Creative ideas for book projects

📚 26 EPIC Book Report Ideas

March 22, 2021

by Beth Gorden

Book reports are a great way for kids to recall what they’ve read, help with reading comprehension, and improve writing too. But not all kids enjoy filling out book report forms. Here are 26 creative, fun, and unique book report ideas. So if you are looking to make book reports more fun, you will love these clever creative book report ideas for kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students.  Which book report projects will you try first?

Book Report Ideas

Book Reports are a great tool for helping kids learn how to summarize what they’ve read in a complete and concise manner. It helps them look for details like setting, characters, plot, and more. Plus they learn to list supporting reasons for what they like or didn’t like about the book. But let’s be honest, book report forms can get tedious and downright boring for students. These fun book report ideas allow kids to express creativity, plan their project, and work on visual presentations too. Use these creative book report ideas with kindergartners, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5, and grade 6 students.

Whether you are a parent working on improving your child’s reading skills, a classroom teacher getting ready for back to school, or a homeschooler – we’ve got a book report project ideas for everyone!

Book project ideas

From dioramas to book jacket designs, book report t shirts to cereal box presentations, and posters to letters to authors – we have so many book report ideas for 3rd grade! These ideas are great for book report ideas for 5th grade and elementary age students.

• Make a diorama – these still my children’s favorite
• Create a book jacket –  different than the original
• Kids will love making these book report t-shirts
• Present an oral book report – dress up as your favorite character
• Try creative cereal box book reports
• Make a poster – pretend your book is going to be made into a movie
• Write the author a letter – state why or why not you liked the book
• Illustrate and design a comic book
• Why not make a tasty book report (love the cake book report)

Creative book report ideas

Check out the clever book report mobile, timeline idea, magazine ad, game board, book report project or even a book report crossword puzzle – there are so many unique 3rd grade book report ideas! Pick a 4th grade book report ideas for the whole class to try or let everyone do their own unique projects based on their interests.

• Make a mobile – create your favorite scene
• Create a timeline – include the important topics
• Create a magazine ad for the book
• Make a board game
• Put together a Power Point Presentation
• Write a letter to a friend informing them why they should read the book
• Make a bookmark of your favorite chapter
• Make a crossword puzzle – let someone who’s read the book work the puzzle
• Make a memory game – use index card with vocabulary words
• Outline your favorite chapter

Book report project ideas

We have even more creative book reports from 4d trioramas to pizza book reports, book report flaps to lapbooks, sandwich book reports and more! Which ones of these 5th grade book report ideas is your favorite?

• Kids will love making these 4D Trioramas
• Interview someone who lived in the time of the setting or has experienced the plot
• Book report flaps would be a fun way for kids to recall the book events in order
• Make a True or False quiz – have someone take the quiz who has read the book
• Make a lapbook – use these templates
• Create a Poem
• Reading Comprehension Bookmarks (any book: fiction or non fiction)
• Pizza Book Report Idea
• Sandwich Book Report Idea

Book report for kids

Looking for other ways to help kids work on reading comprehension and summarizing a book they read? Try these free resources:

• Handy, book report template in the form of a bookmark (any book: fiction or non fiction)
• Free Printable Book Report Template for elementary age kids, works with any books
• Simple, one page Book Report Templates to ensure kids are understanding the main charaters, setting, and idea of what they are reading
• Super cute Pizza Book Report Idea with Free printable template!
• Book Report Template 3rd Grade and other elementary age kids – lots of free printable choices!
• Printable Sandwich Book Report allow kids to recall the main point, climax, characters, setting, and more in each delicious layer
• 26 more clever Book Report Ideas
• See if kids remember the moral of the story with these FREE Aesop Fables Worksheets
• While not book report, this Library Scavenger Hunt helps kids learn to navigate a library, the Dewey decimal system, book genres, and so much more with this pack of free printable scavenger hunts for kids!
• Bookshelf Reading Log printable pdf – to help encourage kids to read!

Book Recommendations for Kids

If you are looking for some book recommendations to help kids pick really great books they will love to read, don’t miss these book lists!

• Kindergarten Book Lists
• First Grade Reading Books
• 2nd Grade Reading Books
• 3rd Grade Reading Books
• 1st-3rd Grade Chapter Book Series
• 4th Grade Reading Books
• Good Books for 5th Graders
• Historical Fiction Books for Kids (arranged chronologically)

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About the author

Beth Gorden

Beth Gorden is the creative multi-tasking creator of 123 Homeschool 4 Me. As a busy homeschooling mother of six, she strives to create hands-on learning activities and worksheets that kids will love to make learning FUN! She has created over 1 million pages of printables to help teach kids ABCs, science, English grammar, history, math, and so much more! Beth is also the creator of 2 additional sites with even more educational activities and FREE printables - www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com and www.preschoolplayandlearn.com

35 Creative Book Report Ideas for Every Grade and Subject

Responding to what you read is an important literacy skill. Reading about other people’s experiences and perspectives helps kids learn about the world. And although students don’t need to dive deeply into every single book they read, occasionally digging into characters, settings, and themes can help them learn to look beyond the prose. Here are 35 creative book report ideas designed to make reading more meaningful.

