While raising my two kids, I struggled with the lack of resources to help my children understand the importance of organizing their lives. As a Professional Organizer, I know first-hand how it can transform a person when they become more organized. While my kids are young adults, their organizational skills have progressed nicely after many struggles in figuring out what worked for them. I hope these children's books about organizing help your children understand the importance of organizing one's life.
Note: This post is updated whenever I find new books. You will see an "update and date" if there are new children's books.
I divided this post into three book categories: Organizational Skills, Organizational Skills Books for Tweens/Teens, and Life/Time Management/Project Planning Skills.
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Children's Organizational Skills Books
The first section of the book is to help children with organizational skills. These books are intended for younger children ages 5-9. Elementary-aged children.
The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Stan & Jan Berenstain
Children Book: The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room
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The first book is a Classic. I even remember it when I was a kid. It's a book about how Mama and Papa are frustrated that Brother and Sister can’t or won't pick up after themselves.
A Place for Everything: Habit 3 by Sean Covey
Children Book: A Place for Everything: Habit 3
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This book is described as "Discover that organization is the fastest way to fun." It's about Jumper, who has a messy room; he encounters issues playing his favorite game because of that mess.
Note: Sean Covey has several kids through teen books. Check his Author page on Amazon (Affiliate Link). Sean Covey is the son of Dr. Stephen Covey, who was famous and developed The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Too Many Toys by David Shannon
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This book is about a boy named Spencer, who has a mountain of toys but has difficulty getting rid of things.
Respect and Take Care of Things by Cheri J. Meiners, M.Ed.
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This book is in English and Spanish. It encourages children to pick up after themselves, put things away, respect, and take care of the earth. There are tips on staying clutter-free.
Just A Mess by Mercer Mayer
Children Book: Just a Mess (Little Critter) (Look-Look)
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Update 9-2023: This book is a classic from Mercer's Mayer's Little Critter series and is described as "A perfect way to teach kids about picking up after themselves!"
Get Organized Without Losing It by Janet S. Fox
Children Book: Get Organized Without Losing It (Laugh & Learn®)
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This book discusses empowering kids to conquer clutter, prioritize tasks, master devices, improve study skills, and stop procrastinating.
Organized Ninja: A Children’s Book About Organization and Overcoming Messy Habits (Ninja Life Hacks) by Mary Nhin
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This book is a part of a series called Ninja Life Hacks. It is intended to help parents and young children ages 3-11 and is perfect for boys, girls, early readers, toddlers, and elementary school children.
A Little SPOT of Organization (Inspire to Create A Better You!) by Diane Alber
Children Book: A Little SPOT of Organization (Inspire to Create A Better You!)
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The Little SPOT of Organization book is about a little SPOT, which is an expert organizer and shows kids how to organize not only their room but their time and thoughts.
What Goes Inside? (Neatly Organized Things) by Magda Gargulakova
Children Book: What Goes Inside? (Neatly Organized Things)
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This book is all about what is inside things in a home, school, etc... It's a great book to help the child learn what is inside things.
Suzie's Messy Room Paperback and Benji's Messy Room Paperback by Diane N Quintana and Jonda S Beattie
As this post went live, a colleague of mine, Diane N. Quintana, notified me of her book. She and Jonda S Beattie developed these two books for very young kids.
Diane said, in the comments below, "It is a sweet story (Affiliate Link) about a child (Suzie or Benji) who has so much fun in their room playing with ALL their toys that the room is a HUGE mess! The child doesn't know how to begin putting the toys away. The mother guides the child step by step. This book teaches grouping like objects, breaking a project down into small steps, and reducing a collection of things. These are great stories for very young children."
Children Book: Suzie's Messy Room
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Children Book: Benji's Messy Room
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Seraphina Does Everything by Melissa Gratias
Here's another book for an organizing colleague of mine, Melissa Gratias.
Seraphina wants to do it all because she fears missing out. Seraphina discovers that in trying to do everything, she is missing out on her favorite things.
Children Book: Seraphina Does Everything
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Tidy Tessa by Naeemah Ford Goldson, Illustrated by Tayliyah Chatmon
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Updated 9-2023: Tidy Tessa will help your kids organize their things! It is written by a Professional Organizer(R). A fun book for little ones.
Cameron's Clutter by Rachel Davis.
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Updated 9-2023: Teach your young ones about donating their toys in order to both reduce clutter and help others. It's about Cameron, who wants a new toy, and his mother introduces him to donating and decluttering to help other children.
Cami Kangaroo Has Too Many Sweets by Stacy C. Bauer (author) and Rebecca Sinclair (Illustrator)
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Updated 9-2023: Cami loves her sweets so much. This book talks about honesty, self-control, and healthy habits. This book helps children understand the meaning of self-control and honesty in a funny and uplifting way.
Ophelia: Let's Get Organized by Vickie Dellaquila (author) and Kristin Purcell Sacco (Illustrator)
Children Book: Ophelia: Let's Get Organized!
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Updated 9-2023: It's about a little girl named Lucy, who is having trouble finding things in her room. Ophelia, the Organizer, sees Lucy's problem and is about to give her a visit.
Coco's Closet Paperback by Tracey Shadley (Author)
Updated 11-2024: This book is for elementary to middle school children (ages 5 to 12). It is a lovely book about how Coco's closet is a disaster zone and what she does about it. Will she finally find her perfect outfit and make it to school on time? Feel free to get a copy of this book for your children today.
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Organizational Skills Books for Tweens/Teens
This section is designed to help teens and tweens with organizational skills. These Children's Books About Organizing are intended for ten-year-olds and older.
