# Lantern & Ladder
A small press in Utrecht making handwriting workbooks for children aged 3 to 6, and bold and easy coloring books for grown-ups and small hands.

## Made by two people in Utrecht
We are a small press, two people in Utrecht. We plan every book page by page, check every page ourselves, and send the files to Amazon, who print and post each copy. The pictures start in an image generation tool and every one is checked by hand, for a line that does not close or a space too small to colour in. That is why the page counts on this site are the real ones.

## Ready, Set, Write!
Letter Tracing Workbooks for Ages 3 to 6
Three handwriting workbooks for preschool and kindergarten, from the first pencil strokes to writing whole sentences.
Handwriting, ages 3 to 6, 3 titles, 5 volumes. By Milo Wick.
Books 1 and 2 come in two editions. They teach exactly the same thing; only the child in the pictures changes. Book 3 has one edition with both children in it.
- [Ready! Lines & Letters](https://lanternladder.com/books/rsw1.md): Ready! Lines & Letters is a 66-page handwriting workbook for 3, 4 and 5 year olds in the preschool years, by Milo Wick. Paperback on Amazon, PDF on Etsy.
- [Set! Letters & Numbers](https://lanternladder.com/books/rsw2.md): Set! Letters & Numbers is a 70-page handwriting workbook for children aged 4 to 6 who can write most capitals, by Milo Wick. Paperback on Amazon, PDF on Etsy.
- [Write! Words & Silly Sentences](https://lanternladder.com/books/rsw3.md): Write! Words & Silly Sentences is a 66-page handwriting workbook for children aged 5 to 6 who can form every letter, by Milo Wick. Paperback on Amazon, PDF on Etsy.

### Which book for a 4 year old?
Most children trace lines and shapes from about 3, write capital letters between 4 and 5, and small letters and first words between 5 and 6. But the age bands on the covers overlap on purpose: the useful question is not how old the child is but what their hand can already do.
- They can hold a pencil, but a letter is still a shape to them, or they have never traced a line. Book 1, Ready! Lines & Letters: pre-writing strokes, shapes, then the capital letters A to Z.
- They write most capital letters and ask about the small ones, or they count aloud past ten. Book 2, Set! Letters & Numbers: the small letters a to z, then the numbers 0 to 20.
- They can form every letter, but a word comes out as a string of letters with no spaces. Book 3, Write! Words & Silly Sentences: first words to trace, then silly sentences to copy and write.
Most four year olds are in Book 1 or Book 2. In doubt, start with Book 1: a book finished quickly does more than a book that is too hard. The letters are print, not cursive, in the same stroke order in all three.

## Lantern Coloring
Bold and Easy Coloring Books for Adults
Cozy, bold and easy coloring books for adults and teens: thick lines, big spaces, single-sided pages so markers cannot bleed.
Coloring, ages 14 and up, 7 titles. By Nora Ember.
Every volume is 52 designs on square 8.5 inch pages, one design to a right-hand page with the back left blank.
52 bold and easy designs, one to a right-hand page with the back left blank so a marker cannot bleed onto the next design, and a page to test your pens before you start.
Cute Animals is for ages 7 and up.
- [Cozy Fall and Halloween](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/cozy-fall-and-halloween.md): Cozy Fall and Halloween is a 110-page bold and easy coloring book for adults and teens, by Nora Ember. Paperback on Amazon, PDF on Etsy.
- [Cozy Christmas](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/cozy-christmas.md): Cozy Christmas is a 110-page bold and easy coloring book for adults and teens, by Nora Ember. Paperback on Amazon, PDF on Etsy.
- [Cozy Corners](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/cozy-corners.md): Cozy Corners is a 110-page bold and easy coloring book for adults and teens, by Nora Ember. Paperback on Amazon, PDF on Etsy.
- [Sweet Treats](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/sweet-treats.md): Sweet Treats is a 110-page bold and easy coloring book for adults and teens, by Nora Ember. Paperback on Amazon, PDF on Etsy.
- [Cute Animals](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/cute-animals.md): Cute Animals is a 110-page bold and easy coloring book for adults and kids from age 7, by Nora Ember. Paperback on Amazon, PDF on Etsy.
- [Snow Cabin](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/snow-cabin.md): Snow Cabin is a 110-page bold and easy coloring book for adults and teens, by Nora Ember. Paperback on Amazon.
- [Morning Café](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/morning-cafe.md): Morning Café is a 110-page bold and easy coloring book for adults and teens, by Nora Ember. Not on sale yet.