1. Concrete Found Poem

Source: MiddleWeb

This clever activity is basically a shape poem made up of words, phrases, and whole sentences found in the books students read. The words come together to create an image that represents something from the story.

2. Graphic Novel

Have students rewrite the book they are reading, or a chapter of their book, as a graphic novel. Set parameters for the assignment such as including six scenes from the story, three characters, details about the setting, etc. And, of course, include detailed illustrations to accompany the story.

3. Book Snaps

Source: Reading and Writing Haven

Book Snaps are a way for students to visually show how they are reacting to, processing, and/or connecting with a text. First, students snap a picture of a page in the book they are reading. Then, they add comments, images, highlights, and more.

4. Write a Diary Entry

Have your students place themselves in the shoes of one of the characters from their book and write a first-person diary entry of a critical moment from the story. Ask them to choose a moment in the story where the character has plenty of interaction and emotion to share in a diary entry.

5. Character To-Do List

Source: MiddleWeb

This fun activity is an off-the-beaten-path way to dive deep into character analysis. Get inside the head of the main character in a book and write a to-do list that they might write. Use actual information from the text, but also make inferences into what that character may wish to accomplish.

6. Mint Tin Book Report

Source: Teacher Thrive

There are so many super-creative, open-ended projects you can use mint tins for. This teacher blogger describes the process of creating book reports and using them. There’s even a free template for cards that fit inside.

7. Fictional Yearbook Entries

Ask your students to create a yearbook based on the characters and setting in the book. What do they look like? Cut out magazine pictures to give a good visual image for their school picture. What kind of superlative might they get? Best looking? Class clown? What clubs would they be in or lead? Did they win any awards? It should be obvious from their small yearbooks whether your students dug deep into the characters in their books. They may also learn that who we are as individuals is reflected in what we choose to do with our lives.

8. Book Report Cake

Source: Mrs. Beattie’s Classroom

This project would be perfect for a book tasting in your classroom! Each student presents their book report in the shape of food. See the sandwich and pizza options above and check out this blog for more delicious ideas.

9. Current Events Comparison

Have students locate three to five current events articles a character in their book might be interested in. After they’ve found the articles, have them explain why the character would find them interesting and how they relate to the book. Learning about how current events affect time, place, and people is critical to helping develop opinions about what we read and experience in life.

10. Sandwich Book Report

Source: 123Homeschool4Me

Yum! You’ll notice a lot of our creative book report ideas revolve around food. In this project, each layer of this book report sandwich covers a different element of the book—characters, setting, conflict, etc. A fun adaptation of this project is the book report cheeseburger.

11. Book Alphabet

Choose 15 to 20 alphabet books to help give your students examples of how they work around themes. Then ask your students to create their own Book Alphabet based on the book they read. What artifacts, vocabulary words, and names reflect the important parts of the book? After they find a word to represent each letter, have them write one sentence that explains where the word fits in.

12. Peekaboo Book Report

Source: Runde’s Room

Using cardboard lap books (or small science report boards), students include details about their book’s main characters, plot, setting, conflict, resolution, etc. Then they draw a head and arms on card stock and attach them to the board from behind to make it look like the main character is peeking over the report.

13. T-Shirt Book Report

Source: Pinterest/T-Shirt Book Report

Another fun and creative idea: Create a wearable book report with a plain white tee. Come up with your own using Sharpie pens and acrylic paint. Get step-by-step directions.

14. Book Jacket

Have students create a new book jacket for their story. Include an attractive illustrated cover, a summary, a short biography of the author, and a few reviews from readers.

15. Watercolor Rainbow Book Report

Source: Let’s Explore

This is great for biography research projects. Students cut out a photocopied image of their subject and glue it in the middle. Then, they draw lines from the image to the edges of the paper, like rays of sunshine, and fill in each section with information about the person. As a book report template, the center image could be a copy of the book cover, and each section expands on key information such as character names, theme(s), conflict, resolution, etc.

16. Act the Part

Have students dress up as their favorite character from the book and present an oral book report. If their favorite character is not the main character, retell the story from their point of view.

17. Pizza Box Book Report

Source: Education World

If you’re looking for creative book report ideas that use upcycled materials, try this one using a pizza box. It works well for both nonfiction and fiction book reports. Each wedge of the pizza pie tells part of the story.

