The Best Way To Keep Kids Creative & Clever This Summer

Summer is rushing in fast and as a busy mom and daycare owner I know how important it is to keep young minds sharp and creative. These four books are some of the best interactive and wholesome fun books I have seen in a long time. I highly recommend you get your kids reading and crafting at least once a day in the summer time. It seems hard to do with all the trips, beaches, electronics, and play dates but if you get them to bring a book with them in the car on your way to your summer fun destination I bet you will have a more enjoyable ride. These fun books require you bring a pad of paper and some pencils along as well but that's it. 

Mom and Me: An Art Journal to Share

Author: Lacy Mucklow and Bethany Robertson

Format: Trade Paperback , 128 Pages

ISBN: 9781631063343

Publisher: Race Point Publishing

$12.99 US / $16.99 CAN

This full-color art journal for moms and kids to color and draw together in is designed to be a sharing experience. Mom and child can write each other letters, draw what scares them, imagine what they want to be when they are grown up, color a scene using only one favorite color, whatever their imaginations lead them to!

Mom and Me: An Art Journal to Share is filled with fun hand-lettering and artwork from Bethany Robertson along with creative prompts from licensed art therapist Lacy Mucklow. Mucklow offers up the best ways to communicate with a child through creating together; how to start an open conversation with your child; questions you can ask that will help generate thoughtful responses; and how to tailor the quality time so it's still fun and engaging for your child.

The Art of Drawing Dangles: Creating Decorative Letters and Art with Charms

Author: Olivia A Kneibler

Format: Trade Paperback , 144 Pages

ISBN: 9781631063251

Publisher: Race Point Publishing

$19.99 US / $25.99 CAN

Dangles are a beautiful and whimsical new art form for people who love coloring and tangles. By adding charms and pretty embellishments to letters and artwork, you can make your own dangles. With 50 projects in the book, you can add stunning patterns and color to dangles, personalize your dangles with charms that are unique to you, and create dangle words from the dangle alphabet in the book. Dangles are a perfect way to accentuate your stationary, invitations, lettering, and more.

Stick it to 'Em: Playful Stickers to Color & Create: 275+ stickers with sass for family, friends, and frenemies

Author: Bailey Fleming

Format: Trade Paperback , 104 Pages

ISBN: 9781633222717

Publisher: Walter Foster

$19.95 US / $25.95 CAN

Stick it to 'Em is your invitation to play as you create customized stickers with sass! With just a hint of silly irreverence, this guide includes a list of colorful art tools in addition to easy drawing and lettering techniques and step-by-step tutorials, all designed to get your cheeky creativity flowing. You'll then be treated to more than 35 pages of stickers, including a selection of fully designed styles to use any way you like, a variety of stickers to color in, and blank stickers to create your own. Filled with tons of puns, wit, and wisecracks, Stick it to 'Em is your answer to getting through each day with humor and fun.

Hand Lettering A to Z: A World of Creative Ideas for Drawing and Designing Alphabets

Author: Abbey Sy

Format: Trade Paperback , 128 Pages

ISBN: 9781631592829

Publisher: Rockport Publishers

$22.99 US / $29.99 CAN

Hand Lettering A to Z is a fun, hands-on book in which artist and calligrapher Abbey Sy presents her creative lettering and invites artists from several countries to contribute alphabets of their own--all unique, all hand drawn. Each alphabet is paired with a collection of phrases to show readers different ways to use the lettering and have fun with it in different languages, including French, Spanish, Irish, Swedish, Portuguese, and more. Readers can use the phrases when making cards, gifts, or embellishing their journals. And unlike calligraphy, hand lettering does not require disciplined study. Hand-drawn lettering is meant to be personal and original, so even beginners can dive in!