According to the IB learner profile, effective thinkers “use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take responsible action on complex problems. [They] exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.”

Most children love to tinker, build and create. Inspire an interest in inventing and engineering with these books for thinkers and problem-solvers. The characters and illustrations will spark children’s imagination, helping them develop and improve their own creative ideas.

In a previous post, Thinking Skills and Problem-Solving Teaching Resources, you can find picture books, videos and online resources for the classroom.

When choosing the best picture books for thinkers and problem-solvers in your classroom pick ones to inspire your students to invent, build, research, hypothesis, analysing, create and evaluating. 

These books present independent and effective thinkers in different situations. Some follow characters thinking independently, critical and creatively solving problems. Others show the importance of an open mind and listening to the ideas of the others while still drawing their own conclusions. You will see characters who:

• Using knowledge to solve problems independently
• Predicting outcomes
• Thinking things through
• Making good decisions
• Trying new ways
• Making mistakes and trying again
• Recognising breakthroughs
• Using trial and error to find a solution