Organizing from the Inside Out for Teens: The Foolproof System for Organizing Your Room, Your Time, and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern
Children Book: Organizing from the Inside Out for Teens: The Foolproof System
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This book talks about payoffs. What if I organize my space? Then the payoff is what? This book helps teens and tweens find the 'why' in organizing to achieve consistent habit change and results.
A Smart Girl's Guide: Getting It Together: How to Organize Your Space, Your Stuff, Your Time--and Your Life (Smart Girl's Guides) by Erin Falligant
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This is specifically for female teens. There are fun quizzes, lots of ideas, and advice to help organize their lives and keep them that way.
Life / Time Management Skills / Project Planning
This next section of books will help children with life, time management skills, and project planning. These books are intended for 10-year-old children and older as well.
A Kid's Guide to Organizing by Jarrett G. Carter, Jolene T. Carter
Children Book: A Kid's Guide to Organizing
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Kids wrote this book for kids. It is for 7 to 13-year-old children. It covers school issues, time management, and home organization.
I Can't Find My Whatchamacallit (Functioning Executive) by Julia Cook
Children Book: I Can't Find My Whatchamacallit (Functioning Executive)
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This book is about Cletus and Bocephus, who are cousins, where one is organized, and one is messy. It talks about the "functional executive," which is a skill that helps us with mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. This book will help children understand, develop, and apply organization, a vital executive function skill.
How to Be a Person: 65 Hugely Useful, Super-Important Skills to Learn Before You're Grown Up by Catherine Newman
Children Book: How to Be a Person
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This kid's guide to the ultimate how to be a responsible person. This will also help them with etiquette and get their parents to stop nagging them. Easy tips on folding T-shirts and eating healthy meals on a budget are also in this book.
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
Children Book: The Most Magnificent Thing
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This book is about a girl and her dog. She has a plan but gets frustrated. This book offers good options for dealing honestly with these feelings and says it is OK to make mistakes during a project's process.
Life Skills for Kids: How to Cook, Clean, Make Friends, Handle Emergencies, Set Goals, Make Good Decisions, and Everything in Between by Karen Harris
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This book teaches life skills to kids. Decision-making strategies, the importance of chores, and much more is discussed in this book.
Well, there you have 15 children's books about organizing! I hope this post helps you figure out which books work best for your children. Feel free to visit our other organizing posts for kids on this blog.
Visit our other post: 7 games to help kids understand how to organize
Now it's your turn! Are there any other books you would recommend? Please leave a comment below.
Visit our other recent kid's post below!
Below are some other children's books you may want to check out on Amazon.
Teach your children why it is important to clean books on Amazon (Affiliate Link) (affiliate).
Pam Holland says
This FABULOUS! Who knew there were so many kid's books on organizing? Not I?
Katherine Macey says
Great list of resources! It's wonderful to get kids started organizing early.
Janet Schiesl says
A great list of resources! Thank you for sharing.
Lisa Gessert says
Sabrina!! wonderful book suggestions!!! thank you! I use to do presentations to kids as an after school class, they are like sponges and love to learn to organize their own spaces!
Julie Bestry says
I'm really impressed with this list! I pride myself on knowing all of the organizing books (for adults and kids) but there are several on here that I didn't know. I'm excited to see Jonda & Diane's books and Melissa's Seraphina! This will be super for parents and grandparents to review when shopping!
Sabrina Quairoli says
Ah, thanks, Julie! I was so excited that I was able to find so many.
Seana Turner says
Wow, what a great roundup of books here. I know some of them, but some are new to me. Perfect way to start a conversation with children without being adversarial. Love it!
Sabrina Quairoli says
Thanks for stopping by, Seana!
Melissa Gratias says
Ooh, ooh! I'd like to shamelessly plug my kid book, Seraphina Does Everything! It is a story of a girl who discovers that in trying to do everything, she is missing out on her favorite things. It is a FOMO (fear of missing out) issue that I see often in my (grown-up) coaching clients.
Sabrina Quairoli says
That's wonderful, Melissa! I will add it to the post.
Jonda Beattie says
Thank you for including us in your list. I am familiar with many of the books you have listed but not all. Thank you for making me aware of them.
Sabrina Quairoli says
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! It was my pleasure to add your books.
Linda Samuels says
I had no idea how many organizing books were available for kids and teens. I knew of some, especially the ones Diane and Jonda co-authored. But there are so many more. Wow!
One of my favorites from when I was a kid is no longer in print. Although, I have an out of print copy. It's "The Pile of Junk" by Miriam Schlein from 1962. It's about a elder woman who decides to clear out her house. She brings things to the curb and has a huge pile of outtakes. One by one, people passing by discover something from the "junk" pile and repurpose it into something else. Even as a little kid, there was something about this story I adored. How funny that I ended up becoming an organizer.
Sabrina Quairoli says
That sounds like a wonderful book! Thanks for sharing, Linda. I just did a quick search on Google and found a website called ConfettiBooks.com that sells hard-to-find, out-of-print, used, and rare books. The Pile of Junk book is on sale on their website.
Diane N Quintana says
These are great books, Sabrina. I have numbers 16 and 17 to add to your list: Suzie's Messy Room and Benji's Messy Room written by Diane N. Quintana and Jonda S. Beattie. The audience is children ages 3-6. It is a sweet story about a child (Suzie or Benji) who has so much fun in their room playing with ALL their toys that the room is a HUGE mess! The child doesn't know how to begin the process of putting the toys away. The mother guides the child step by step. This book teaches grouping like objects, breaking a project down into small steps, and how to reduce a collection of things. These are great stories for very young children.
Sabrina Quairoli says
Thank you, Diane! I will add them to the post. =)