Families who loved What Was It Before It Was Smashed? by Kristen McCurry often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.
Reach for this book when your child is in a destructive phase or shows an intense interest in how things are made and unmade. Instead of discouraging the impulse to break things, this book channels that energy into a sophisticated game of visual deduction. It encourages children to look past the surface of a mess to find the hidden patterns beneath. Through high-quality macro photography, children are invited to identify everyday objects that have been crushed or mangled. It is a fantastic tool for building visual literacy and spatial reasoning. By focusing on the before and after, it helps children process the concept of change and physical properties in a way that feels like a high-stakes detective game. It is perfect for preschoolers and early elementary students who pride themselves on being observers of the world.
