13 cute activity books for kids who love to draw, color, paint and play

Kittens with big eyes. Smiling cupcakes. Fluffy puppies. Magical unicorns. Sometimes, an activity is even more inviting when everything on the page is ridiculously cute.

Usborne’s cute activity books give kids plenty to get busy with, from step-by-step drawing and coloring to stickers, magic painting, puzzles and creative crafts. There are simple activities for younger children, bigger collections for kids who like lots of variety and seasonal projects that can become part of the decorations.

So, sharpen those pencils, find the sticker sheet and prepare for an unusually high number of adorable faces.

Cute drawing and coloring books

Step-by-Step Drawing Cute Things

Age 5+

Want to draw a bunny? A burger? A cupcake with a smiley face?

Step-by-Step Drawing Cute Things breaks each picture down into clear, illustrated steps so kids can see how a drawing comes together. The book includes everything from cupcakes, clouds and cats to burgers and bunnies, with space for children to try the drawings themselves.

It’s an approachable place to start for kids who love drawing but sometimes need a little inspiration for what to put on the page.

Cute Things to Draw and Color

Age 3+

For younger artists who would rather not choose between drawing and coloring, there’s Cute Things to Draw and Color.

Part of Usborne’s Cute Coloring series, this book gives young children a simple creative activity to pick up whenever the pencils come out.

Just-add-water magic painting books

Sometimes all an art session needs is a brush and a little water.

Usborne’s First Magic Painting books feature black-and-white designs that reveal colors when children sweep a wet brush across the page. The books include a brush and a waterproof back flap to place beneath the page while painting.

First Magic Painting Cute Puppies

Age 3+

The puppies in First Magic Painting Cute Puppies are busy playing and snuggling, they just need some color.

Children use the included brush and water to reveal the hidden hues in 16 pictures. The large, simple designs are created for young children, making this an easy first painting activity for puppy fans.

First Magic Painting Cute Unicorns

Age 3+

Unicorns are already pretty magical. First Magic Painting Cute Unicorns adds another trick.

Children sweep water over simple black-and-white pictures of unicorns and their babies and watch the colors appear. There are 16 pictures to paint, plus an included brush and waterproof back flap.

First Magic Painting Cute Kittens

Age 3+

For kids firmly on Team Cat, First Magic Painting Cute Kittens brings the same just-add-water idea to a collection of adorable kittens.

Like the other books in the First Magic Painting series, it uses simple designs aimed at young children, with colors appearing as water is brushed across the pictures.

Coming December 2026.

Cute sticker books for animal lovers

There is something wonderfully satisfying about deciding exactly where a sticker belongs. Especially when that sticker happens to be a tiny kitten.

Cute Stickers Kittens

Age 3+

Playing, snoozing or spending time with their feline friends, every kitten in Cute Stickers Kittens has one very important job: being cute.

Kids can use 165 stickers to fill the different scenes, choosing where all those kittens should go as they create each picture.

Cute Stickers Puppies

Age 3+

If wagging tails win the kittens-versus-puppies debate in your house, try Cute Stickers Puppies.

There are more than 150 stickers to add to scenes of puppies playing, eating treats and having fun with their puppy pals.

Cute Stickers Unicorns

Age 3+

Meadows, waterfalls, palaces and skies are all waiting for a little more magic in Cute Stickers Unicorns.

Children can fill the pages with super-cute unicorn stickers illustrated in a classic kawaii style. It’s an especially appealing pick for kids who believe there’s no such thing as too many unicorns.

Step inside a cozy sticker-book world

For kids who like their activities with an extra helping of cozy, these sticker books turn everyday stores into tiny worlds to explore.

The Cozy Bakery Sticker Book

Age 3+

The ovens are on and Cozy Bakery is getting busy.

Fran, pastry chef Edith and helpers Ollie and Josh are baking bread, cakes and pastries for Cozy Town. Kids can use more than 150 stickers to fill the bakery shelves with pastries, frosted cupcakes and croissants.

Just try not to get hungry halfway through.

The Cozy Flower Store Sticker Book

Age 3+

Flora Bunny’s flower store is bursting with flowers and plants, and there’s plenty to do before the Annual Flower Show.

With assistant Monty and gardener Fern, Flora makes bouquets, plants hanging baskets and keeps everything blooming. Kids can use more than 150 stickers as they explore the flower store, flower-arranging class, sunflower competition and other scenes.

One big book packed with cute activities

Big Cute Activity Book

Age 5+

For the kid who answers “all of them” when asked what kind of activity they want, Big Cute Activity Book has plenty to investigate.

Children can follow kitten trails, solve puzzles, draw baby animals step by step, color pictures and complete scenes with smiley stickers. There are also eight sheets of press-out activities, with projects and games including play figures, a panda door hanger, a double-sided jigsaw puzzle and a memory game.

With 96 pages, this is the big one to reach for when a single type of activity simply won’t do.

Cute seasonal crafts and activities

Cute Halloween Window Art

Age 5+

Halloween can be spooky. Or it can involve extremely cute pumpkins, bats, ghosts and cats.

In Cute Halloween Window Art, kids color pictures printed on specially designed paper, cut them out and stick the finished creations to the window. There are 14 pages of tracing paper, plus puzzles on the facing pages.

It’s a Halloween activity that lets kids make something they can put on display afterward.

Cute Christmas Window Art

Age 5+

Cute Christmas Window Art contains 14 festive pictures printed on translucent paper. Kids color them with felt-tip pens, remove the finished pictures and tape them to a window so the light can shine through.

There are puzzles and drawing activities to complete as well, making it part activity book and part homemade holiday decoration.

How to choose a cute activity book

Start with what your child loves doing most.

For kids eager to learn how to draw, Step-by-Step Drawing Cute Things gives them clear instructions to follow. Younger artists can explore Cute Things to Draw and Color, while the First Magic Painting books turn a brush and some water into colorful puppy, kitten and unicorn pictures.

Sticker fans can choose between animals, unicorns and the cozy worlds of a bakery or flower store. Kids who want a little bit of everything can dive into Big Cute Activity Book, while Cute Halloween Window Art and Cute Christmas Window Art turn creative time into decorations worth showing off.

The common ingredient? Plenty to do, lots to discover and an impressive number of very cute characters along the way.