How to Use Picture Books to Teach Problem Solving

You want your child to have a go when something is difficult. To ask questions. To try another idea.

But after a long day, setting up another learning activity can feel like a project in itself.

Here's somewhere simpler to start: the book you're already reading together.

Picture books about problem solving give you a character to care about and something to work out. You can explore an idea together without needing your child to build anything, write an answer or even read the words independently.

The useful part is the conversation. And it can be a very small one.

What makes a useful problem solving picture book?

Start with a story your child wants to hear.

Then look for a problem they can understand. Someone needs help. Something doesn't work. A character wants to get somewhere or make something.

It helps when there are attempts along the way, rather than an answer appearing from nowhere. You have something to ask about: what did they try, and what happened?

Illustrations matter too. Your child may spot a detail you haven't mentioned, point to a possible solution or explain an idea through the picture.

A story doesn't need an engineering label to do any of this. The University of Virginia's ECE Resource Hub includes brainstorming solutions in stories among its suggestions for supporting problem solving at home.

Try one question before turning the page

At a natural pause, ask, "What could they try?"

Then wait.

It's tempting to follow immediately with a hint, a second question and possibly your entire solution. I understand the temptation. Engineers are quite good at having opinions about solutions.

But give your child a chance to have theirs.

If they suggest something surprising, ask how it might work. If they're unsure, offer two possibilities. If they want to turn the page, turn the page.

You're sharing a story. You can come back to the question on another reading.

Talk about what changed

After the character tries something, ask what was different.

Did they use another material? Ask someone for help? Notice something they missed?

This is where you can make a simple connection to engineering. Engineers work within requirements, try ideas and check whether the result does the job.

You don't need to explain the whole process to a four-year-old. You can say, "They needed it to stay up. Did that idea help?"

That's a much more approachable starting point than a definition of engineering.

Let your child disagree with the character

The published ending isn't the only idea worth talking about.

Your child might think the character should have asked a friend earlier. Or used a bigger box. Or gone around the obstacle.

Explore it. What would their version need? What might happen next?

Some stories have practical problems. Others centre on feelings or friendships. Both can create good conversations, although fixing a broken object and helping an upset friend call for different kinds of help.

Keep the discussion connected to what the character actually needs.

Take one idea off the page

If your child is interested, turn the conversation into something small.

After reading about building, make a shelter for a toy. After a story about carrying something, choose a container that will do the job. Or simply notice a similar problem the following day.

You don't need a matching craft activity for every book.

The connection can be as small as, "Remember when the character tried a different way? What could we change here?"

If you'd like some practical starting points, here are seven problem solving activities for kids at home.

Where The Engineer's Duck fits

This is the thinking behind The Engineer's Duck.

I'm an engineer and a parent, and I wanted to introduce engineering through characters children could get to know. Young engineer Lon Lon and his feathered friend TED-e give us a way into that world.

The first picture book, World of Engineering, introduces different kinds of engineering through rhyming text, colourful illustrations and point-and-follow reading prompts.

It is an introduction to the subject. The questions and follow-on play in this article are suggestions for reading together; they aren't a claim that the book contains a complete problem solving curriculum.

You can read the words aloud, follow what interests your child and leave space for questions. They don't need to know what an engineer does before you open it.

You don't need an engineering background either.

Choose a story they'll want to come back to

A book can have all the educational intentions in the world, but your child still needs a reason to care.

Start with their interests. Find a character, a picture or a situation that draws them in. Then use the opportunities the story gives you.

One useful question and a conversation you both enjoy is a good evening's reading.

If you'd like to see how our own books approach this, the next article introduces The Engineer's Duck: World of Engineering and who it's for.

Or explore The Engineer's Duck here to meet Lon Lon and TED-e and take a closer look at the books.