We hope you love our recommendations! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Please note: prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published.
Colouring has made a serious comeback lately.
Adults are now turning to colouring in books in their search for mindful activities that quiet their busy minds. As they colour themselves, parents are starting to recognise the value of colouring beyond keeping kids busy during school holidays.
Colouring is the perfect way to keep children away from screens and engaged in developmental play.
Unfortunately, in our high-tech world, the humble colouring book has been forced to compete with a range of super stimulating toys, so finding colouring toys that will keep your child engaged is essential. Gone are the days of googling 'cat pictures to colour' or 'dog colouring' and printing out the first option. Today the work is done for you with a huge range of entertaining and affordable books that are sure to keep your little one occupied. Our list features a range of colouring options, from simple kids colouring sheets and books full of mindful colouring for kids, to more high tech options that will give any iPad a run for its money.
Colouring can help develop your child's hand-eye coordination, creativity and imagination. Children can begin to colour at any age but parents should make sure that there are no choking hazards in the materials they are using.
If you need more inspiration for toys that will get your child away from screens and engaged in healthy, educational play, read our recommendations on great slime kits and sand toys that every child will love.
1,000 of inspirational ideas direct to your inbox for things to do with your kids.
By joining Kidadl you agree to Kidadl’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receiving marketing communications from Kidadl.
Kidadl's Top Pick
While all the options on our list come highly recommended, if you're short on time, here's our top pick based on price, inclusions and usability.
1. Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad
The all time colouring favourites, Crayola, have done a great job making toys that keep colouring relevant and competitive with even the most high tech children's toys. This light up tracing pad is our favourite colouring toy. It is backlit with bright LED lights and includes ten designs that will develop your child's tracing and colouring skills. The fun never stops with this toy because once your child has created the ten designs included, you can download hundreds of images online for them to trace. This is the colouring toy that keeps on giving and will be great for keeping your child entertained on long car rides. Plus, the tracing pad can double as a hard surface for when your child wants to colour or draw freely.
Main Features
- Price: £20
- Age: 3+
- 3 x AA batteries required (not included)
Best For Educational Play
2. Colour Me: Dinosaurs
This super cute 96 page animal colouring book is perfect for dinosaur fans and engaging your little one in fun, educational play. As they colour, your child will learn about dinosaurs and prehistoric insects, fish and mammals. This super simple colouring book is perfect to have on hand when you need a screen-free option for entertaining your child.
Main Features
- Price: £4
- 96 page colouring book
Best All In One Colouring Toy
3. Crayola Inspirational Art Case
Budding artists will have everything they need to bring their ideas to life with this amazing art case from Crayola. The set includes 64 crayons, 40 washable markers, 20 coloured pencils and 15 pieces of paper. Packed together in a neat carry case with compartments for every tool, this colouring toy can travel with your little artists everywhere they go and is sure to keep them busy for hours.
Main Features
- Price: £20
- Age: 3+
Best For Families On A Budget
4. Disney Classics Colouring Book
This Disney colouring book has 30 pages of fun that will let your child bring their favourite Disney characters to life. For just one pound fifty, this is one of the most affordable kids' colouring books, perfect for families on a budget looking for a toy that is sure to keep their little Disney prince or princess entertained for hours.
Main Features
- Price: £1.50
- 30 page colouring book
Best For Mess Free Fun
5. Crayola Colour Wonder Peppa Pig
Crayola has done it again and this time we're thanking them for this mess free colouring book that protects walls all over the world from stray textas and crayons. This book has 18 pages of fun with five wonder markers that only show up on the wonder pages. 'Peppa Pig' lovers will have loads of fun colouring in their favourite character and you'll be able to relax knowing there'll be no surprise colour streaks on your child's bedroom wall.
Main Features
- Price: £6.99
- Age: 3+
Best For Creative Children
6. Chad Valley Be U Colour Your Own Bags
This toy gives your child the opportunity to colour and create something they can use every day. Your child will have a ball creating their own unique colour design for three different objects and we're sure it'll become their new favourite accessory. The set includes four markers and a backpack, bag and pencil case to give your child hours of fun.
Main Features
- Price: £10
- Age: 7+
Best For The Whole Family
7. Melissa & Doug Jumbo Colouring Pad, Animals
This big animal book from Melissa & Doug has over 50 jumbo pages featuring different animal designs. Your child will have a blast colouring on this extra large pad and the tear out pages mean multiple children can colour at once, perfect for group play or colouring as a family. This book is a great chance to explore mindfulness colouring for kids with your family.
Main Features
- Price: £4.99
- Age: 3+
Best For Marvel Lovers
8. Marvel Super Hero Book
This Marvel colouring book is great for older children who are learning to master colouring in between the lines. The book features 90 detailed colouring pages of your child's favourite Marvel characters. Your child will be busy for hours as they bring their heroes to life through colour.
Main Features
- Price: £9.99
- 90 page colouring book
Best For Long Car Rides
9. Orchard Toys Farmyard Sticker Book
This super cute farmyard book is one of the bestselling Amazon colouring books for kids. The pictures are bold, making them perfect for younger kids who need clear lines. The book also includes a set of cute stickers that make it easy to encourage your child as they colour their masterpiece. The book has traceable letters so your child can practice writing and get familiar with different animals. This book is the perfect travel companion to keep your kids occupied on long journeys in fun, educational play.
Main Features
- Price: £3
- Age: 3+
Best For Children With Big Imaginations
10. Silly Bear Unicorn Colour Book
This is the perfect book for unicorn and rainbow lovers or children with big imaginations who want to bring the world of make believe to life. The book is A4 and includes 50 different designs featuring cute unicorns on detailed backgrounds. Your child can let their creativity run wild with this cute book and they can practice their pencil grip and hand-eye coordination in preparation for the school years ahead.
Main Features
- Price: £3.99
- Age: 4-8 years
Kidadl Best Buys selects the top parent-recommended products across the web for families of all ages. If you liked our list of children's colouring books and toys, you might find more ideas in our list of great kids' backpacks and garden toys.
Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
Sponsorship & Advertising Policy
Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising.
We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Please note: prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published.
Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.
We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.
