Books
Books with jokes, activities, magic, and gorgeous illustrations.
For a lot of adults, the Harry Potter books are a comforting reminder of their childhood, but as ready as you may be to share the stories with your kids, it’s a lot to ask a child to sit through a 300+ page novel (without pictures). Not all hope is lost though, because you can still introduce your kids to the wizarding world with some age-appropriate Harry Potter children’s books, instead. Plus, this way, your kids' love for all things Hogwarts will already be well established by the time they’re able to read the actual novels.
Any fan of the Harry Potter books already knows it’s not hard to fall in love with the series, and chances are high younger kids would love all of the wizardries just as much, they just need it in smaller doses. Thankfully, there are plenty of Harry Potter children’s books offering just that. These books are filled with pictures of Harry, Hermoine, and Ron (and other major characters) to help younger kids get to know the characters, and a lot of them even offer illustrated guides to the wizarding world so kids can imagine what it would be like to actually be there.
For kids who already know all about the characters, there are also some really fantastic Harry Potter children’s books that are for pure entertainment and are filled with jokes, activities, and even toys. So, if you’re eager to get your younger kids excited (or more excited) about one of your all-time favorite book series, here are some excellent age-appropriate books to help you get started.
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1Harry Potter Illustrated Story
Kids who are ready for the actual Harry Potter books but still need some pictures to help them stay engaged will love these books with illustrations. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first novel in the series, and this illustrated book matches the original story word for word but includes a variety of (gorgeous) pictures. Once you’re finished with this book, you can move right along to the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and beyond. They aren’t your typical picture books by any means (they’re so much prettier), but they may be just close enough to turn your younger kid into a fan.
2A Harry Potter Pop-Up Book
What kid doesn’t love a pop-up book? Combine their love of pop-ups with your love of Harry Potter and you have this book that features several pages of gorgeous artwork practically coming to life (some might say it’s magical). What makes this book all the cooler is that the pop-up pages are filled with illustrations by Andrew Williamson who was a concept artist for all eight Harry Potter movies. In addition to the amazing 3D artwork, this book also includes fun facts about the movies, insights into the creative process from people who worked on the films, trivia, and more.
3A Guide To Hogwarts
Sure, Hogwarts sounds cool, but what would it be like to actually take a look around and weave your way through the halls of the mysterious academy? Well, with this illustrated book you can find out. It’s a large-scale interactive book, which means that kids can look at the gorgeous illustrations and actually engage with them through little activities throughout the book. Beyond the pictures and activities, the book also includes fun facts about the movies and the movie-making process as well as “access” to some of the most mysterious locations from the books/movies like the Forbidden Forest, the Great Hall, and Quidditch Pitch.
4A Harry Potter Fill-In Book
A fun mash-up of Harry Potter and Mad-Libs, this fill-in book offers kids (and you) all kinds of opportunities to get creative and have fun. Throughout the book, you’ll find different prompts to fill in to create one-of-a-kind stories and other fun activities. There’s a page that teaches you how to draw Godric Gryffindor, a fill-in story about bravery, and an activity that will tell you what you’d pull out of the Sorting Hat in a crisis. Honestly, this book is fun for kids as it is, but as an added bonus, there’s also a cute squishy Harry Potter on the front of the book that they can play with.
5Harry Potter Origami
Kids who enjoy getting crafty and could use a new challenge might really like this Harry Potter book that teaches origami. The 112-page book includes step-by-step guides for 15 Harry Potter-inspired origami crafts as well as photographs for each step for anyone who learns better with visuals. Additionally, the book includes sheets of origami paper that are printed specifically for these crafts to create realistic finished products (like buildings, animals, and other famous Harry Potter objects). Admittedly, this book is probably going to be better for older kids (or for parents who don’t mind doing the craft for younger kids), but it’s definitely a fun way to get them excited about the world of wizards.
6A Wizardly Sticker Book
This book combines two wonderful things: Harry Potter and stickers. Inside, there are 10 different pictures that are jumbled up like puzzles for readers to fix with sticker magic. Images include Hermione brewing potion, Harry and the Golden Snitch, Ron playing chess, and other scenes featuring different characters and Hogwarts. To solve the puzzles, readers have to find stickers that correspond with each image and put them in their appropriate spots to reveal what the scene actually is. The illustrations throughout the book are fun and whimsical (so they’re great for younger kids) and the puzzles can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.
7A LEGO Adventure & Activity Book
Kids who are at least 6 years old and love LEGOS will have no trouble getting engaged with this Harry Potter LEGO book (that also happens to come with a Hermione figure). The book is filled with a variety of fun puzzles, games, and other activities that focus on Hermoine, Harry, Ron, and Buckbeak the Hippogriff. It takes you through Hogwarts and other parts of the magical wizard world and even features some of the books’ scarier characters, like “he who shall not be named.” Basically, it’s Harry Potter, LEGOS, and fun games all rolled into one book. What’s not to love?
8A Collection Of Illustrations
For kids (or adults) who really appreciate gorgeous pictures, this book is filled with illustrations by Jim Kay. It’s broken into 366 pages, one for each day of the year, and includes pictures of what Hogwarts looks like throughout the changing seasons, beautiful renditions of favorite characters, and incredible images of prominent locations featured in the books and movies. In addition to all of the pictures, the book also includes memorable quotes from the novels as well as memorable moments and dates that Harry Potter fans will instantly recognize. You and your kid can choose to savor the book, looking at one picture a day as intended, or flip through the pages in a single sitting.
9A Color-By-Number Book
If your kid likes to color, then this color by number book is an excellent way to get them some more Harry Potter engagement. Each page is a different picture that features characters and other Harry Potter imagery that’s filled with numbers indicating which colors to use to bring the page to life. Plus, since each page is printed single-sided and made from high-quality, thick paper, kids don't have to be nervous about using markers on the pages because there won’t be any bleed through from one page to the next. By the time they’ve made it through the book, they’ll have a stack of gorgeous Harry Potter pages ready to put on display throughout the house.
10A Book Made For Destruction
Have you ever been so angry you just want to destroy something? Well, this book is designed for kids to do just that. Its “magic” comes out through destruction like dripping orange juice on the pages, coloring all over it, or even ripping a page or two to shreds. Throughout the activity book, kids get to destroy the pages in different ways as they work to take down Lord Voldemort using a little dark (destructive) magic. The book has more than just opportunities to trash it, though, it also includes fun facts about the wizarding world and some of the dark, cursed objects within it.
11A Watercolor Joke Book
This (adorable) book combines two wonderful things: art and silly jokes. It comes with a paintbrush which kids dip into water and then paint over the pages to reveal hidden messages, images, and jokes. The illustrations are cartoonish and full of whimsy and the jokes are totally kid-appropriate (and rival dad-jokes, to be honest). Each joke has a Harry Potter theme to it and will only make little fans love the characters all the more. And, since the magic pages/paintbrush are activated with water, you don’t have to worry about stains. However, there is no saving you from your kid reciting the same cheesy Harry Potter jokes to you over and over.
12A Dress-Up Book
Kids get to dive deeper into the world of Harry Potter and play with paper dolls thanks to this fun book. It comes with 10 paper characters including Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Luna, Cho, Ginny, and more, as well as a variety of clothes, accessories, and props that can be mixed and matched amongst the dolls (and what kid doesn’t love to change their dolls’ clothing constantly?). The book isn’t all play, though, it also contains some actual reading material with fun facts and information about the different Harry Potter characters. It answers important questions like: how long is each wizard’s wand?
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