These popular children’s books are some of our favorites! From fun crafts and literacy activities to a fun game and activities that strengthen fine motor skills, you are sure to find a fun way to extend your favorite books with young children. These activities based on children’s books are a great way to remember and retell stories for younger children.
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Harold and the Purple Crayon Activities and Crafts
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson is a beautiful book about a little boy that children love! In the book Harold finds a a purple crayon and uses a little imagination to create some fun. What can you create with a purple crayon?
These Harold and the Purple Crayon activities and themed crafts are a great follow up to this clever book. Strengthen fine motor skills and create projects with yarn all with a purple crayon theme.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities and Crafts
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is a story about an adorable caterpillar who eats his way into the metamorphosis process and becomes a butterfly.
Counting and number recognition activities can be found in this collection of Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities. Make a Very Hungry Caterpillar craft, complete puzzles, and download a printable letter matching activity that all go great with this book.
The Little Engine That Could
Little Engine that Could Activities and Crafts
The Little Engine That Could is such a cherished story with a great message of never giving up and believe in yourself.
Painting with trains, shape matching, and literacy activities are just the beginning of these Little Engine that Could Activities. Egg carton crafts, train counting games, and pretend play make this list of activities perfect for your preschooler that loves trains and of course to go with this great book that has a lesson of never giving up.
The Mitten
The Mitten Activities Crafts and Printables
The Mitten by Jan Brett is a story of a lost mitten and the adventure it goes on with different animals.
After reading The Mitten, try some of these activities and crafts! Sequencing cards, mitten crafts, and fine motor skill activities that all go with this perfect book by Jan Brett.
Corduroy
Corduroy Activities and Crafts for Kids
Corduroy is a story about a teddy bear who lives in a department store and waits everyday for someone to come and take him home. One day a little girl wants to buy him, but her mom points out that he has a missing button. The next day Corduroy tries to explore the department store for a new button, but actually finds a new friend and a home instead. This story of Corduroy is heart warming with a happy ending.
Find crafts and fun activities that go with this adorable book. From sewing for beginners and button matching to crafts and painting, you won’t want to miss this collection of activities!
The Giving Tree
Giving Tree Activities and Crafts for Children
The Giving Tree is about a little boy and an apple tree and their unconditional love for each other. As the young boy grows into an old man, the tree still cherishes the boy’s visits to his tree trunk. This classic story offers the life lesson of giving and kindness. Find a lesson plan or a craft project to go with this treasured story!
A Color of His Own
A Color of His Own Activities and Crafts
We just love the book A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni! (affiliate links). It is a beautiful picture book with a wonderful message for young children. This book is about a lonely chameleon who doesn’t have a color of his own because he changes everywhere he goes. So he decides to stay one color by sitting on the greenest leaf. That leaf changes color too. At the end of the story, the little chameleon learns a great lesson. That it is more important to have a good friend than to have a color of his own.
Check out these crafts and activities that focus on the main character of this great story.
Fancy Nancy
Fancy Nancy Activities and Crafts for Kids
Fancy Nancy is one of our favorite children’s book characters. My girls have loved reading the Fancy Nancy books by Jane O’Connor since they were each 2 and I am a huge Fancy Nancy fan! Here’s a collection of Fancy Nancy Activities that your kids will love!
The books are sweet stories with a fancy little girl as the main character and her hopelessly plain family. Each story has a glossary of fancy words that is great for building vocabulary in young readers and even for older children. Here’s a collection of activities that are so much fun that you can pair with many of the Fancy Nancy stories.
Are You My Mother?
Are You My Mother Crafts and Activities
This is a sweet story about a bird that is looking for his mother. From a cow to a dog, he wanders away from the nest asking different things if they are his mother. At the end he ends up back in the nest and his mom arrives with food for him. Such a sweet story! From a paper plate craft and snack to a memory game and counting activity, you will love these book activities that compliment this fun story.
Green Eggs and Ham
Green Eggs and Ham Activities and Printables
Green Eggs and Ham has got to be our favorite Dr. Seuss book! Here are some of my favorite Green Eggs and Ham activities and crafts found around the web! Use them on Dr. Seuss’ birthday, March 2nd, on Read Across America Day, or any day of the year.
What a fun book! The repetition, rhyming, word play, and moral of the story about trying new foods is awesome! I actually have this book memorized because I have read it so many times at bedtime and I happen to have picky eaters! So why not extend the story during the day with fun activities.
The Polar Express
Polar Express Activities and Crafts
One of the most popular kids’ books at Christmas time is the Polar Express. Whether you are reading it at a class party and need activities or crafts to go along with it or reading it at home and want a game to compliment it, this collection of activities is perfect for you!
The Polar Express book is a magical story with a little boy as the main character who is lucky enough to take a train ride to the North Pole. He is presented with the first gift of Christmas, a silver bell from Santa’s sleigh. On the way home he loses it, but it appears under his Christmas tree on Christmas Day. However, when he rings it for his family his parents can’t hear the sweet sound of the bell ring. This is a beautifully illustrated story of the holiday season with a message of believing. This popular book has become a holiday tradition in many homes and classrooms. These fun activities will be a hit after you read this story.
Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are Activities and Crafts
One of the most popular books for young kids about using your imagination, this collection of activities will help you extend the book.
Where the Wild Things Are is a classic picture book for young children. It is about Here are Where the Wild Things Are activities to try after you read the book. Max wears a wolf suit and causes havoc in the house. So his parents send him to Max’s room to bed and that is where the adventure starts in this great book. From wild creatures and the land of the wild things, one of the great things about this children’s book is that it inspires us to imagine and create.
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Activities and Crafts
The Pigeon books are just the best! These crafts and activities go with the popular book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and they are sure to be loved by your students.
We love these Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Activities and Crafts just as much as we love the book. This Mo Willems book is about a determined pigeon telling his bus driver all of the good reasons that he should let him drive the bus. At the end, the pigeon finds a way to drive the bus.
Rainbow Fish
The Rainbow Fish Activities and Crafts
Here’s a collection of Rainbow Fish Activities for Preschoolers that includes a variety of activities that compliment this book in a wonderful way. From fun crafts and printable pages to alphabet activities and dice games, it is the perfect way to extend this story for your young learner
The Rainbow Fish is a great book for young children by Marcus Pfister about a fish that learns the importance of sharing one of his shiny scales and becomes a good friend. The Rainbow Fish book is a picture book that illustrates these important lessons in a fun way and that’s why it is a favorite book among teachers.
A story of sharing and friendship, The Rainbow fish is a popular children’s book in classrooms and in homes. Try these crafts and activities after reading this beloved book!
The Grouchy Ladybug Activities and Crafts
In this great book, the grouchy ladybug meets a friendly ladybug. They are both there to eat aphids off of some leaves. The grouchy ladybug doesn’t want to share so he leaves. The book follows the grouchy ladybug throughout the day as it comes across a different animal at different times. Young readers chuckle when the ladybug asks the other animals if they want to fight, but then realizes they are too big so instead says, “You aren’t big enough.” In the end, the readers learn a valuable lesson. After reading the book, try one of these activities or crafts with a ladybug theme. It is the perfect way to extend their learning and interaction with the book.