Best Art Books for Kids Who Love to Draw: Inspire Your Young Artist
Have a young artist at home? These are the best art books for kids that we’ve found to inspire creativity and teach real drawing skills!
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My seven-year-old is obsessed with art. His favorite spot is perched at the kitchen counter, surrounded by pencils and a stack of blank paper, where he spends hours drawing every day. A few years ago, he even asked for an art-themed birthday party (which ended up being so fun to plan, btw)!
Because of his passion for drawing, I’ve made it a personal mission to find the best art books for kids that not only inspire creativity but also help build art skills. Over the years, we’ve checked out dozens of art and drawing books from the library, and we’ve even bought some of our absolute favorites to keep at home.
If you’re looking for engaging drawing books to encourage your own young artist, this list has you covered. These are the best art books for kids that we’ve discovered—perfect for inspiring creativity and helping your child develop their drawing skills.
Why Art Books Matter for Young Artists
Art books are a fantastic way to encourage creativity and teach fundamental drawing skills. Sometimes, my boys know they want to draw, but they don’t know what to draw. So, they’ll flip through one of our art books to get ideas until something catches their attention and inspires them to pick up a pencil and create. Good art books also teach young artists basic art skills, specific techniques, and help kids explore different ways of creating art.
There are tons of “how to draw” books out there, and many of them offer line-by-line instructions. Those have their place, and I’ve put a few of them on this list. However, our favorite art books are the ones that teach kids how to think like an artist and coach them through the process of drawing.
Our Favorite Art Books for Kids
How to Draw Everything by Peter Gray
We discovered this book last summer at the library, and after months of renewing our loan over and over again, I finally decided to buy it for my son for Christmas. It has a huge assortment of high-quality step-by-step tutorials, everything from animals to cars to monsters and more. No matter what you’re in the mood to draw, this book will teach you how!
The Drawing Lesson by Mark Crilley
This book is NOT your typical art book. Part graphic novel and part drawing tutorial, it tells the story of a young boy who meets an artist and learns to draw through a series of lessons. Each chapter teaches a specific drawing concept, but the genius of the book is that it shows the process of becoming an artist. It teaches kids to embrace mistakes as part of the journey and shows that anyone can become an artist if they’re willing to practice.
Draw Some Awesome by Donovan Bixley
This book, written by an artist who’s illustrated over 120 books, is like having a cool big brother sit down with you and teach you how to think like an artist. He shares some of his own journey of becoming an artist (it’s fun to see his childhood drawings in the book), and gives lots of practical tips about things like shading and perspective. Best of all, he inspires kids to get creative with fun, outside-the-box drawing prompts!
How to Draw by Aaria Baid
This is another comprehensive drawing book for kids. It’s divided into two parts: the “Art School” section, which teaches young artists basic techniques, and “Draw Everything,” which dives into all kinds of fun projects—everything from animals to optical illusions. I wouldn’t choose this as a first book for young kids, but for older kids it’s great.
Cartoon Faces by Christopher Hart
If your child loves cartoons, this book is a winner. It teaches the basics of drawing cartoon characters, specifically faces, with step-by-step instructions that make it easy for young artists to follow along. The author does a fabulous job showing how small changes to the drawing alter the character’s expression and can give the character a completely different feel overall. It made me want to make my own cartoon!
Painting School by Tanya Emelyanova
Perfect for kids who want to experiment with more than just drawing, this book introduces a variety of painting techniques, like watercolor and acrylic. It has everything from instructions on color mixing to step-by-step painting guides for simple animals and characters.
Art Lab for Kids by Susan Schwake
This book offers 52 creative art lessons, from drawing and painting to mixed media. The writing itself is geared more towards adults, but the projects themselves are very kid-friendly. My boys loved flipping through the pages to get inspiration for various types of art projects to try.
Ed Emberley’s Complete FunPrint Drawing Book
Using just fingerprints and a few letters, Ed Emberley shows would-be artists how to create owls, pigs, fish, and basketball players! This colorful step-by-step book is easy and crafty, and provides hours of art-full fun.
The Official Wings of Fire How to Draw
Have your kids read the Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland? My boys are borderline obsessed, so when I saw this book at the library, I knew they would love it. Aaand, I was right. There’s something so fun about drawing dragons anyway, and this book breaks down the details of drawing all their favorites from the books.
Do you have any favorite art books for kids? Tell us in the comments!
