You may have heard of adult coloring books and thought, “Is this really a thing?”
Let your inner child rejoice because we’re happy to report it is!
Typically associated with children, the coloring book craze welcomes people of all ages. This fun, interactive activity can be perfect for individuals looking for an artistic escape, feeling low on motivation or inspiration, or searching for something productive to do that doesn't require a lot of time and effort.
Additionally, the simple act of coloring can provide an array of benefits for both you and your loved one.
How coloring benefits caregivers:
- Reduces stress and alleviates anxiety
- Exercises the entire brain
- Increases attention to detail
- Allows a mental break to focus on something other than caregiving responsibilities
How coloring benefits seniors:
- Sharpens the mind
- Strengthens fine motor skills
- Can slow cognitive decline and stimulate memories for those dealing with dementia
- Provides an outlet for creative expression
So, grab your favorite coloring supplies and join the adult coloring craze with our top coloring book picks!
Adult coloring books for caregivers
Easy Coloring Book for Adults Inspirational Quotes: Simple Large Print Coloring Pages with Positive and Good Vibes Inspirational Quotes. Anti stress ... Coloring Book for Seniors, Beginners, Girls by Sally Berry
Rave review: "I love this book so much. I think I love that it's easy to color and isn't too overwhelming. The positive sayings are so spot on. I repeat them over and over while coloring and it helps calm me down."
Bloom Adult Coloring Book: Beautiful Flower Garden Patterns and Botanical Floral Prints | Over 50 Designs of Relaxing Nature and Plants to Color by Prism Press
Rave review: "I have ordered about 12 different adult and 5 kids coloring books for my 81 yo mom. She loves to color and enjoys creating art or being a part of it. The books I chose for her are of large flowers, some in great detail and some very simple. She takes her coloring books with her when she has to sit for 4 hours at a time for dialysis three days a week. It passes the time for her. I also order some of her favorite ones over and over again. Anything that brings her joy I’m happy to do."
An Inspirational Colouring Book For Everyone: Be Fearless In The Pursuit Of What Sets Your Soul On Fire by Papeterie Bleu
Rave review: "This coloring book blew every other I have bought out of the water!! The pages are not only THICK the back of each page is solid black so you can use marker with out fear of bleeding to the next page! I also love the inspirational quotes in it. A great way to unwind after a stressful day."
Adult Coloring Book Stress Relieving Designs, Animals, Mandalas, Plants, Patterns, Still Life, and So Much More by Cindy Elsharouni
Rave review: "Amazing how much this helps my mental health. In the age of computers, I’m shocked how weak my hands are. I’m looking forward to exploring and expressing my creative side!"
Creative Haven Cheerful Inspirations Coloring Book (Creative Haven Coloring Books) by Teresa Goodridge
Rave review: "My 80 yr old grandmother loves to color and she loves this book! The pictures are nice enough to be framed and hung up on the wall! The sayings are really nice! We enjoyed going through the book together."
Inspirational Coloring Book For Adults: 50 Motivational Quotes For Good Vibes, Positive Affirmations and Stress Relaxation by Bliss Coloring Publishing
Rave review: "This book is my stress reliever. I am stocking up and bought a variety of different shades of colored pencils, I take a few days, and I just color away!"
You're a Mother F*cking Badass: Motivational & Inspirational Swear Word Coloring Book for Adults: 40 Funny Color Pages for Stress Relief and Relaxation by Honey Badger Coloring
Rave review: "I can't think of anything that is much better on a rough day than coloring motivational swear words! Every time i crack this book open, it brings me a smile! Definitely a favorite of mine!"
Disney Dreams Collection Thomas Kinkade Studios Coloring Book by Thomas Kinkade
Rave review: "I own and really like both of the prior Kinkade coloring books but this one has to be my favorite. I am a fan both of his artwork and of Disney in general, so this book combines two of my favorites things. On top of that, I really like the way that illustrators interpreted the designs in this coloring book. Where the first two books had very sketch-like designs, in this book, much of the design is done is straight-forward line drawing. It will be much easier to color because of it. I find that I like the drawings in this book much more than the most recent Disney coloring books."
