BOOK MARKED
20 Books to Inspire
Indoor Fun
Unplug from the Screens, Plug Into Good Reads
BY DC PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF
Discover books to inspire creativity, adventures and
maybe a little mischief—all without leaving home.

EARLY LITERACY
(BIRTH TO AGE 5)
“Not a Box”
by Antoinette Portis
All it takes for a creative rabbit to have fun with an
ordinary cardboard box is a little imagination.

“You Are a Lion! And Other Fun
Yoga Poses”
by Taeeun Yoo
Stretch, pose, and get the wiggles out with this
animal-themed book for the youngest yogis.

“Peekaboo Bedtime”
by Rachel Isadora
Who says bedtime can’t be fun? Follow a delightful
toddler’s playful nighttime routine that’s sure to
galvanize a real-life game of peekaboo.

“Pete’s a Pizza”
by William Steig
When Pete can’t go out and play due to a bout of
bad weather, his family cheers him up in a very
creative and silly way.

“Max and Ruby’s Treasure Hunt”
by Rosemary Wells
When Max and Ruby’s plans get rained out, they
discover (with a little help from grandma) that they
don’t need to go outside to have an adventure.

DEVELOPING READERS
(AGES 5 TO 8)
“The Great Indoors”
by Julie Falatko, illustrated by Ruth Chan
In this whimsical, humorous tale, a human family
takes a vacation to the great outdoors, leaving an
opportunity for the forest creatures to vacation in
the great indoors. They discover all the cool, fun
things that can be done inside the house.

“Make-Believe Class”
by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by
Tammie Lyon
In this installment of the popular “Katie Woo”
32 Washington FAMILY JANUARY 2022
series for early readers, Katie’s class at school
battles a dreary, cold winter day by using a lot of
imagination to travel the world—and beyond!
“Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon”
by Kat Zhang, illustrated by Charlene Chua
Although Amy loves making crafts, her assignment
to create a dragon proves to be a struggle, until
inspiration strikes with storytelling and memories.

“Cooking Step by Step”
by DK
Young chefs can help make more than 50 kid-
friendly recipes—and get hands-on practice with
math and science concepts—using this simple,
attractive and approachable cookbook.

“Pizza and Taco:
Super-Awesome Comic!”
by Stephen Shaskan
Pizza and Taco create a comic book together in
this graphic novel for early readers. Their trials and
triumphs as creative collaborators could very well
influence some young artists and writers to begin
their own creative process.

MIDDLE-GRADE READERS
(AGES 8 TO 12)
“Unbored Games:
Serious Fun for Everyone”
by Joshua Glenn and Elizabeth Foy Larsen
From board games and mind games to tech games
and games you invent yourself, this title has plenty
of ideas to chase boredom away.

“Coding Projects in Scratch”
by Jon Woodcock
Follow the step-by-step instructions for how to
code animations, play with music and sound, create
a game and more using Scratch software, which you
can download or use online for free.

“Secret Coders”
by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes
Twelve-year-old Hopper attends Stately Academy,