18. Bookmark

Have students create a custom illustrated bookmark including drawings and words from either their favorite chapter or the entire book.

19. Book Reports in a Bag

Source: Sunday Dispatch

This project really encourages creative thinking. Students read a book and write a summary. Then, they decorate a paper grocery bag with a scene from the book, place five items that represent something from the book inside the bag, and present the bag to the class.

20. Reading Lists for Characters

Ask your students to think about a character in their book. What kinds of books might that character like to read? Take them to the library to choose five books the character might have on their to-be-read list. Have them list the books and explain what each book might mean to the character. Post the to-be-read lists for others to see and choose from—there’s nothing like trying out a book character’s style when developing your own identity.

21. File Folder Book Report

Source: Appletastic Learning

Also called a lap book, this easy-to-make book report hits on all the major elements of a book study and gives students a chance to show what they know in a colorful way.

22. Collage

Create a collage using pictures and words that represent different parts of the book. Use old magazines or print pictures from the internet.

23. Book Report Triorama

Source: Swarthmore Education

Who doesn’t love a multidimensional book report? This image shows a 3D model, but the link provides a lesson to show students how to glue four triangles together to make a 4D model.

24. Timeline

Have students create a timeline of the main events from their book. Be sure to include character names and details for each event. Use 8 x 11 sheets of paper taped together or a long portion of bulletin board paper.

25. Clothes Hanger Book Report Mobile

Source: Anjanette Young

This creative project doesn’t require a fancy or expensive supply list. Students just need an ordinary clothes hanger, strings, and paper. The body of the hanger is used to identify the book, and the cards on the strings dangling below are filled with key elements of the book, like characters, setting, and a summary.

26. Public Service Announcement

If a student has read a book about a cause that affects people, animals, or the environment, teach them about public service announcements. Once they understand what a PSA is, have them research the issue or cause that stood out in the book. Then give them a template for a storyboard so they can create their own PSA. Some students might want to take it a step further and create a video based on their storyboard. Consider sharing their storyboard or video with an organization that supports the cause or issue.

27. Dodecahedron Book Report

Source: Educator’s Life

Creative book report ideas think outside the box. In this case, it’s a ball! SO much information can be covered on the 12 panels, and it allows students to take a deep dive in a creative way.

28. Character Cards

Make trading cards (like baseball cards) for a few characters from the book. On the front side, draw the character. On the back side, make a list of their character traits and include a quote or two.

29. Paper Bag Book Report Books

Source: Bright Concepts 4 Teachers

This clever book report is made from ordinary paper bags. Stack the paper bags on top of each other, fold them in half, and staple the closed-off ends of the bags together. Students can write, draw, and decorate on the paper bag pages. They can also record information on writing or drawing paper and glue the paper onto the pages. The open ends of the bags can be used as pockets to insert photos, cut-outs, postcards, or other flat items that help them tell their story.

30. Letter to the Author

Write a letter to the author of the book. Tell them three things you really liked about the story. Ask three questions about the plot, characters, or anything else you’re curious about.

31. Book Report Charm Bracelet

Source: Crayola

From the author of this lesson: “What a charming way to write a book report! Each illustrated bracelet charm captures a character, an event in the plot, setting, or other detail.”

32. Fact Sheet

Create a list of 10 facts that you learned from reading the book. Write your facts in complete sentences, and be sure that each fact is something that you didn’t know before you read the book.

33. Cereal Box TV Book Report

Source: The Cheese Thief

This book report project is a low-tech version of a television made from a cereal box and two paper towel rolls. Students create the viewing screen cut-out at the top, then insert a scroll of paper with writing and illustrations inside the box. When the cardboard roll is rotated, the story unfolds.

34. Be a Character Therapist

Therapists work to uncover their clients’ fears based on their words and actions. When we read books, we must learn to use a character’s actions and dialogue to infer their fears. Many plots revolve around a character’s fear and the work it takes to overcome that fear. Ask students to identify a character’s fear and find 8 to 10 scenes that prove this fear exists. Then have them write about ways the character overcame the fear (or didn’t) in the story. What might the character have done differently?

35. Mind Maps

Mind maps can be a great way to synthesize what students have learned from reading a book. Plus, there are so many ways to approach them. Begin by writing a central idea in the middle of the page. For example, general information, characters, plot, etc. Then branch out from the center with ideas, thoughts, and connections to material from the book.

What creative book report ideas did we miss? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, check out the most popular kids’ books in every grade.

8 books to help you come up with wow ideas

Business hack

8 books to help you come up with wow ideas

July 16, 2019 7 581 views

Olesya Akhmedzhanova

We made a selection of books "with a motor" - they will help to launch the creative to the fullest and come up with something very "wow". They can be safely put on the shelf of an advertiser, designer, businessman, developer and creative person. nine0012

We have a book by Michael Mikalko (he wrote Rice Storm) coming out. He tells what views and techniques have been practiced by various geniuses in history - and everyone can try to do the same. His exciting and fun strategies are like light bulbs: they provoke sudden insights in the head and thereby change our lives - for the better.

