Coloring in is a great pastime for children of all ages, but it is important to choose the right coloring book for toddler aged children to ensure it is enjoyable for them to work on, and not too difficult and therefore frustrating. It can help toddlers learn many important skills, and is a great, fun way for them to start learning to write and draw. Coloring is also a great way to pass the time when traveling, and color books for girls and boys can easily be packed in a diaper bag and taken out and about to keep them entertained on the go. But, how do you choose between the multitude of books on offer? That’s where we come in, with this guide featuring 15 of the very best!
Considerations When Choosing Toddler Coloring Books
When choosing a color book for toddlers, there are a few things worth keeping in mind to ensure you pick the best one for their needs. First, ensure the book is intended for toddlers and doesn’t have pictures inside which are too detailed and difficult to color. It’s also a good idea to choose something with reasonably thick pages, as toddlers tend to press quite hard with their pens and crayons, so thinner pages can tear easily. Also, check the theme of the drawings. Toddlers will love to color their favorite characters more than anything! So, look for a book which matches their interests.
Top 15 Coloring Books for Toddler
We will now show 15 of our favorite books for coloring in for toddlers. You will be spoiled for choice with these great picks we have lined up!
1. Disney Cars Giant Coloring
Our first coloring book for kids of toddler age is this awesome giant book with 200 pages. It is filled with pictures from the popular Pixar movie Cars, so it’s perfect for fans of the movie. The pages are around A4 size, so there is plenty of space for toddlers to color. The book tells the story of the movie, with each page containing some text along with the pictures. Some of the pages also have activities as well as coloring, such as spot the difference, mazes, and puzzles.
2. Melissa & Doug Jumbo Animal Coloring
Melissa & Doug have some excellent toddlers coloring books, such as this jumbo animal-themed book. It has 50 pictures to color, and each page is printed on only one side, so they can be removed and displayed. The paper is high-quality and is suitable for coloring with crayons, markers, paint, or pencils. Each page is large, so toddlers have plenty of space to work. The images are simple enough for toddlers to color without getting frustrated, but also contain enough detail for older children to still enjoy them too. The animal theme is sure to appeal to all young children.
3. Disney Coloring and Sticker Set
Coloring for toddlers is more fun when it involves their favorite characters, and that’s why we have picked out this set of three character books. Each book has loads of images to color – two of them have almost 200 pages whilst the other has almost 150 pages. There are also stickers to go with each book. There’s also a mini-book for taking out and about, complete with more stickers and some crayons. There are different activities inside the books, such as puzzles, games, and mazes. The books are themed around Princesses, Frozen, and My Little Pony, so this set is perhaps more likely to appeal to little girls.
4. Paw Patrol Pack of 2
The next coloring books for toddlers are these two Paw Patrol books, filled with big, simple images of all their favorite characters. Each book has almost 100 pages, so there is plenty of material to keep your toddler busy. They are around A4 sized, and also have other activities such as complete the drawing and word search – ideal for older toddlers to work on with a little help from mom and dad.
5. Do a Dot Art Book
If you are looking for slightly different toddler coloring activities, this do a dot book is excellent. It is designed to be used with Bingo-style markers, and encourages kids to color the images by dabbing dots. As such, the spaces are wide enough to accommodate such markers. Each image is printed on one side of the thick cardstock, to prevent bleeding through to the next page. Each page is also perforated so they can be taken out and hung up on display.
6. Crayola Mess Free Coloring
Toddlers coloring can be a bit of a messy activity, but not with this great set from Crayola! The special markers, which are included, can only draw on the included paper, and won’t make a mark on the walls, furniture, or skin. So, this is a great set for young artists who haven’t quite mastered staying on the page yet! There are two pads included, each with 30 pages, as well as 20 markers, 10 each of classic and pastel colors. So, toddlers will have a whole rainbow of colors to choose from to make their brilliant artworks.
7. Do a Dot Zoo
Next on our list of the best color books for toddlers we have another do a dot book. This one is all about what you can find at the zoo, so is sure to delight toddlers. Like the other do a dot book, it is designed to be used with these kinds of markers, so the images are bold and big. Even if your toddler prefers to use other markers or crayons to color with, they should find it easy thanks to the size of the images. There are around 20 pages and each is printed on one side only.
