Hello! I'm Afoma.
  • Book Reviews
    • Picture book
    • Chapter Books
    • Middle-Grade
    • Graphic Novels
    • Young Adult
    • Adult Fiction
    • Adult Non-Fiction
  • Book Lists
    • Picture Book Lists
    • Middle Grade Book Lists
    • Book Lists by Theme
    • Book Lists by Grade
    • Audiobook Recommendations
  • Join My Newsletter!
  • Go to the Blog
  • Summer Reading
  • Work with Me
    • Review & Promotion Policy
    • School Visits

Reading Middle Grade

Books for Kids and Grown Ups

  • Book Reviews
    • Picture book
    • Chapter Books
    • Middle-Grade
    • Graphic Novels
    • Young Adult
    • Adult Fiction
    • Adult Non-Fiction
  • Book Lists
    • Picture Book Lists
    • Middle Grade Book Lists
    • Book Lists by Theme
    • Book Lists by Grade
    • Audiobook Recommendations
  • Join My Newsletter!
  • Go to the Blog
  • Summer Reading
  • Work with Me
    • Review & Promotion Policy
    • School Visits

Activity Books, Book Lists · September 22, 2021

15 Best Drawing and Coloring Books for Kids

Do your kids love to draw and color? The best drawing and coloring books for kids will appeal to children of various ages and drawing skills. Whether your kids color to soothe their anxiety or they’re big-time artists and cartoonists in the making, there’s something for them on this list.

kid on white table using a drawing and coloring book

Best Drawing and Coloring Books for Kids

We’ve selected these 15 picks based on their paper quality (no one wants ripping sheets while kids color), kid appeal (think popular carton franchises) and of course, age requirements (including recs from toddler ages to tweens and up).

Here are 15 of the best drawing and coloring books for kids:

How to Draw 101 Animals

How to Draw 101 Animals - best drawing and coloring books for kids

5 years and up

This cute drawing book details easy step-step guides for drawing just about any kind of animal your kid may want to attempt. Even young preschoolers will find this fun to use. Here’s what the pages look like on the inside.

How to Draw 101 Animals

How to Draw Book for Kids

how to draw book for kids - best drawing and coloring books for kids

5 years and up

If your kids aren’t into drawing animals, they may enjoy this drawing book for drawing “cute and silly” things like fairies, outer space, and yummy food. This book has 118 thick pages with large detailed drawings and anyone can use it! The manufacturer says it’s perfect for kids in K-8th.

Here’s a look at the inside:

how to draw book for kids sample page

How to Draw Cute Stuff

how to draw cute stuff - best drawing and coloring books for kids

6 years and up

This drawing book for kids teaches how to draw people, animals, and things—and make it CUTE. All they have to do is follow the simple step-by-step how-to sequences. It uses Japanese kawaii, which emphasizes simple, rounded shapes; faces with large eyes and sweet expressions; and personifying inanimate objects. This one is recommended for kids ages 6 and up.

Here’s a sample page:

how to draw cute stuff sample page

Learn to Draw Your Favorite Disney/Pixar Characters

best drawing and coloring books for kids - how to draw your favorite disney/pixar characters

6 – 8 years

Along the way, professional Disney artists share helpful tips and tricks for bringing the characters to life. Do your kids want to learn to draw characters like Woody, Buzz,Nemo, Dory, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Joy and Sadness? Then this is the best drawing book for them! Professional Disney artists share tips to help them improve their skills and they get step by step guidance for drawing every character.


how to draw all the things - best drawing and coloring books for kids

7 – 12 years

This drawing book is perfect for tweens who want to learn to draw or practice basic drawing skills. There are 42 art projects and the book itself has perforated easy-to-remove pages that are made from premium paper.

Here’s a sample page:

how to draw all the things sample page

Toddler Coloring Book

toddler coloring book - best drawing and coloring books for kids

1-4 years

Want to get your toddler ready for preschool? Get them coloring everything from the alphabet to numbers 1-10. Books like these help to improve recognition and fine motor skills, while letting them make the mess their heart desires. The paper is crisp white for a more pleasurable experience.


My Best Toddler Coloring Book

1-5 years

This toddler coloring book is perfect for any kids who want to combine their love for art with learning. Whether they’re aged 1-5 or over 5 years, they’ll enjoy coloring the shapes, numbers, letters, and objects in this book.


