Little Lantern Coloring

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.