A guide to creating products that make consumers happy. Applied advice is replaced by historical anecdotes, and the analysis of product frameworks and solutions is supplemented by “guest lectures” (over 30 interviews with outstanding designers under the cover). Get ready to learn from the experience of Apple, Amazon and LinkedIn and put the findings to work. nine0003

Steve Rowling, former BBC TV journalist, will help you discover and develop your best ideas. If you want to improve your creative thinking, first take a look at the process behind it. Creativity is not some magical gift reserved for the lucky few. This guide is designed to develop your creativity and thinking skills.

60 tricks and techniques to work on any innovative project. Nine faculty members at the University of Sydney researched design thinking for 15 years, and then identified the best practices and included them in one book. Exercises and templates were added to the description of each. No need to rack your brains when choosing a tool: just take it, make it - and enjoy the result. nine0003

Creativity and entrepreneurship seem to live in parallel universes. But this is not so. If you have imagination (and you have it, don't argue), consider that you are already halfway to success. Whether your dream is to build a business, start a rock band, or travel around the world, this book will help you turn your idea into reality. This is a real roadmap with exercises, examples, stories. She will guide you step by step from insight to practical results.

Big data business developer Allen Gannett debunks the myths of creative genius and reveals the secrets to achieving breakthrough and commercial success in any field. The book tells the stories and insights of people from the Broadway team of the musical Dear Evan Hansen, the founder of Reddit, the chief content officer of Netflix, and the chefs of Michelin star restaurants. Through them, Gannett reveals the four laws of success and determines the general patterns of its achievement.

In 2015, MIF published Michael Mikalko's book "Rice Storm" about how to think outside the box and come up with idea after idea. The book became a bestseller: it was loved by creatives, Igor Mann and everyone who likes to train their brain. And now, three years later, a new hit has been released - "Rice Storm in Cards". 56 tools for finding ideas. Magic cards that will make creative thinking work to its fullest.

Ideal for those who have great ideas but don't know how to make other people fall in love with them. You will learn to formulate goals, promote your ideas, understand colleagues and clients. The book will help to implement creative projects - it will provide tools and tips for conducting a presentation. nine0003

Cover from here

25 creative book covers

Book cover design, like any creative project, requires a lot of motivation and inspiration. Motivation can be a deadline and a good fee, but with inspiration, everything is a little more complicated.

It usually comes unexpectedly, so be ready anytime, anywhere. For example, these book cover designs can inspire you to start a new project or complete an old one.

Before you get your daily dose of creativity, learn how to design a good book cover. nine0003

7 ingredients for good book cover design

Good book cover design can seem quite subjective. UNESCO Publishing has released a guide that will be useful to everyone who works on the creation of books. It helps make the design process easier and explains what good design depends on.

1. Preparation

Book cover design is a complex process with many limitations. You can be within a certain style, budget and technical aspects. Therefore, planning and preparation are important for those who have a clear deadline. nine0003

2. Working with the professionals

A designer who already has experience designing book covers can make your book stand out visually.

3. Visual Hierarchy

If you want your cover to appeal to your audience, you need to follow a visual hierarchy. By using elements of different sizes and colors, you can emphasize what your readers should pay attention to and in what order.

4. Use of quality images

UNESCO Publishing offers to use quality licensed images from stock photography platforms. For example, the Depositphotos website has over 140 million images. Here you will surely find a photo or illustration that will perfectly convey the idea of ​​your book cover. Moreover, we have themed collections with many ready-made covers.

View collection

5. Minimalism

Overdesign is one of the most common design mistakes that can turn viewers off. The cover with many typefaces and styles shows a lack of experience and ignorance of the basic rules of design. If you are not sure about the design solution, go for minimalism. nine0003

6. Selecting one theme or idea

If the book is a collection of poetry or short stories, it can be difficult to decide what to put on the cover. The way out in this situation is to choose a main topic or idea and stick to it so as not to disorientate the audience.

7. Keeping your audience in mind

Last but not least, remember who your audience is. Keep in mind that the cover is designed for readers, who will make their buying decisions based on what they see on it. A good cover design is one that appeals to the target audience. nine0003

Now you know what makes a good cover design. And then let's look at the works in which both respected and creatively violated the rules of design.

25 Creative Book Cover Designs

The American Institute of Graphic Art, a professional design organization, holds an annual competition to determine the top 50 book cover designs. We've browsed his archive collections and selected 25 creative book covers to inspire you. nine0003

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