Adult Coloring Book: 60 Stress Relieving Animals Designs: A Lot of Relaxing and Beautiful Scenes for Adults or Kids by Olympia Soares
Rave review: "Bought for a friend with dementia. She loved the books."
100 Countryside Scenes: An Adult Coloring Book Featuring 100 Amazing Coloring Pages with Beautiful Country Gardens, Cute Farm Animals and Relaxing Countryside Landscapes (Country Coloring Books) by Coloring Book Cafe
Rave review: "As the name suggests, this book is just filled with the loveliest images of beautiful gardens, cottages, landscapes, farmyards, country animals, tea settings, and manor home interiors. There are 100 unique pictures with no repeats. This is a compilation of four complete books previously released by Coloring Book Cafe: Country Gardens, French Countryside, English Countryside, and Farm Life making this a spectacular value with all of the images included. The pictures are nicely detailed and are great for both simple and advanced coloring."
Creative Haven Fanciful Sea Life Coloring Book: Relaxing Illustrations for Adult Colorists (Creative Haven Coloring Books) by Marjorie Sarnat
Rave review: "My sister is housebound (disabled) so I [tried] getting her into these adult coloring books. She really likes it so I've bought her colored pencils, gel-pens, highlighters and so far many different books. This one is by far mine and her favorite although she does like the Stained Glass ones. This was an exceptional value with content and quality."
World of Flowers: A Coloring Book and Floral Adventure by Johanna Basford
Rave review: "The designs are like real flowers so you can recreate the true beauty of nature. My artistic adult daughter likes the elaborate vase pages & grand kids love doing "real coloring." We go out to the garden or park & then try to recreate the colors. My family loves the designs so much, I have purchased multiple."
100 Flower Designs: Coloring Book For Adults Featuring Flowers, Vases, Bunches, and a Variety of Flower Designs (Adult Coloring Books) by MantraCraft
Rave review: "The book is larger than I thought from the picture. I really love the beautiful pictures. They are really fun to color. I'de [recommend] it to anyone. It is so good to color when you want to calm down. I'm recovering from an illness and I find it difficult to stay in bed so much. I color and the time goes by so fast."
Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book (For Adults, mindfulness coloring) by Johanna Basford
Rave review: "I figured I should review this book since I've now bought it twice. I think by now everyone knows that the Johanna Basford books started the adult coloring craze, but I bet a lot of folks are wondering if these books are a good starting place. After all, many of the illustrations seem kind of teeny tiny (true!) and the patterns complicated (also true!).
Here are my thoughts: I've tried many adult coloring books, and I think these are still the best, overall, even for beginning adults returning to coloring for the first time. The goal of coloring this way is to relax and find pleasure in an everyday activity. When's the last time you just indulged in your favorite colors or bought a sparkle glitter pen? The idea with these books isn't to make artistic masterpieces (although a lot of non-artists do!), but to have fun. If you keep the idea of fun in mind, I think you'll enjoy this book."
Relaxing Flowers: Coloring Book For Adults With Flower Patterns, Bouquets, Wreaths, Swirls, Decorations. by Coloring Book Kim
Rave review: "The floral images are pretty and perfect for coloring, especially for beginners, as the spaces for coloring are well defined and not too small. It's been a while since I've done anything artistic, so I used this book to get back on the wagon and re-familiarizing myself with different mediums."
Calm the F*ck Down: An Irreverent Adult Coloring Book by Sasha O'Hara
Rave review: "I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how awesome the drawings are in this book. Sometimes I want something intricate to focus on while the world around me is being annoying. Sometimes I want something quick and easy. And some days I just want to color in pictures with silly words. This book allows me to do all of the above."
Amazing Patterns: Adult Coloring Book, Stress Relieving Mandala Style Patterns by Coloring Book Kim
Rave review: "This book caught my eye, and I have many adult coloring books. I love the designs, the creativity in the drawings, and the number of ways things can be colored. If you want to go simple, you can. The exact same picture can also be scanned and colored in a much more sophisticated manner, so it's got built-in versatility."
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