Activity Books for Kids Ages 5 - 8

What are the best activity books and learning workbooks for early elementary kids ages 5 to 8? Kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third-grade kids can learn so much in these books while having fun.

These workbooks, puzzle books, and activity books will help kids develop skills with engaging practice and activities to support you with homeschool or any learning at home.

Besides creativity, problem solving, and thinking, what other skills will kids develop?

fine motor skills
math skills
visual discrimination
writing
science
reading comprehension
spelling
geography

Activity & Workbooks Books for Kids Ages 5 – 8

1 to 25 Dot-to-Dot
ages 3 – 6
Practice number sense and counting with these fun dot to dot puzzles! And you’ll get practice those important fine motor skills, too.

EyeLike Trucks: 400 Reusable Stickers
ages 6 – 8
Do your kids love truck and construction and emergency vehicles? Then they’ll love this sticker book! The front and back covers are backgrounds for your truck stickers which you can peel on and off.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Finish This Activity Book
ages 5 – 8
My daughter loved this book so much — it’s filled with things to write, color, draw, and build. Highly recommended for growing readers especially those in 1st grade.

Stuck on Fun! Play with Patterns, Sticker Tape, & More! by Jannie Ho
ages 5 – 8
Get artsy with tape and patterns! Punch out the sturdy cardboard animal characters in this activity book then use the provided stencils, sticker tape, and patterned paper to make outfits for the animals.

Where’s the Llama? by Paul Moran, illustrated by Gergely Forizs
ages 6 – 12
A group of ten llamas in the Andes in Peru decide to see the world. Can you spot them in each of the world locations like Miami Beach, New York City’s modern art gallery, a fairground in Canada, a Cambodian jungle, an ice park in China, and other locations? Answers are in the back plus more things to spot. LOVE it.

My Beastly Book of Twisted Tales illustrated by Berengere Delaporte
ages 6 – 12
My seven-year-old loves this silly doodle and imagine activity book — and it’s HUGE so it is lasting her a long time. Download this sample page, “There’s a Hair in My Soup,” and try a page for yourself.

Aliens vs. Mad Scientists Under the Ocean (above)
by Nikalas Catlow, Tim Wesson, and YOU
ages 7 – 10
These activity books are part novel, part activity book. Read along with the story and participate in the illustrations or dialogue. Also, the books start with the supplies you’ll need and directions for how to make textures like crayon rubbings on the floor or pencil rubbings on a wooden door.

The Backyard Bug Book for Kids by Lauren Davidson
ages 4 – 7
This is a fantastic educational book filled with not just activities but also a story and beautiful photographs of bugs.

Let’s Explore Jungle by Lonely Planet Kids
ages 6 – 8
One of the new Let’s Explore series from Lonely Planet Kids, this 250-sticker activity book helps kids 5 and up learn about the jungle and its flora and fauna as well as world geography.

Find Your Way Under the Sea and Find Your Way In the Jungle by Paul Boston
ages 5 – 8
Map and math skills!! Not only are you trying to complete the maze but you’re also looking for items, answering map questions (coordinates), and answering math questions (who live in the hut with three windows?).

Mad Libs Junior Animals
ages 6 – 9
Make up your own super silly stories with your friends and family. No need to remember parts of speech because the junior book uses pictures instead. Best for kids in first, second, and third grades, ages 6 – 9.

Build-a-Story Cards Space Quest
Use these cards for over 30 games for ages 3 – 10 as well as ideas for space stories including ships, aliens, and more. Great for problem-solving, creativity, and storytelling. Includes 12 character cards, 12 setting cards, and 12 object cards. Grab these for a fun, creative activity in the car, outside, inside, anytime.

Brain Quest Kindergarten
ages 4 – 6
The Brain Quest books are my favorites and my kids’ favorite learning workbooks. They’re very clearly organized, appealing, and kid-appropriate. Use this kindergarten workbook to supplement school at home during the summer.

Brain Quest Workbook Grade 1
ages 6 – 7
Of all the workbooks in the world, my kids prefer this series (If they had to pick.) The colorful design and easy-to-follow directions are spot-on for each age group. I use these for summer vacation review and practice — picking and choosing what the kids need. Also, I usually rip out the pages for the younger kiddo because this is a very large book.

