Something to Do (When There's Nothing To Do) A Coloring and Activity Book

by Editors of Phaidon Press

Like Engelbreit's book, this invites children to engage actively with visual art rather than passively consume it—but instead of coloring, you're exploring masterpieces and discovering how artists from different eras solved creative problems. The book's design encourages you to study, annotate, and make connections between works, turning art appreciation into a hands-on adventure.

by Keri Smith

Smith takes the activity-book concept and flips it on its head—instead of coloring within lines, you're encouraged to tear, fold, spill, and destroy pages as part of the creative process. It has that same spirit of playful artistic expression that Engelbreit captures, but with a rebellious twist that celebrates imperfection and experimentation over pristine finished products.

by Donna Jeanne Haraway

Here's the curveball: a narrative biography from 2015 that might seem worlds away from a '90s activity book, but Wulf writes about how Humboldt saw the world as an interconnected artistic whole—he drew, sketched, and created visual representations to understand nature. If you loved the tactile, creative problem-solving in Engelbreit's book, you'll find that same spirit of curiosity and hands-on exploration, just applied to understanding the planet itself.

by Julie Powell

Scobie's book mirrors Engelbreit's structure—daily prompts and projects that blend instruction with creative freedom—but expands the scope to include painting, collage, printmaking, and mixed media. Each page is designed to be completed and kept, so you're building a personal art journal that evolves throughout the year, much like how Engelbreit's portfolio grows with your finished pieces.

by Bruce Lansky

Since greeting cards are just one element of Engelbreit's book that you probably loved, Dickinson's guide takes that single thread and develops it fully—teaching you card-making techniques from stamping to embossing to hand-lettering. It's the same philosophy of creating something both beautiful and functional that someone else will treasure, with clear instructions that leave room for your own personal style.