8. Melissa & Doug Water Coloring Animals
Melissa & Doug make some of the best coloring books for toddlers, and this one is great for starting off with as it doesn’t make any mess! The pages are colored using a special pen, which is filled with water rather than ink. When it is used in the book, the colors appear as if by magic! The pictures are animal-themed, and they can be colored over and over again, as the water will dry out and leave the image white and ready to color again.
9. Melissa & Doug Paint with Water
Water coloring books for 2 year olds are ideal, as we have seen above. This one is similar but instead introduces your toddler to painting, using water. There are 24 pages in this book, each with a different animal to paint. Simply wet the included paintbrush and use it to blend the patterns printed into each section. As if by magic, the colors will mix together and color in the page! When a picture is finished, it can easily be torn out using the perforations for proud display on the refrigerator!
10. Crayola Color Wonder
Crayola has some fabulous coloring sets for toddlers, and this one is totally mess-free! It has more than 30 pieces, including a coloring pad, stamps, ink, markers, and sticker sheets. Everything comes in a handy, reusable case, making this great for taking on the go. The special markers only color on the included pages, meaning they can’t make marks on any other surfaces. So, this set is perfect for toddlers! Some of the pages have half-finished pictures which are perfect for letting your toddler practice their drawing skills, as well as their coloring.
11. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Color Wonder
Here we have another mess-free pick, this time it’s all about Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, so it’s perfect for fans of this show. There are 18 coloring pages included, and it is necessary to purchase the special Crayola color wonder markers separately. This is a great set for on the go fun, as you won’t have to worry about your child making a mess anywhere! They will love the large, simple designs featuring the cute character.
12. Jumbo Vehicles Coloring
Here we have another jumbo coloring pad, in which each page is 11″ x 14″, so there is plenty of space for toddlers to work. There are 50 great pictures printed inside, each featuring different vehicles – something which tends to fascinate toddlers! The pages can easily be removed after the drawings are finished, for hanging or giving to friends and family. The paper is high quality, so bleed-through isn’t an issue regardless of which media are used for coloring.
13. ALEX My First Scribble
This book is great for letting toddlers unleash their creativity whilst practicing their drawing skills at the same time. It comes with partially-completed drawings and challenges toddlers to finish them off however they like. There are also stickers included to finish off the pictures. There are 50 pages to work on, and almost 70 stickers. The book is perfect for ages 2 and up and is the perfect introduction to drawing.
14. My First Toddler Coloring
This book is not just about coloring, but will also help toddlers recognize and learn numbers, letters, colors, animals, and shapes. So, it is great for their early education! It’s ideal for those in the 1 – 3 years age range – the level of the activities is just right for this age group. The book will help toddlers practice their first words and basic counting – it will keep them entertained and educated for hours! There are more than 100 illustrations to color, and they have bold lines to help toddlers learn to stay within them.
15. My First Big Book of Coloring
Our final pick has almost 200 pages of activities to keep toddlers busy for a while! It has all kinds of fun illustrations to color, and they have thick black lines to help toddlers keep within them. The designs are sure to catch your child’s attention! The pages are printed on both sides, but the paper is thick enough to stop any colors bleeding through, even when markers are used.
Our Best Buy
After looking at 15 great picks, it’s time to highlight our favorite of all. We love the Melissa & Doug jumbo coloring pads most of all. They have 50 pages to keep toddlers occupied, and they are printed only on one side so they can easily be displayed when they are colored. The paper is very good quality and won’t bleed through to the other pages, even when markers are used. It’s designed for any markers, pencils, crayons, or paint, so no matter which your toddler prefers to use, it’s not a problem.
What Age Can Toddler Start Coloring?
Usually from around the age of 1 year old toddlers can start to make marks on a page using a chunky crayon. However, they probably won’t be able to successfully color in a picture for quite some time yet. But, it’s a good idea to get them practicing scribbling on paper as soon as they start to become interested in doing so. This will help strengthen the muscles which will be required later on for learning to write.
When Do Toddlers Get Interested In Coloring Books?
As noted above, when toddlers can start to scribble and when they will actually become interested in coloring are two quite different times. It’s usually nearer the age of around 3 that toddlers will become more interested in trying to color in pictures rather than simply scribbling on the paper. However, don’t expect their coloring to be too neat at this age – it will be a couple of years yet before they are able to stay in the lines!
