What Do You Do With An Idea?

What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada is one of my favorite books that I have read in a long time. This book has such a powerful message that both children and adults can appreciate. The book begins like this. “One day I had an idea. Where did it come from? Why is it here? I wondered, What Do I Do With An Idea?”. The “idea” is represented as a golden egg, which makes it easier for children to understand the concept of this book.

What Do You Do With An Idea? takes the reader through the process of having an idea that you love and believe in, but others might not think the same. The main character in this book struggles with this idea because he is not sure what to do with it.  The boy tries to forget the idea, but it keeps following him and begins to grow and grow. He realizes that he feels better when he is with his idea and then finally in the end, his idea “went from being here to everywhere. It’s wasn’t a part of me anymore…it was a part of everything”. The boy changed the world with his idea! I love the way that the colors become more and more vibrant as the boy embraces his idea and brings it to life.

As parents, we need to let our children embrace their ideas and reach for the stars. I can personally identify with this book because there have been many ideas that I have had that others thought wouldn’t be successful. However, I never gave up because when I thought of the idea, I felt happier. Many of these ideas turned into published games, workbooks and books. All of our great projects in life began as simple ideas 🙂

There is tons of language in this book that can be discussed with both a younger and older child. For a younger child, I would model language such as “You had a great idea the other day of making a Lego castle”. Can you think of any other ideas you might have for your project? For an older children, encourage more insightful abstract conversations that can lead a child to begin a story of their dream idea. With my 6 year old daughter, we have discussed many ideas and dreams that she has. This book can also help build confidence in your child, encourage their imagination and increase motivation.

What Do You Do With an Idea?
affiliate link in post