Our Guest Geek post today is by Elizabeth Shelby, the author of fantastical coloring books for children featuring unicorns, mermaids and fairies. You can find her coloring books on her website, LetsColorImaginations.com and on Amazon.

Mythical creatures like unicorns, mermaids, and fairies are such fascinating creatures that they are often staples in fairy tales, movies, and TV shows that kids love. They are also even often the subjects of kids’ imaginations. I wrote this guest post as a coloring book author and mom to share an awesome way for kids to have fun with those creatures and their imaginations, which is through coloring books.

Check Out These Coloring Books

If you have little ones who are big fans of unicorns, mermaids, and/or fairies, you can check out the Unicorn Coloring Book, Mermaid Coloring Book, and Fairy Coloring Book by yours truly, Elizabeth Shelby on letscolorimaginations.com and on Amazon.

Filled with loads of magical fun and excitement, kids can enjoy up to 50 wonderful images of these magical creatures for coloring in each of these coloring books. Adding to the fun are the coloring books’ large pages that kids can freely pour their creativity onto with a print size of 8.5 inches by 11 inches. And the fun won’t be spoiled by color bleed through, as these coloring books are made with single-sided printing.

Apart from catering to kids with other-worldly tastes, these coloring books also are created with different age groups in mind. They come in separate versions made age-appropriate for four to eight-year-old kids and eight to twelve-year-old kids. Moreover, there’s also another fairy-themed coloring book for kids aged eight to twelve plus and adults, entitled Enchanted Fairy World Coloring Book. So moms may also join in the fun of coloring fairies too.

Magical Worlds of Unicorns, Mermaids, and Fairies Unfold in Coloring Books

In any story, magical creatures such as unicorns, mermaids, and fairies can bring in a lot of excitement and thrill for both girls and boys alike. Because of that, kids have become very fond of these characters. There are the fantastic bunch of unicorns in the famous unicorn movie and TV series, My Little Pony; the adventurous mermaid, Ariel in the classic movie and TV series, The Little Mermaid; and the sassy fairy, Tinker Bell from another classic movie, Peter Pan and several other Disney films and TV series to give just a few examples.

Their interesting personalities and magical powers are what made these creatures the favorites of many kids. Coloring books featuring mythical creatures of their kind would be something that kids would most likely be interested in as well. Unicorn, mermaid, and fairy-themed coloring books can add a touch of fantasy and magic to kids’ leisure time. Soon enough, you might even notice that coloring in these coloring books has become their favorite pastime as well.

As a coloring book author, I decided to feature these mythical creatures in my coloring books, as I know that they are very popular with kids and are characters that kids would surely enjoy coloring. My two kids, Ann and Rose are big fans of those mythical creatures themselves and loved coloring in my unicorn, mermaid, and fairy-themed coloring books too.

Expanding Kids’ Imaginations Through Coloring

The Unicorn Coloring Book, Mermaid Coloring Book, Fairy Coloring Book, and Enchanted Fairy World Coloring Book can take kids to the magical worlds of unicorns, mermaids, and fairies through their many wonderful surprises in store in each of their pages. In the plentiful pages of these coloring books, kids can encounter many of these enchanting characters and explore magical worlds as they take pleasure in coloring. With their imagination and creativity, kids can have fun, colorful adventures with their favorite mythical creatures in these coloring books.

In these coloring books, kids can find images of these creatures in their habitat, doing magical things, having fun with their magical friends, posing among gorgeous backgrounds complimenting their charm, surrounded by aesthetic doodles, etc. The coloring books have a lot of fun in store for kids, as each of their pages has a unique design that kids can indulge in. With these creatures featured in the coloring books, coloring would become even more exciting for kids who are fond of them.

However, if by chance that some kids may not be familiar with these magical and mythical creatures, the themed coloring books are a great way to introduce them. Mythical creatures are fascinating characters that have meaningful stories in folklore, fairy tales, and even modern TV shows and movies. When kids color in the unicorn, mermaid, and fairy-themed coloring books, they can pleasurably pour out their creativity while also making their own stories in their minds.

