Three Excellent Writing Books for Kids

Most of us want our children to grow as writers. One way we can support their writing growth is to read helpful writing books like these three books which explicitly teach the craft of writing as well as provide examples and inspiration.

These three writing books will support children who are developing as writers. Use them in the classroom or at home, guiding children and writing with children or asking kids to read the books independently.

Let’s take a look at these writing books and find out what’s covered in each book as well as the best audience for each title.

Writing Books for Kids

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Ann Mazer and Ellen Potter

Spilling Ink is written by two experienced children’s book authors, Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, who, besides having lots of books, beautifully explain the craft of writing in kid-friendly language for writers who are ages eight and up. (Adults can learn from this book, too!)

The authors talk specifics about crafting stories. They’ll share about narrative voice, setting, suspense, titles, characters, dialogue, and so forth, as well as the writing process and identity.

Here’s why I recommend this book for your kids (and you). It

encourages writing anything and breaking the rules
is broken into manageable sections of information, scaffolding the writing craft into layers
shares helpful ideas about all aspects of writing
is memorable with personal stories from both Anne and Ellen
relatable with examples of how all writers stumble and grow, fail and succeed
inspiring
applicable with “I Dare You” ideas to apply the lessons

The Creative Writing Playbook For Kids Only by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illustrated by Madeline Garcia

The Creative Writing Playbook For Kids Only! is a writing book written by Megan Wagner Lloyd, children’s book author of Squished, Haven, and Allergic, among other books. It’s a guided journal for ages 8 to 12 with instructional prompts and blank spaces for you to write.

Writers will learn about the story elements, including planning, character development, and strong verbs. In addition, Megan gives story starters and comic strips to spark creative writing from a prompt.

You The Story by Ruta Sepetys

You The Story is a writing book for teens and adults by acclaimed historical fiction author Ruta Sepetys known for titles like Salt to the Sea and I Must Betray You.

The premise of this writing book is that you will use your own life and the experiences you’ve had, and the people you know to help inform your writing. Your life will give you ideas for writing that will feel authentic because…they are!

Ruta covers plot, character development, voice, perspective, setting, revision, and more. It’s full of her own examples, which helps us understand how you can mine your life to find ideas.