There is magic between the covers of a coloring book, a type of magic that can take us away and walk us into a million worlds. Further, coloring books make artists of us all, whether we decide to be Rembrandt with his realistic colors and patterns, or Picasso with his odd cubist designs and surreal colors. Coloring Book Day encourages us to get back to the days of our youth, and dive between the pages of a coloring book.
History of Coloring Book Day
The first coloring book was established in the late 1800’s by the McLoughlin Brothers when they first released ‘The Little Folks Painting Book’. From that point forward they continued to produce books of this sort right up until the 1920’s, when they joined forced with the Milton Bradley Company. Coloring Book Day encourages the recognition of this long history of coloring books and the joy they can bring to children and adults alike.
That’s right, adults can color too! There are highly detailed books specifically designed to be used by adults. No, these books aren’t pornographic in nature (well, not all of them), but they are definitely intricate and beautiful, and that’s before you start applying color to the page. Coloring books have been used for everything from educational purposes (coloring books are in every school), to aiding in therapy and health. There are even special coloring books intended to help a child what is going to happen to them during surgery, a little understanding can assuage a large amount of fear.
How to celebrate Coloring Book Day
Bust out the crayons and colored pencils and start coloring! It’s as simple as that. There are hundreds of coloring books for children of all ages out there, and you can certainly find one or more that suits you. While you’re at it stock up on new coloring supplies, and start looking for those adult coloring books mentioned above, they come in easily as many varieties as the children’s books do. Are you a fan of Doctor Who? Game of Thrones? Star Trek? Star Wars? If the answer to any of these is yes, there are adult coloring books out there for you!