The best coloring books for kids, and how to choose one

1. Choose a subject they already love

Interest is what keeps a kid coloring. Pick the thing they talk about most.

• Animals, dinosaurs and robots
• Aliens and funny monsters
• Unicorns and mermaids and funny faces
• Halloween and Christmas

2. Match their age

Trace Then Color books are for ages 3 and up. Younger kids do best with round, simple characters and a grown-up nearby. Older kids enjoy the busier characters and the gross-out humor. See picks by age.

3. Trace first, or just color?

In a Trace Then Color book every character is printed in dotted lines. Your kid traces the lines, then colors the picture, so the page feels like their own drawing. It builds the pencil control that drawing needs later. How tracing and coloring compare.

For a kid who wants a change of pace, the Mermaids, Unicorns and Other Cute Stuff Coloring and Activity Book mixes coloring with mazes, puzzles and drawing pages.

Ready to draw without the dots? Step-by-step and grid drawing books for ages 5 and up are on our sister site, BestDrawingBooks.

What makes a coloring book work for kids

• One character per page, so every page is a finish.
• Characters that still look great when the coloring goes outside the lines.
• Subjects kids ask for, not just pretty patterns.
• A little bit of making, not only filling in.