Magnet Tiles + Books for 2-8-year-olds

When you start out with your first child you often don’t know what toys to ‘invest’ in. If I could go back in time to when my eldest child was 1 or 2 I would defiantly have bought a very large set of magnet tiles. I saw that magnet tiles were hugely popular at the kids’ kindergartens, but we didn’t get some until about 4 years ago. They are not a toy that will get used daily, but every time you bring them out kids can spend hours building, creating, pattern-making and problem-solving.

Magnet tiles are an open-ended resource, while some might come with instructions that suggest various builds, like lego, wooden blocks, and even playdough, the child’s imagination can make the tiles into infinitely more things. I have seen my kids build houses, cars, and spaceships. My youngest still plays “Numberblocks” with the squares. If you haven’t seen the show, it cleverly assigns characters to each of the numbers then teaches children numbers concepts like addition, subtraction, and multiplication in fun, colourful, musical form. I recommend this show and magnet tiles to lots of parents of 2-6-year-olds as they are a very easy step into STEM activities.

Below I’ve put together a few picture books that have STEM/open-ended resource/construction themes and will pair nicely with a big set of magnet tiles. Most of them are aimed at the 2-8-year-old age range.

Shapes Reshape!, by Silvia Borando

For younger children, this colour-filled picture book inspires imagination. On each page, readers are presented with a set of shapes and given a clue to help guess what those shapes might be able to form. This is also a counting book as the number of things created decreases from 10 to 1. This is great for children learning about basic colours, shapes, animals and numbers.

Get Together, by Miguel Ordonez

Similar to Shapes Reshape!, this picture book for littlies invites them to guess what the shapes might turn into once arranged properly. Each creation is an animal and despite the simplicity of the concept, even my 11-year-old didn’t pick the animal right first guess.

Iggy Peck, Architect, by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts

Iggy Peck has been building since a baby. Now he’s in Grade 2 and his teacher would rather he stop. But how can you stop when it’s your one and only dream?

I’d be surprised if you haven’t come across any of the books from this brilliant series. There are now 5 main books, Rosie Revere, Engineer, Ada Twist, Scientist, Sofia Valdez, Future Pres, Aaron Slater, Illustrator and Iggy Peck, plus early chapter books, activity books, and now a Netflix series. Now called the Questioneers, the kids each have a passion and they explore the world of STEM, make a difference in their communities and take action. They are not passive or permissive. They don’t let their size derail their dreams.

Part of the success of these books was in the perfectly poetic rhyming text, which heralded inspirational lines like: “The only true failure can come if you quit”. The other key part has to be the detailed and stylish illustrations of David Roberts. I adore his work and have been slightly obsessed with it.

These books are extremely giftable and will remain a treasure long after the recipient has grown up.

Not a Stick and Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis

These cute and simple picture books encourage imagination and make-believe. The author has cleverly gotten into the mind of a child and demonstrates that a simple stick or box can become anything you dream of. Perfect for helping families who struggle to invent games or scenarios for play, these will inspire creativity with open-ended resources.

The Building Boy, by Ross Montgomery and David Litchfield

While building is what this book is about, the heart of it is about loss and love. After his architect grandmother dies, a boy seeks to keep her memory alive through building. Using materials he collects and over time he diligently builds a memorial that will help him feel her close.

The Fort That Jack Built, by Boni Ashburn and Brett Helquist

I’m not sure that many kids these days would be familiar with the old rhyme: The House that Jack Built. This is a fun take on the tale as Jack builds a fort in his living room and from items gathered from around his house. So many kids will relate to Jack’s attempts to create a space that he can use to make-believe in. I know my kids love to use cushions, blankets, and furniture to create forts for indoor camping. It drives me a little crazy, but I can see the determination and fire in them to achieve a cosy zone that is all theirs.

A World of Information, by Richard Platt and James Brown

This is a non-fiction book for a curious mind – a budding engineer, mathematician, or problem solver. I reviewed this many years ago, and I still think it is a top resource for a family library. Each page contains information and graphics to explain how things work, what codes are, the natural world, or the laws of physics. It is really well presented and something kids will come back to again and again for the information.