9 Gorgeous Children’s Books for Your Mini-Entrepreneur

It really blows my mind sometimes when I think about how much the world has changed since I was a kid. I didn’t even know that code was a thing until I was a teenager (oh the good old days of dial up!) but today? My five year old nephew can navigate an iPad better than I can! How cool that we get to encourage this new generation to do the things we can’t even dream up yet. The books below are a gorgeous example of how children’s literature is changing, and moving with the times.

What Do You Do With an Idea?by Kobi Yamada

This is the story of one brilliant idea and the child who helps to bring it into the world. As the child’s confidence grows, so does the idea itself. And then, one day, something amazing happens.

This is a story for anyone, at any age, who s ever had an idea that seemed a little too big, too odd, too difficult. It s a story to inspire you to welcome that idea, to give it some space to grow, and to see what happens next. Because your idea isn t going anywhere. In fact, it’s just getting started. Get it on Amazon

The Most Magnificent Thingby Ashley Spires

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. “She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits.

But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right. For the early grades’ exploration of character education, this funny book offers a perfect example of the rewards of perseverance and creativity. The girl’s frustration and anger are vividly depicted in the detailed art, and the story offers good options for dealing honestly with these feelings, while at the same time reassuring children that it’s okay to make mistakes.

The clever use of verbs in groups of threes is both fun and functional, offering opportunities for wonderful vocabulary enrichment. The girl doesn’t just “make” her magnificent thing — she “tinkers and hammers and measures,” she “smoothes and wrenches and fiddles,” she “twists and tweaks and fastens.” These precise action words are likely to fire up the imaginations of youngsters eager to create their own inventions and is a great tie-in to learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Get it on Amazon

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdosby Deborah Heiligman

Most people think of mathematicians as solitary, working away in isolation. And, it’s true, many of them do. But Paul Erdos never followed the usual path. At the age of four, he could ask you when you were born and then calculate the number of seconds you had been alive in his head. But he didn’t learn to butter his own bread until he turned twenty. Instead, he traveled around the world, from one mathematician to the next, collaborating on an astonishing number of publications. With a simple, lyrical text and richly layered illustrations, this is a beautiful introduction to the world of math and a fascinating look at the unique character traits that made “Uncle Paul” a great man. Get it on Amazon

Ish (Creatrilogy) by Peter H. Reynolds

Drawing is what Ramon does. It¹s what makes him happy. But in one split second, all that changes. A single reckless remark by Ramon’s older brother, Leon, turns Ramon’s carefree sketches into joyless struggles. Luckily for Ramon, though, his little sister, Marisol, sees the world differently. She opens his eyes to something a lot more valuable than getting things just “right.” Combining the spareness of fable with the potency of parable, Peter Reynolds shines a bright beam of light on the need to kindle and tend our creative flames with care. Get it on Amazon

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty

Iggy has one passion: building. His parents are proud of his fabulous creations, though they’re sometimes surprised by his materials—who could forget the tower he built of dirty diapers? When his second-grade teacher declares her dislike of architecture, Iggy faces a challenge. He loves building too much to give it up! With Andrea Beaty’s irresistible rhyming text and David Roberts’s puckish illustrations, this book will charm creative kids everywhere, and amuse their sometimes bewildered parents. Get it on Amazon

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

Rosie may seem quiet during the day, but at night she’s a brilliant inventor of gizmos and gadgets who dreams of becoming a great engineer. When her great-great-aunt Rose (Rosie the Riveter) comes for a visit and mentions her one unfinished goal–to fly–Rosie sets to work building a contraption to make her aunt’s dream come true. But when her contraption doesn’t fl y but rather hovers for a moment and then crashes, Rosie deems the invention a failure. On the contrary, Aunt Rose inisists that Rosie’s contraption was a raging success. You can only truly fail, she explains, if you quit. Get it on Amazon

The Dotby Peter H. Reynolds

Her teacher smiled. “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.”

Art class is over, but Vashti is sitting glued to her chair in front of a blank piece of paper. The words of her teacher are a gentle invitation to express herself. But Vashti can’t draw – she’s no artist. To prove her point, Vashti jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. “There!” she says.

That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti’s journey of surprise and self-discovery. That special moment is the core of Peter H. Reynolds’s delicate fable about the creative spirit in all of us. Get it on Amazon

The Web Design for Babies Set by John C Vanden-Heuvel Sr

HTML for Babies

It’s never too early to be standards compliant! Show your little ones HTML markup code along with letter forms to get them started on the visual patterns and symbols that make up the essential building blocks of the Web. The first in a three-volume set, originally designed by a NYC Web Designer for his baby, this beautiful book is a fun and colorful introduction to the world of web design for babies. Get it on Amazon

CSS for Babies

It’s never too early to be standards compliant! Show your little ones how to display HTML elements properly with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and familiarize them with the visual patterns and symbols that make up the essential building blocks of the Web. CSS for Babies is the second in a three-volume set, originally designed by a NYC Web Designer for his baby. This beautiful book is a fun and colorful introduction to the ABC’s of the web. Get it on Amazon

Photo Credit Rodrigo Della Fávera

The 43 Must-Subscribe Subreddits for UX Designers and Entrepreneurs

I love Reddit. I mean I really love Reddit. I’m in awe of the power that this tiny little text-based website holds. It’s my source for inspiration, for critique, for news, for humor and yes – occasionally to rant and rave. I surf the top rated posts to stay up to date, and the newest “underdog” posts to offer advice and network. Here’s my personal curated list of the best subreddits for UX designers, freelancers, and general nerds.

