5 Articles: Grown-Ups Color, Too!

Over the past year or so, interest in coloring books for adults has exploded. Many trace the popularity of adult coloring to the publication to Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford's The Secret Garden, an intricate coloring book aimed at adults, published in 2013. The recent popularity of The Secret Garden led to Basford creating two other coloring books, The Enchanted Forest and The Lost Ocean, as well as a huge publishing boom in coloring books aimed at adults. This has led to coloring parties, putting beautifully colored pages on Pinterest, and even libraries are jumping in by offering coloring sheets both in libraries and online and holding coloring-related programs.

Learn more on the topic by reading articles that are available using CPL's Online Resources. Those articles that are freely available on the web have been noted.

"How Coloring Inside the Lines Came Into Fashion" by Sarah Begley
Time, March 14, 2016
Begley discusses the recent phenomena of adult coloring with interesting facts, such as 71 percent of adult colorers are female.

"Color Me Subversive" by Laura Marsh
New Republic, March 2016 (also available on the New Republic website)
The 1960s also saw an adult coloring book trend. The coloring books of the '60s, however, were not intended as a way to relax and be creative but were meant to be read more as a political cartoons poking fun at a variety of topics of the day, according to Marsh.

"Adult Coloring to Relieve Stress, Have Fun" by Barbara Brotman and Corilyn Shropshire
Chicago Tribune, November 30, 2015
The Chicago Tribune explores local BYOB coloring parties and Harold Washington Library Center's coloring contest.

"Coloring May Help Brain Rehabilitation" by Yomiuri Shimbun
East, September/October 2006
Coloring is not only an enjoyable pastime for adults but has also been used to rehabilitate dementia patients. Yoshihiko Koga, a Japanese neurologist, talks about his work with dementia patients asserting, "...coloring  is the easiest way [of stimulating the brain] without feeling stress."

"Colouring 'Til It Hurts" by Meagan Campbell
Maclean's, August 31, 2015
Coloring enthusiasts should be aware that their hobby can lead to injuries. The article discuss coloring-related injuries and how to prevent them.

Want to color? The Library has a number of books featuring illustrations for you to photocopy and color!