My First Big Book of Coloring

my big book of coloring - best drawing and coloring books for kids

3 – 5 years

This coloring book is called BIG for a reason! It features jumbo images that younger kids will enjoy coloring. Here’s a sample page:

my big book of coloring sample page

Unicorn Coloring Book

4 – 8 years

This coloring book will appeal to unicorn lovers of preschool and elementary ages. It includes 50 pages of drawings ready to be colored by your little Picasso. The A4 size makes it perfect for those little grabby hands.


Dinosaur Coloring Book

4 – 8 years

A coloring book for dinosaur obsessed kids, this one has 33 unique drawings — single-sided to prevent color bleed-through. This book shows a variety of dinos in their natural habitat for kids who can’t get enough of the prehistoric creatures.


4 – 8 years

Let your kids have an outer space experience with this space-themed coloring book. The thick bright white pages feature planets, astronauts, spaceships, aliens, meteors, rockets, sun, moon, and stars. 


Super Mario Activity Book for Kids

5 – 7 years

Super Mario fans will be thrilled by this coloring book with mazes, puzzles, sudoku and more. Older kids will find this to be more than just a coloring book.


Playful Patterns Coloring Book

6 – 12 years

If your tween deals with anxiety, they may benefit from this mindfulness coloring book with soothing patterns that keep their hands and minds occupied. There are over 60 durable pages included in this one.


A Million Dogs: Fabulous Canines to Color

6 – 12 years

Dog lovers will squeal at this coloring book filled with countless dog breads all waiting to be colored. This is a delightful coloring experience that will keep even older tweens occupied.


Art of Coloring: Moana: 100 Images to Inspire Creativity

6 – 12 years

If your child is a fan of Moana and enjoys coloring as a past time, this is the perfect coloring book for them! With over 120 pages of portraits and landscape images to color, they’ll be set for a fun, cozy afternoon of coloring.


There they are: 15 of the best drawing and coloring books for kids of all ages! Do you enjoy using coloring books? Do you have any favorite drawing or coloring books? I’d love to hear! If your kids love arts and crafts, they may enjoy meeting the kids in these middle grade books about arts, crafting, and photography.

Don't Forget to Share!

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • LinkedIn

Related

Posted In: Activity Books, Book Lists · Tagged: activity books

Join My Newsletter

Like what you just read? Sign up for my Friday kidlit newsletter!

Privacy Policy

You’ll Also Love

91 Middle-Grade Books to Read in 2021
31 Best Books for Teens
20 Middle Grade Books with Shy Protagonists

Comments

  1. Heather says

    September 22, 2021 at 7:47 am

    Who didn’t love these sorts of books when we were kids? Even today, as an adult, I love to colour, especially with my grandkids! Thanks for some great suggestions. These look like super gifts to me!

    Reply

What do you think? Leave a comment Cancel reply

Next Post >

50 of the Best Books for 8th Graders

About Me
Hi, I'm Afoma! Thank you for stopping by. Learn more about me here.

a group for kid lit lovers

reading middle grade facebook group

Get 2 Months Free on Scribd

Follow on Bloglovin’

Follow

We’re Social Too!

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Stock photos courtesy of our partners at DepositPhotos 📸

Find me on Instagram

whatafomareads

📚 Sharing the best middle grade (and adult) book recommendations
💌 [email protected] for book publicity (No DMs, please)

Afoma
✨how ‘bout a little virtual reality?✨

☀️ Addie has reluctantly moved across the country with her dad for his summer job in the virtual reality industry. He's working on research to use VR for therapeutic purposes, such as helping people cultivate empathy. Addie is not into VR, but that starts to change when she meets Matteo another kid on campus, and tries out VR on her own. Eventually, the two find a helpful use for VR that helps other people.

🥽 I loved the illustration style in this one and while I found the VR setting a bit disorienting, I appreciated the unique lens of the story. The graphic novel format works brilliantly for helping readers appreciate the power of VR. I think with text, it would have just been too much “world-building.” This is more engaging and exciting for kids.

🐢 Lo and Behold is a clever middle grade graphic novel about virtual reality, grief, and parental addiction. Readers who enjoy VR will love this one, but as the Author's Note mentions, it will also be a fantastic introduction for those who, like me, aren't familiar with it. A fun summer read with hints of serious themes.

#mglit #middlegrade #bookstagram
✨surprisingly heartwarming middle grade✨ 🗺 ✨surprisingly heartwarming middle grade✨

🗺️ Ginny’s summer is thrown off when her dad gets a surprise redeployment in the middle of their family’s moving to another city. Then, her geography camp gets canceled. Her sister seems to be making new friends, but no one appears to like Ginny–even when she starts her own geography camp. 