1) /r/Apps 8,629 subscribers, a community for 5 years http://www.reddit.com/r/apps

2) /r/Business 197,783 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/business

3) /r/BusinessHub 6,471 subscribers, a community for 2 years http://www.reddit.com/r/BusinessHub

4) /r/CareerSuccess 2,890 subscribers, a community for 3 months http://www.reddit.com/r/CareerSuccess

5) /r/CHI All about Computer-Human Interaction 1,458 subscribers, a community for 6 years http://www.reddit.com/r/chi

6) /r/Confidence Confidence: The Key to Success! 18,991 subscribers, a community for 5 years http://www.reddit.com/r/confidence

7) /r/CriticalDesign A critical theory based approach to design. 2,018 subscribers, a community for 3 years http://www.reddit.com/r/criticaldesign

8) /r/DataIsBeautiful A place for visual representations of data: Graphs, charts, maps, etc. 4,047,340 subscribers, a community for 3 years http://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful

9) /r/Design 123,373 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/Design

10) /r/DesignAssets (Fair disclosure, I’m the creator and admin of this one, but I do genuinely visit this one pretty regularly as a designer!) Sharing links to assets, resources and other freebies for designers and developers. http://www.reddit.com/r/designassets

11) /r/Design_Critiques Help new and amateur designers improve their designs 20,622 subscribers, a community for 5 years http://www.reddit.com/r/design_critiques

12) /r/DesignThought A community for sharing deep stories behind design process and craft. 14,053 subscribers, a community for 6 years http://www.reddit.com/r/designthought

13) r/Entrepreneur This subreddit is for entrepreneurs, wantrepreneurs, and anyone who just wants to put their mark on the world and make it a little more awesome. 156,941 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur

14) /r/Freelance Articles of interest for freelancers and freelance hopefuls. 25,537 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/freelance

15) /r/Frontend 13,134 subscribers, a community for 4 years http://www.reddit.com/r/frontend

16) /r/HCI For sharing and discussing all things related to Human-Computer Interaction. 1,107 subscribers, a community for 6 years http://www.reddit.com/r/hci

17) /r/Infographics 49,605 subscribers, a community for 6 years http://www.reddit.com/r/Infographics

18) /r/InternetIsBeautiful Based around sharing awesome, usually minimal and single-purpose websites and webtools. 4,145,990 subscribers, a community for 3 years http://www.reddit.com/r/InternetIsBeautiful

19) /r/iOS 20,674 subscribers, a community for 5 years http://www.reddit.com/r/ios

20) /r/IWantToLearn Connecting people who want to learn with people that can teach. 161,700 subscribers, a community for 5 years http://www.reddit.com/r/IWantToLearn

21) /r/LadyBusiness A place to discuss, celebrate and encourage women in the business world. 2,343 subscribers, a community for 2 years http://www.reddit.com/r/ladybusiness

22) /r/Mentors For people seeking mentorship, offering mentorship, and other specific exchanges. 3,131 subscribers, a community for 5 years http://www.reddit.com/r/mentors

23) /r/Mobile 3,538 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/mobile

24) /r/MobileApps 25 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/mobileapps

25) /r/MobileUI 174 subscribers, a community for 2 years http://www.reddit.com/r/MobileUI

26) /r/Organization Organizational ideas for keeping your life tidy 2,385 subscribers, a community for 4 years http://www.reddit.com/r/organization

27) /r/Product_Design 8,668 subscribers, a community for 5 years http://www.reddit.com/r/product_design

28) /r/Productivity Tips and tricks for being more productive. 90,381 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/productivity

29) /r/ProjectManagement Dedicated to project management with a focus on the software development area. 4,801 subscribers, a community for 6 years http://www.reddit.com/r/projectmanagement

30) /r/SmallBusiness Questions and answers about starting, owning, and growing a small business. 38,259 subscribers, a community for 6 years http://www.reddit.com/r/smallbusiness

31) /r/Startups The place to discus startup problems and solutions. 90,379 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/startups

32) /r/Tech About technological innovations and changes. News articles about technology ad informative and thought provoking self posts. 80,284 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/tech

33) /r/Technology 5,173,686 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/technology

34) /r/TED Dedicated to spreading, discussing and implementing the ideas espoused by the worldwide TED conferences. 35,975 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/ted

35) /r/UI_Design Topics related to UI design, mobile UI design, mobile app design, etc. 3,064 subscribers, a community for 2 years http://www.reddit.com/r/UI_Design

36) /r/UnstirredPaint This is kind of a funny one, and not at all related to UI or UX, but it’s a great place for some lighthearted artistic inspiration! Yes, it’s literally photos of unstirred paint. 6,868 subscribers, a community for 2 years http://www.reddit.com/r/unstirredpaint

37) /r/Usability Subreddit about UX matters spanning usability, user-centered design, accessibility, and related web topics. 4,313 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/usability

38) /r/UserExperience 10,989 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/userexperience

39) /r/UserExperienceDesign For thoughts Thoughts and resources about User Experience (UX), Information Architecture (IA) or Interaction Design (ID). 568 subscribers, a community for 3 years http://www.reddit.com/r/UserExperienceDesign

40) /r/User_Interface A place for UI/UX design discussions and articles. 236 subscribers, a community for 4 years http://www.reddit.com/r/user_interface

41) /r/VentureCapital Venture capital news and articles, for the VC industry and startups. 3,316 subscribers, a community for 5 years http://www.reddit.com/r/venturecapital

42) /r/Web_Design Topics related to web design: HTML, CSS, JS, layout, UI, graphics, etc. 142,119 subscribers, a community for 7 years http://www.reddit.com/r/web_design

43) /r/WebDev 100,146 subscribers, a community for 6 years http://www.reddit.com/r/webdev

Did I miss anything? Comment and let me know what other subreddits you subscribe to!

– – – The full multireddit: http://www.reddit.com/user/aporciuncula/m/uxdesign