of Seasons
- Each child selects one poem from the page for them to memorize (most pages contain 3+ poems)
- Each child copies their poem for the month into their writing notebooks (copywork), and memorizes their poem by the end of the month
- Each child writes a short report about one of the poets found on their 2-page spread (optional)
- Work on projects each week for 30 minutes or so after enjoying Poetry Tea Time together
- Finally, during your last poetry tea party of the month, share with each other your memorized poems, poet reports, and art projects
Recommended Supplies
- copywork paper for copywork
- mixed-media paper for art project
Feel free to adjust the assignments to meet the needs of your children.
Additional resources
Discover more poetry children’s books here that might inspire more art projects.
The book also inspires a love for poetry-writing, which you can learn more about in my post How to Engage Children in Poetry Writing.
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#3. Chapter Summary Art Project
This chapter summary art project provides a fun hands-on project for children and teens to do while mom reads aloud from a chapter book. We chose to read the inspiring true story An Elephant in the Garden, but you can select any book you’d like.
This fun activity can be customized for all ages, and is a wonderful memory to look back on as your children get older.
Art Project Instructions
- Purchase An Elephant in the Garden book, or another book of your choice
- At the end of each chapter, each child takes a pre-cut piece of paper
- Child folds the paper in half
- Child draws on the outside of the paper a depiction of what took place in the chapter
- Then each child writes inside the folded paper, insofar as they are able, a brief summary of chapter events
- At the end of each chapter, share with each other your chapter summary
- Upon completion, display your chapter summaries, or stack them and hold together with a paper clip for storage
Recommended Supplies
- mixed-media paper for art project
This is a fun activity to repeat occasionally throughout the year.
#4. Group Learn and Share Time Activity and Art Project
My children and I discovered a fun learning activity and art project years ago that really helped mix up our learning schedule and add a touch of fun. There is minimal prep, and the results are always entertaining and educational.
In just short spurts of time, your family can learn and share many new and exciting discoveries. What a fun activity that entertains children of all ages!
Art Project Instructions
- Select four (or more) books from your home or public library
- Each person selects one of the four books and spend 10-15 minutes learning about something in the book that is of interest to them
- Each person sketches and takes notes in their art notebook (poem, map, flower, animal, foreign language words, brief biography, etc.)
- After 10-15 minutes, take turns sharing with each other what you learned
- Repeat the process for as long as desired, rotating through the available books
Recommended Supplies
- mixed-media notebook
- sketchbooks
- colored pens, crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint, writing pens or pencils
For well-rounded learning, offer a variety of books in different subjects.
additional resources
- Nature Anatomy book
- Animal Tracks book
- A Child’s Garden of Verses book
- Countries of our World book
Bonus! Build-A-House Craft Project
Build -A-House Craft
Build-A-House is a favorite craft to make with young children.
Using brown paper lunch bags, the supplies are minimal for an hour’s worth of fun.
Conclusion
Creating book-themed art projects can add a whole new dimension of fun to your family environment. Whether you are looking for summer fun ideas, searching for a holiday project idea, or just have every day fun in mind, try your hand at one of these four projects and watch your child’s eyes light up with the creativity of it all.
Have fun!
300+ Activity Ideas List
$1.50
Neighborhood Cards
$1.50
Ministering Poem
$1.50
Sunflower Bookmarks
$1.50
Join the class!
$15.00
Let’s Create an Animal Storybook!
Let’s Create a Storybook! is a six-week, bookmaking online course where we will make a storybook using animal characters. Using a step-by-step process, students will:
• Learn how to make hand-made books
• Create a storyline and engaging animal characters
• Learn about composition and layout
• Create a storyboard
• Design and create illustrations for the storybook
• Upon completion of our storybooks, we will have Show and Tell
By the end of class, students will have exercised their creativity and imagination to create their very own animal storybook, plus they will have the skills to create more books in the future. This class is perfect for those who have imaginations that run wild, as well as those who could use a little encouragement in the imagination department.
