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It’s funny how kids count down the days until summer vacation, only to complain of boredom a couple weeks into it.  While it is easy to alleviate boredom with video games, television, and wads of money spent on entertainment, there are far better options.  The first, and most obvious choice for me, is reading.  However, not all kids have the patience or ability to read for more than a few minutes.  So, a second choice is to find some simple crafts for your child to complete.

To help you find the perfect activity for your child, we have found some exceptional craft books.  The crafts in each vary from coloring to sewing to fairy house building and more.  Hopefully, one of these will be the just-right fit for your child!

The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book by Monika Mira

Imagine an eco-friendly coloring book (printed on recycled paper) that will teach children how to identify over 80 species of reef fish! This book includes over 200 colorable illustrations that will not only help the reader learn how to identify each fish, but also teach them about their anatomical features, coloration, body designs, feeding habits and reproductive strategies. Each illustration is accompanied by a complete description of the fish including the common, scientific, and Hawaiian names. In addition, an overview of coral reef ecology has been provided to help the reader understand the relationship between the fish and the coral reef and the importance of conservation.

Dinosaurs on the Move by Cathy Diez-Luckie

With Dinosaurs on the Move, children can make movable paper action figures of ten of their favorite dinosaurs. This book just won the 2010 Book of the Year Award from Creative Child Magazine in the Activity and Crafts book category.

Fairy Houses. .Everywhere! by Barry and Tracy Kane

This book is a magical photographic journey of fairy habitats – showing inspirational ideas for choosing natural materials, locations to build, and tips for embellishing. This unique, entertaining nature-based craft activity is sure to inspire and entertain.

Journal Bliss: Creative Prompts to Unleash Your Inner Eccentric by Violette Clark

This is a book on art journaling and is great for tweens and teens.  It teaches lots of techniques to create backgrounds, borders, faces, doodles and more. After learning these techniques the teens can go on and document their summer, their vacation, things about themselves, etc. They will develop a lifelong love affair with art journaling.

Playing with Books by Jason Thompson

What’s cool about these crafts is every project utilizes old book pages, spines and covers, so you make useful, fun projects while recycling! From simple greeting cards to a nifty business card holder, these activities are sure to keep kids busy this summer.

Sew with Sara by Sara Trail

When a 15 year old is the author of the book, and her mother states that she never has a dull moment, you can be sure that this book will quell boredom.  This book has won a Best Parenting Award.