Why Coloring Books?

Although coloring books are only a very simple means of recreation, they are classic and often loved by kids. Coloring is a tried and true activity that most kids are inclined to enjoy.

Moreover, for an activity that most kids enjoy, it’s inexpensive and very easy to prepare. They’re not so heavy in the wallet nor a hassle in preparation. Parents can just get coloring books for their kids at a cheap price and hand the coloring books to their kids along with a box of crayons that aren’t so costly either, and their kids are all set for loads of fun with their creativity and imagination.

Despite coming at very affordable prices, coloring books can provide a lot of entertainment for kids and keep them entertained for hours. They come with many pages containing different designs that kids can pass the time with. Every page is a new opportunity for enjoyment.

And nowadays that kids tend to spend too much time on gadgets and electronics either playing games or watching YouTube, Netflix, or TV for long periods, coloring books can help break that unhealthy habit of kids. Too much time spent on gadgets and electronics, otherwise known as screen time, can cause various adverse effects on their health. It can cause bad posture, stiffness and pain around the neck and shoulder, eye strain, Myopia, risk of obesity, sleep deprivation, lessened cognitive ability, etc. With coloring books, parents can limit their kids’ screen time by taking those gadgets and electronics away from them and allowing them to color in some coloring books instead. Through coloring, kids can be entertained without harmful effects.

The enjoyable, safe activity of coloring is also a more productive means of recreation. Kids get to produce their own works of art and practice their creativity. And not only is their creativity practiced, but they also develop a variety of other skills.

Coloring and Hand-eye Skills

Coloring involves all sorts of hand movements. And all those hand movements that kids would do in coloring contribute to the development of their fine motor skills. Starting from picking a piece of crayon to use from a box of crayons to applying colors to the different parts of a picture and other actions like flipping the pages and even sharpening a crayon, fine motor skills would be developed through those actions.

Hand-eye coordination is also developed through coloring. Because kids would also attempt to fill in the outlines precisely with careful effort in accordance with what they see and try not to exceed the outlines. So they would be practicing coordinating their hand movements with their sense of sight.

In relation to hand-eye coordination, hand-writing skills are also another set of skills developed through coloring. Hand-eye coordination is among those handwriting skills along with attention to detail, hand strength, and dexterity. These skills are enhanced as they add colors to the details of the pictures in coloring books. Kids’ hands get to be strengthened and trained on how to move their hands among details they see. This would help make learning how to write much easier for them.

Apart from the aforementioned physical aspects that coloring helps in improving, coloring also boosts cognitive skills like planning and organizing as well as concentration. In the process, kids would brainstorm how they would execute their artwork beautifully, thinking of what colors to use together and to apply in the different areas of the picture for a beautiful outcome. That practices in them planning and organizing. And to be able to achieve their desired outcome, they would have to focus on coloring the picture to finally finish the page. So their concentration would also be enhanced in the process.

The aforementioned skills are crucial to be developed in the early stages of childhood because these skills are essential in everyday life and in attending school. At kids’ young age, they are not equipped with these essential skills. It is through practice that they get to be developed. And coloring is a great way for kids to achieve these skills.

Along with the skills that kids can develop through coloring is also a sense of accomplishment. Being able to have a finished product would give them a rewarding feeling and a boost of self-confidence.

Conclusion

If it’s a worthwhile activity that can keep kids entertained you are looking for, coloring in coloring books would be a great option. It’s not only fun for them, but it also brings a lot of benefits. And for the unicorn, mermaid, and fairy fans, my coloring books featuring the mythical creatures they love would be perfect for them.

Author’s Bio: Elizabeth Shelby is a pediatric nurse, coloring book author, blogger, and mom of two kids. Passionate about both art and bringing out the best in kids, she loves sharing with kids the gift of art through the coloring books she creates while being able to promote child development. You can check out her blog and coloring books at letscolorimaginations.com. If you join her mailing list, you can get a fun-filled downloadable kids’ coloring/activity book with 22 pages for free.