❤️ I loved this book way more than I thought I would (from the synopsis). Ginny has such a great voice and she isn’t always the most likable character but she’s always real. I loved watching her grow throughout the story.

📍This sweet, unique young middle grade book made my heart grow and ache for Ginny and her family as they navigated a season of change. Features illustrations and a new geography fact in each chapter.

#amreading #mglit #middlegrade
My current adult reads! HAPPY TRAVELER is a non- My current adult reads! 

HAPPY TRAVELER is a non-fiction title about making travel work for you and creating enjoyable, memorable experiences. So far, I’m enjoying the author’s musings on travel.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL is a bookstagram darling (need I say more?) and I already know I’ll be reading it for a while. It’s one of those books that really forces you to slow down. The writing is so tender; it feels like the author loves her characters ❤️

#bookstagram #amreading #readersofinstagram
✨growing up is full of bumps on the way✨ 🤓 ✨growing up is full of bumps on the way✨

🤓 Sixth grade is off to a rocky start for Rex. His district moved most of his elementary school to another middle school, his best friend ditches him for the popular crew, and his blurry vision means he has to get clunky new glasses–the only kind his family can afford. 

❤️ This sweet graphic novel for fans of Telgemeier is an ode to middle school, family, and finding your people.

#graphicnovel #middleschoolbooks #kidlit
Do you like to hop on the “buzz train”? I find Do you like to hop on the “buzz train”? I find that buzzy books are often worth the hype. Even the few people who dislike them tend to have STRONG feelings about them 👀 which to me is a sign that the story got to you somehow. Of course, not every book is for every reader — hype or not. I share my tip for finding a hyped book that matches your reading tastes.

Which hyped books did you love? And which ones missed the mark for you?

#reader #bookstagram #unpopularopinions
✨a different kind of sunshine✨ I loved this g ✨a different kind of sunshine✨

I loved this graphic memoir about the author’s time as a counselor at a camp for kids with cancer. It was my first time reading anything by this author and I totally get the appeal.

This one didn’t end up being as sad as I thought it would be but it was very moving, especially because Krosoczka shares newspaper clippings and pictures of one the families with whom he forged a particularly close relationship even until his college years.

If you’re looking for an engaging graphic memoir for older kids ages 11+ this is a great choice.

#graphicnovel #kidlit #yareader
✨a devastating debut✨ This book! Brilliantly ✨a devastating debut✨

This book! Brilliantly written, impressive characterization, and a plot so unexpected. It left me physically shaken (it's not feel-good), but it feels so necessary, so timely. A solid debut about the search for the great American Dream, familial sacrifices, and confronting our ugly inner selves -- all in less than 300 pages. 

You'll like this if you like:

Multiple perspectives (3 perspectives, 3rd person POV)
Character-driven stories
Time-jumping plots
Devastating endings

If you prefer straightforward, plot-rich, fast-paced stories, you might struggle a bit with this one at the start. But it's worth it!

#bookstagram #amreading #fiction
☀️ Meet the Bookstagrammer ☀️ Hi, new fol ☀️ Meet the Bookstagrammer ☀️

Hi, new followers! It’s such a pleasure to have a few new faces around. I love finding new readers to follow on the gram. 

My name is Afoma and I run a book blog called Reading Middle Grade. I also run a Facebook Group and newsletter related to my blog. In my day job, I’m a freelance writer and editor, with a degree in medicine.

I’ve lived in three continents (born in Nigeria, med school in Ukraine and the Caribbean). I live in Nigeria now with my husband and many, many books 🤭 I love to cook and travel and run. This year, one of my goals is to become a better runner. I’m currently able to run 2K without stopping. 

Even though we don’t have traditional four seasons in Nigeria, the summer months are my favorite. From childhood, they were the one time when my overachieving, perfectionistic self could RELAX. And do nothing! And even now, I try to take time off in the summer to do nothing.

Some of favorite books this year have been LASAGNA MEANS I LOVE YOU, THE LOST YEAR (I lived in Ukraine for 3 years, so this resonated with me!), and MAAME. 

Thank you so much for following my reading journey! Tell me something about yourself — hobbies, favorite books, anything! ❤️
Load More Follow on Instagram
  • Blog
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Reading Middle Grade · Theme by 17th Avenue

 

Loading Comments...