Best Baby Books About Art

This artful first colors book introduces children to nine basic colors and 20 shades of each. Toddlers will enjoy naming the colors on each of the monochromatic pages, while preschoolers will learn the concept that one color name actually refers to a variety of dark, light and in-between tones.

Part of learning about art is learning art history, and this board book makes it easy for little ones to learn about the different techniques used by famous artists like Van Gogh, O’Keefe, Kahlo, Dali and more. The vibrant, friendly portraits of each artist just might be enough to inspire your kiddo into creating their own masterpiece.

Beloved French artist/author Hervé Tullet uses all the colors of the rainbow in this energetic primer on color theory. Full of bright images, this book not only teaches kids about primary and secondary colors, it also encourages them to approach creative arts with gusto. There’s also a Spanish version, too.

In this book, Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends, and they hug so hard they create green. The simple story is a great introduction to how primary colors mix, and the vibrant visuals will keep your eyes—and baby’s—glued to the page.

A scribble starts as a shapeless blob of color, but it can quickly grow into a full illustration of anything imaginable. This story of a little scribble who tries to make friends with un-colored sketches reminds little artists that color can add a lot to any drawing, and there’s no need to limit how much color you use.

Lulu and Max have a big box of shapes: squares, circles, triangles and more! And they can build all sorts of things using just their simple shapes and a little imagination. This creative book teaches little ones all about basic shapes and how they can be put together to make something new.

The predecessor to the hit The Day the Crayons Came Home, this critically acclaimed book is written from the perspectives of the crayons, who are fed up with their usual chores. Red is tired of working on all the holidays, gray is tired of those huge elephant bodies and poor blue is so overworked, he’s just a stub! This book shows kids how wonderful it can be to mix things up.

An “oops” is not the end of the world—and it’s certainly not the end of a drawing! It’s sometimes the beginning of something surprisingly beautiful. This dynamic picture book encourages all of us to embrace the unexpected and improvise, turning our mistakes into creative adventures.

Sometimes creativity is more about the process than the end result, and all the failed attempts help teach perseverance. As one little girl struggles to bring her idea to life, she learns what’s important about creativity in her quest to make the most magnificent thing.

This story celebrates the power of pretending. In her room, a little girl can be anything—so dream big! This interactive book features colorful die-cuts and whimsical illustrations that engage young readers and bring childish flights of fancy into focus.

Creativity and art isn’t just about colors and shapes—it’s music too! Whether it’s loud or quiet, happy or sad, slow or fast, music is full of inspiration and imagination (and babies love it).