Then the kids will carefully cut out the main figure; after they do that, you’ll also want to write their name and the date on the back (the date is for posterity!). 

We couldn’t help but fall for the fun and quirky designs featured in The Jam Tart’s animal alphabet colouring book. It delivers on quality, kid-appeal and value for money, and was a hit with all of our testers.

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While they are a way off mastering colouring inside the lines, our youngest tester really enjoyed colouring in the 23 instantly recognisable characters with an enthusiastic crayon scribble.

Coming in at a handy A5 size, this colouring book is perfect for keeping in your bag, along with a pack of crayons, to keep little kids happy when eating out, travelling, or when visiting friends. It’s already saved us on more than one occasion and for that we’re very grateful.

This adult coloring book is a perfect pick for animal lovers. It's full of many intricate designs, so it might bode well to use this one if you have the time to dedicate to coloring in the lines.

: “Art therapy improves mood, and reduces pain and anxiety when offered at bedside during acute hospital treatment”

Depending on the size of the main figure, you might want to shrink it a bit before printing if the gift you’re giving is smaller.

As well as this comprehensive tour of art history, Prestel also has smaller colouring books Click Here following the same interactive style, focussing on individual artists like Klee and Monet, which also got the thumbs up from our older testers.

Essentially, the ones that made the cut are the colouring books our little testers returned to again and again.

They published coloring books until the 1920s when the McLaughlin brothers were taken over by the Milton Bradley company.

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Back in 2015, the adult coloring book market saw a 1,cem% year-over-year increase in sales — a leap that subsequently caused a colored pencil shortage. Since then, the trend has continued to rage on; you can now find adult coloring books featuring all kinds of unique themes, from home design and fashion to curse words and wine bottles.