Very similar to Kumon’s Let’s ColorMy son had a lot of fun with the Kumon First Steps book “Let’s Color” and so when Kumon just recently released “My Book of Coloring”, I bought him one. It is very very similar to “Let’s Color”, only is in a bigger format. There are 40 pictures to color, all on the right side pages. On the left side pages, are “mazes” for the child to go thru, to learn crayon control. The coloring pages are in full color, the maze pages are in black and white. The coloring pages have only partial white areas for the child to color, a white circle in the cherries, a white sqare in the cheese, a white triangle in the fire truck. Later pictures have more than one white space to color, and then it becomes coloring things like, the stripes on the tiger, the spots on a giraffe, the strawberries on the cake. Some of my favorites are at the back: finish coloring the prince and princess, the robot, the magician, the tropical fish. Artwork is pleasing and fun, cute, but not babyish. The book is recommended for ages 2-4, but I think older children will like it too. My son is 8 and he likes it. Some children don’t like coloring; a whole blank page to color can crush the spirit of some children to even start. Kumon gives the child only small areas to finish in the picture, so the completion of the coloring page is more quickly realized, and the child is satisfied. I guess I would have liked to see this coloring book be a bit beyond the first “Let’s Color”, and have had more pages like the ones at the end of the book, with a bit more white areas to color. The purpose of the book is for the child to learn control of a crayon/pencil (my children have all enjoyed coloring with colored pencils best), and to match colors. This book teaches these skills in a fun way. My son is always amazed that if he colors neatly, and the colored pencil he chooses really matches the surrounding printed ink color, that it’s hard to tell where he colored it! Printed on heavy white paper, My Book of Coloring is a far superior book to the junky coloring books printed on flimsy newsprint paper that you find at the local store. I think any child just learning to color would love this book, and I think it will please parents too! Note: cover art does NOT represent the inside art. Be sure to also give a nice box of crayons or colored pencils when you give this book to a child! I recommend Prismacolor colored pencils and Crayola twist up crayons.
