Wednesday, November 13, 2013

In Overwhelming Praise of Dover Coloring Books (and a resource list)

I am not a Dover Coloring Book sales person. 

But it's my hope that after reading this post, you'll have been brainwashed by the latest catch phrase that's been sweeping the nation... There's an App a Dover Coloring Book for that. 

I've previously written about my love of Dover coloring books here and here.  We used them extensively for our local wildlife study and intro to human anatomy last year.  I have since become an even greater fan for the simple reasons that:

1) they are relatively inexpensive
2) they are high quality - the informative text as well as the artwork (That's right!  Most of the coloring books include information on the subject in addition to black and white images!)  
3) and they have one for nearly every subject in the entire universe.  I have found this very beneficial in our home school. 

You're studying Mushrooms of the World, you say? There's a Dover Coloring Book for that.

You have a son who's hyper-focused on learning the history of the sword?  There's a Dover Coloring Book for that. 

Your daughter aspires to become the first fashion designer to storm the runway with a melding of Rococo-Puritan-Chinese-Fairy fashions with a touch of Civil War uniform?  There's a Dover Coloring Book for that.  (or five, actually.)

I'm serious.  History, art, literature, science?  You can not fail to enrich your home study of any topic with a Dover Coloring book.  

coloring by Aaron and Dominic

Now you may be thinking to yourself, "my children don't like coloring books."  Well, neither do my kids really.  I've thrown out fistfulls of coloring books that we had for years but were never touched - things like World's Coolest Cars and Universe's Cutest Puppies.  But my kids LOVE Dover Coloring books - maybe because they're so realistic or because they look like coloring for "grownups"??  I don't know, but I do know that they get used several times a week.  Sometimes they just color for the fun of it, and sometimes they're coloring as part of an assignment. Example: Kids, you color this picture of wildlife on the African Savanna while I read to you about wildlife on the African Savanna.  (This method of coloring while listening to a read aloud has worked really well for us in several subject areas.)

this collage is somewhat misleading... while we have spotted wild turkeys and great blue heron a plenty near our home,  we have never seen them in our backyard :)
coloring by Dominic

I don't have the patience to link to every book that I mention here, and I'm really sorry about that.  But please note that Dover Coloring Books can be found on Amazon.com for approx. $3.99 each (most are eligible for Prime, so you could be coloring images of Life in a Medieval Village or North American Ducks, Geese, and Swans in just two short days, shipped for free!)  They are, of course, also available on the Dover Publications website, along with the many other cool things they offer like temporary tattoos of paintings by Mary Cassatt. (Your welcome for that stocking stuffer idea I just gave you for your friend, the one who's the fan of female Impressionists and LA Ink...)  

There are so many many fabulous Dover coloring books, that I would never get this thing posted if I were to list them all here.  But I thought I'd give you a sampling of titles, loosely sorted by topic, so that you can get an idea of the scope we're talking about here.  (the back slashes denote different titles for related topics)  And remember, just because you don't see it here, doesn't mean they don't have it!

A Lengthy, yet Incomplete, Dover Coloring Book Resource List for Homeschool...
(or just for regular life for that matter!)



AMERICAN HISTORY


Columbus Discovers America


The Story of the Pilgrims

Early American Trades / Early American Crafts and Occupations

Life in Colonial America / Everyday Dress of the American Colonial Period

Story of the Revolution / Heroes and Heroines of the American Revolution / Uniforms of the American Revolution

George Washington

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Western Pioneers / Cowboys of the Old West

The Story of the Alamo

Story of the California Gold Rush

Story of the Civil War / A Soldiers Life in the Civil War / Civil War Uniforms / Abraham Lincoln / Famous Women of the Civil War / Civil War Fashions / Story of the Underground Railroad 

Wigwams, Longhouses, and Other Native American Dwellings / Indian Tribes of North America / North American Indian Crafts

Great African Americans / Famous African-American Women

Story of World War I / Airplanes of World War I / Uniforms of World War I

Roaring Twenties Fashions

Story of World War II / World War II Warships / Airplanes of the Second World War 

History of the Civil Rights Movement



OTHER HISTORY



Life in Ancient Greece / Life in Ancient Egypt / Life in Ancient Rome

Sparta: Warriors of the Ancient World

Ancient Egyptian Fashions / Greek and Roman Fashions 

Samurai Warriors

Life in Celtic Times

Story of the Vikings

History of the Sword

Life in a Medieval Village / The Medieval Castle / Knights and Armor / Castles of the World / Medieval Fashions

Race to the South Pole

Inventors and Inventions

... and TONS more on fashion through the ages and in different cultures



GEOGRAPHY AND CIVICS



Wonders of the World

Around the World

United States / State Birds and Flowers

Historic American Landmarks

American Presidents / America's First Ladies / Homes of the American Presidents



NATURE 
(oh my goodness - there are SO many - take whatever I list here and multiply it by 9)




Backyard Nature

A Walk in the Woods

Rain Forest

African Plains

Arctic and Antarctic Life

Wild Animals

Forest Animals

Freshwater Pond

Seashore Life / Tropical Fish / Sharks of the World

Birds of Prey / Birdwatchers / Audubon's Birds of America

Wildflowers / Herbs / Medicinal Plants / Cacti 

... and TONS of books on specific animals and flowers  


OTHER SCIENCE


Rocks and Minerals

Fruits and Vegetables

All About the Weather

Human Anatomy

Exploring the Solar System / History of Space Exploration / International Space Station 



ART



Color Your Own...

Monet
Cassatt
Degas
Van Gogh
Matisse
Kahlo
Italian Renaissance Masterpieces
Sistine Chapel
Books of Kells
Medieval Tapestries
Japanese Woodblock Prints
Tiffany Windows
Modern Art Masterpieces
Famous American Paintings



MUSIC


Great Composers

Musical Instruments


LITERATURE 
(abridged stories as well as coloring pages)


Old Testament Stories

Women of the Bible

Anne of Green Gables

Tale of Peter Rabbit

Beowulf

Alice and Wonderland

Great Scenes from Shakespeare's Plays

Rip Van Winkle

Sleeping Beauty

American Legends and Tall Tales

A Christmas Carol

Sherlock Holmes


HOBBIES or JUST FOR FUN


Antique Automobiles

Classic Cars

Famous Trains 

History of Fire Engines

Hockey

Figure Skating

Nutcracker Ballet

Old Fashioned Farm Life / Country Scenes

Garden Fairy Alphabet

Garden Party

Carousel Animals 

Vintage Christmas Greetings

Victorian Houses 



And the list goes on and on, but I'll let you uncover the rest on your own.  My work here is done.  

* * * * * *

Note: I have not been paid by Dover Publications to write this review.  Although if you are from Dover publishing and you would like to pay me, I will happily entertain your offer :)

2 comments:

  1. What a great list you've collected. I'm pinning this - thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so getting the 'tattoo designs' book for my niece!

    I like how you write what you think of books etc without a financial motive. You don't even link to them using Amazon affiliate links!

    ReplyDelete

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