### Which coloring book should I start with?
Any of them: every volume is the same 52 bold and easy designs in the same thick line, so the first one to buy is the subject you want to spend an evening with. The season is the only thing that dates: Cozy Fall and Halloween, Cozy Christmas and Snow Cabin each belong to one, and the other three to none.
- You want an autumn evening, with a bit of Halloween in it. Book 1, Cozy Fall and Halloween: pumpkins, porch lanterns, black cats, scarecrows and woodland animals.
- You want the tree, the stockings and a snowy village. Book 2, Cozy Christmas: trees and ornaments, snowmen, gingerbread and the animals of the season.
- You want a quiet evening in that works in any month. Book 3, Cozy Corners: reading nooks, window seats, mugs, lamps and kitchen shelves.
- You want cake, candy and a bakery counter. Book 4, Sweet Treats: donuts, cupcakes, ice cream, cafe tables and a gingerbread house.
- You want a book to color with a child of 7 or more. Book 5, Cute Animals: kittens, puppies, bunnies, bears and penguins, drawn large and simple.
- You want winter without a holiday in it. Book 6, Snow Cabin: log cabins, wood stoves, moose, foxes and snowy owls.
Cozy Corners: it has no season, so it is the one to give without knowing when it will be opened. Every volume is the same size, the same number of pages and the same price.

### Every volume at a glance
| Book | Season | Ages | Pages | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Book 1, Cozy Fall and Halloween](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/cozy-fall-and-halloween.md) | Autumn and Halloween | 14 and up | 110 | Paperback, PDF |
| [Book 2, Cozy Christmas](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/cozy-christmas.md) | Christmas | 14 and up | 110 | Paperback, PDF |
| [Book 3, Cozy Corners](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/cozy-corners.md) | None, a quiet evening in | 14 and up | 110 | Paperback, PDF |
| [Book 4, Sweet Treats](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/sweet-treats.md) | None, sweet things | 14 and up | 110 | Paperback, PDF |
| [Book 5, Cute Animals](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/cute-animals.md) | None, animals | 7 and up | 110 | Paperback, PDF |
| [Book 6, Snow Cabin](https://lanternladder.com/series/lc/snow-cabin.md) | Winter, no holiday | 14 and up | 110 | Paperback |

## Little Lantern Coloring
Coloring Books for Preschoolers, Ages 3 to 6
The simplest shapes and the thickest outlines, for the age just before a pencil is held properly.
Coloring, ages 3 to 6, 1 title. By Nora Ember.
Every volume is 52 big, simple pictures on square 8.5 inch pages, one to a right-hand page with the back left blank.
52 big, simple pictures, one to a right-hand page with the back left blank so felt tips are safe, and a page to test your crayons before you start.
- [Farm and Garden](https://lanternladder.com/series/llc/farm-and-garden.md): Farm and Garden is a 110-page bold and easy coloring book for children aged 3 to 6, by Nora Ember. Not on sale yet.

### Drawn for a crayon held in a fist
A child of three does not hold a crayon the way an adult holds a pen. The grip is a fist, the stroke comes from the shoulder, and a thin line disappears under the first scribble. So every outline in Little Lantern Coloring is at least 5 points thick, against 3 in our coloring books for adults, and every design is checked for that line before it goes in the book.
Each page has one big thing on it: a hen, a tractor, a carrot. At most it stands on a strip of ground, and nothing else crowds in. A small child can see the whole picture at once, finish it in one sitting and show it to someone, which is what keeps them coming back to the next page.
The pages are the same size as our adult books, 8.5 inches square, and every picture is printed on a right-hand page with the back left blank, so felt tips that soak through spoil nothing. The color test page at the front has twelve large swatches instead of thirty, enough for a box of chunky crayons.
When the pictures start to feel too easy, usually around seven, the step up is Cute Animals in Lantern Coloring: the same idea, with more to color in each picture.

## Teachers and kinderopvang
Sample pages, bulk orders and a person who answers email. If you are fitting these into a group of twenty, tell us what you need and we will tell you honestly whether these books do it. https://lanternladder.com/schools
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Page: https://lanternladder.com/
Lantern & Ladder, Utrecht, Netherlands. info@lanternladder.com