Brain Quest Workbook Grade 2
ages 7 – 8
If your child is in second grade, even during the summer, this activity book is filled with concepts 7-and 8-year olds need to know. Besides the exceptional content, the eye-catching layouts give plenty of visual appeal.

TinkerActive: Kindergarten Math Workbook
The Kindergarten workbook is meant for ages 5 – 6 but there’s a lot of text so I think it’s more appropriate for ages 6 – 7. I like that it’s got perforated pages, the illustrations are in full color, and each chapter includes activities in tinkering, making, engineering projects, science, english, and math. It includes stickers and answers in the back.

TinkerActive: Kindergarten Science Workbook
Pretty much the same as the above but with more science than math — this workbook can provide structure to your long summer days.

Star Wars Workbook 2nd Grade
ages 7 – 8
Writing, reading, and math practice is more fun with Star Wars characters! For preschool through 2nd grade.

Brain Quest Workbook Grade 3
ages 8 – 9
More hands-on activities and games for third graders covering spelling, reading comprehension, parts of speech, multiplication tables, and more.

Reusable Habitats Sticker Pad by Melissa & Doug
ages 4 – 12
With five scenes and over 150 stickers, this is a fun activity for kids ages three and older to learn about habitats. (Also see: Adventure, Vehicles, and Town.)

Photo Puzzle Mania!
This Highlights Hidden Picture book is gorgeous — all photographs, not illustrations. Whether you’re finding the difference or finding hidden objects, there are many brain-boosting activities in this colorful book.

Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Bold Engineers 40+ Things to Invent, Draw, and Make by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts ages
ages 5 – 10
This is an excellent, engaging activity book based on the fantastic STEM Rosie Revere, Engineer picture book. Colorful illustrations and a cool layout will entice readers to try, fail, and learn. Discover more about simple machines, build a marble run, solve engineering challenges, design a stuffed animal carrier for your bike, learn about inventors who failed a lot, and so much more.

A-Maze-ing America by Joe Wos
ages 6 – 10
My daughter thinks this maze book is a great road trip activity & time passer. Each state’s maze has different animals, plants, and things that represent that state.

Pixel Coloring Animals by Dan Crisp
ages 7 – 10
Love coloring by number books? Try this unique twist on the concept. Whether you’re a Minecrafter or just like pixelated images, follow the coloring directions to create pixelated animals. Read the “Did you know?” facts about each one at the bottom of the page. “When this spotted animal feels threatened, it can cover its skin in a sticky liquid that is mildly poisonous.” Creative and educational!

100 Screen Free Ways to Beat Boredom! by Kris Hirschmann, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
ages 7 – 10
Nothing new here but I really like the inviting presentation of step by step ideas with whimsical illustrations and photos. Kids can flip through this activity book to find fun ideas that will keep them imagining, playing, and off screens.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: A Puzzle Adventure by Aleksandra Artymowska
ages 6 – 9
We’re enjoying this search and find and spot the difference puzzle book where readers help Captain Nemo search for adventure and treasure. Each full-page spread is intricately illustrated so there is a lot to notice. Then use these illustrations to solve the tasks. For example, find a diving helmet that is different from the others. Or find identical seashells. Fun, right?

Please Pass the Doodles Activities Puzzles Cartooning Fun Facts: 36 Tear-Off Placemats by Deborah Zemke
ages 6 – 9
Just like a placemat at a restaurant, now you can have your own placemats of puzzles, activities, cartooning, and more! And you’ll even learn about table manners.

I Absolutely Must Do Coloring Now
Color, draw, or paint in your own Charlie and Lola open-ended book of activities and coloring pages. We adore this hilarious series.

Peel & Discover: SPACE
Learn space facts about the planets, astronauts, asteroids, and constellations and use your stickers to fill in the illustrations. Also read: Peel & Discover: CARS! TRUCKS! TRAINS! AND MORE.

Draw and Write Journal
ages 5 – 8
Wide ruled lines for writing plus drawing spaces will give kids plenty of blank pages for practicing writing.

Colossal Creature Count: Add Up All of the Animals to Solve Each Scene by Daniel Limon
ages 5 – 8
More than just a search and find book but kids must also use math skills — both adding and subtracting. Isn’t this so cool? I’m impressed with the way Colossal Creatures makes learning so fun.