I was an avid colorer growing up. I wasn’t a good enough artist to make up my own artwork, I much preferred coloring someone else’s drawings. But not all coloring books are created equal. Even as a 9 year-old I understood that. On the bottom rung were the cheap coloring books featuring manilla paper pages and big boring drawings. To me, the more detail the better. Coloring a big area–a giant Carebear, for example, was not only boring, but wasted a lot of one color of crayon. The best coloring books were from Dover Publishing. Their drawings had tons of details. Plus they assumed that I might have interests other than animated pets and Strawberry Shortcake.
I was totally thrilled to find that Dover still puts out wonderful coloring books. The paper quality is excellent and there are about a thousand different topics. They are all about $4.00 so they are pretty affordable. You can check out their huge selection here.
I bought this coloring books for Arabella because it’s a bunch of old-fashioned farm scenes (I am an armchair farmer and wanna-be Amish. Not for real. Just in my mind. ) Not only that, but the farm in this coloring book really exists in Dearborn, Michigan. I used to go there all the time as a little girl and pretend I really lived there a hundred years ago (see? I’ve always been slightly demented this way).
The drawings are non-cartoony, full of detail, and feature all the aspects of old-fashioned farm life like feeding calfs:
I’m pretty sure Strawberry Shortcake never did that in a coloring book!
I've been there! I am planning on taking the kids here one weekend really soon too. Wow, those are really realistic huh? I remember I had one that had wild animals in it. One was a lion taking down a zebra. It was the only page not colored in the book! Great post!
Ha!
I had no idea you found cartoony coloring books boring! Who'd a thunk? I only liked princesses and ballerinas as a child.
And, by the by, intestines are light coral with red streaks and outlines, the liver is dark maroon – almost brown, and the heart is blood red. I used to watch closely when my dad was gutting the yearly deer.
Um…wow! I can't believe someone made a coloring book of butchering a pig! Does Bella like that kind of coloring book or just you?